Episode Details

Main Takeaways:

• Brian and Phillip are joined in this episode of Step by Step by Alida Sholl, the Director of Operations at Rep Fitness.
• Rep has tackled the unique challenges of setting up a warehouse for larger than average products and has perfected processes to handle these items.
• What are some tools that your brand can leverage to better your customers' post-purchase experience?
• Arming your customers with knowledge and guiding them through the purchase process not only builds their trust of your brand but encourages them to be repeat customers.

A Little Bit About Rep Fitness: And A Little Bit About Alida:

• Rep Fitness is a complete fitness supplier that sells anything from pull-up bands to high-end power racks and all the weights that come along with that.
• Alida started with Rep Fitness about two and a half years ago when she found out about the local equipment company when she moved to Denver; she reached out to see if they needed any help, and Rep Fitness just happened to have a position that was a fit.
• Without a background in eCommerce, Alida started her career in manufacturing with a focus on process engineering.
• Rep Fitness was preparing to move into a new warehouse, a task for which Alida was uniquely qualified.

Larger Than the Average Product: Warehouse Setup Challenges:

• With products that are larger than average, what are some of the specific challenges when it comes to setting up a warehouse?
• With items that require a lot of space, Rep Fitness relies on palette racking and a large floor stack area to meet its warehouse space requirements.
• Rep Fitness sorts and labels everything in the dock area, so they also need a dock area that is larger than average to accommodate those needs.
• When boxes can weigh up to 100 pounds, it is best to avoid any extra touches and make the shipping process as simple as possible.

Diving Deeper: Who Is the Rep Fitness Customer?:

• The idea of a home gym does not have to be a big garage, so ideally, anyone can be a rep fitness customer.
• The majority of Rep's customers are somewhere between the ages of 25 and 44, typically married, own a home, and a lot of them are parents.
• Giving people the option to regain their freedom and live active and healthy lives without being tied to an external gym is one of Rep's goals.
• It is becoming much more common to be fit and lead a healthy life, which Rep is allowing parents to demonstrate for their children and lead by example.

Putting the Gears in Motion: What Happens Post-Purchase?

• Rep has a fantastic customer service and sales team that all personally know the equipment to give customers the best experience possible when purchasing.
• Having a real human touch and a sales and service team that go above and beyond to make genuine connections with customers makes those customers feel welcomed to the Rep family.
• Rep Fitness will soon be launching chat on its website that will enable customers to get their questions answered on the spot and eliminate the need to leave the site.
• Already using Help Scout for all of their email requirements, it was a natural choice for Rep Fitness to choose to implement Help Scout's chat capabilities.

Bringing Them Back: Capturing Trends:

• Most home gym owners will say that their home gym is never done, so they are always looking for new equipment to add.
• Consistently creating new products that are items that everyone needs to have is a great way to ensure repeat business.
• Customers like trendy things even in a space where there are tried and true methods along with more traditional cle