I might be a little bit bias in matters surrounding Firebrand's leader but when Shopify asked her to deliver a 45-minute keynote in Melbourne, I knew she'd knock it out of the park.
Mark Phizacklea from My Tools and Trade Tools, Alex and Oli, our fantastic front-end developers, were there to learn from the conference and luckily I managed to score the role of Chief Baggage Handler and Taxi Driver.
The day saw the mercury sizzle to 38 degrees. There was fear the Dunedin delegates would melt into the Melbourne pavement, but the venue was well air-conditioned and the catering plentiful.
Kick Off
Shopify Theme Designers opened the conference with a statement that echoed the changing world of mobile eCommerce:
"Users must be able to accomplish the same task on any device. But, that may not necessarily be done the same way."
Sydney-sider, Bodog Olah from Createur spoke to the attending Agencies about project creep and common risks:
"... sell value before time and materials."
A quick Lightning Round
8 key players gave us a quick run down of their businesses and how they interact with Shopify.
- Xero told us about how digital pay portals get bills paid up to 40% faster.
- Space Squirrel explained how to deal with stressful support moments.
- Sain store Damon talked about the emerging market in China and the quick adaption rate of the Chinese consumers.
- Dotmailer told us about their email marketing and marketing platforms. "70% of mobile based purchases are influenced by email".
- Docon introduced the massive market of business-to-business and wholesale channels for eCommerce.
- Floship talked about automating global order fulfilment. Proving the free trade port of Hong Kong is a very competitive advantage.
- Engaging.io showed us some clever alterations to a clients eCommerce relaunch and the evolving space of eCommerce.
- Process Creative looked at the audience, demographics, and statistics around shoppers.
Mailchimp
Tom Davis introduced a new and very exciting partner programme with Mailchimp and Shopify.
Then came her big moment...
I must admit, I'd heard it before. Bex practising her speech verbatim, even delivering it to the Firebrand team one lunchtime. I knew she had it in the bag.
Pitching {im}perfection.
Our Bex showed everyone why she has so much pride for Firebrand, our team and our amazing clients. A 45 minute spot would have most people shaking in their boots, but not Bex. She owned it and made it authentically hers where she honestly, and with her usual flair shared with everyone her 10 points on how she prepares to dazzle potential clients with an Imperfect Pitch.
ShippIt
Delivering throughout the world and will soon promise 3 hour delivery from Harvey Norman to anywhere in Australia with a lovely easy to use interface for the customer.
Disco
Custom built apps for Shopify.
eChic
Kim Carruthers (another Kiwi representing) told us the how best to treat our clients and ensure service is at the heart of an Agency.
And then came the networking...
Education is important for us to greater understand the changing face of eCommerce and marketing our products.
"If you build it, he will come," really is a Field of Dreams attitude when it comes to launching an online store. Now, with Shopify and Firebrand plus a solid marketing strategy, we have all the tools to assist you in believing the hype.
Bex was really surprised and honoured to be invited to speak but, we all know she is the best person for the job.
But, then again... I am a little biased.