Going Viral for Good: From $0 to a $100M+ Brand with Jess Cervellon
Episode 805: Show Notes
Today on the podcast, I have Jess Cervellon, former VP of Customer Experience at 100 million dollar chocolate venture, Feastables, where she has been laser-focused on crafting an unforgettable experience. She is also a fractional CMO for creators with millions of followers.
We are talking about everything along the way, creating incredible customer experiences, cultivating engagement, creating community, and even how you can leverage opportunities that do good in the world and really have it be an opportunity to create incredible content (with the potential of even going viral).
You are going to love today’s episode! There are a lot of notes. If you are someone who is transitioning out of a corporate role and into your own business, Jess is really going to inspire you with her story. I’m excited for you to dig into today’s episode!
Listen on your favorite podcast player
How Jess Got to Where She Is Today
An education in art can help you to think outside of the box as a business person. After she graduated from art school, Jess worked in customer service across different industries before joining a travel tech company and moving into a customer experience role. Eventually, she landed at Feastables, a MrBeast snack brand.
In her own words, joining this quickly scaling company has been fucking insane. You have to fail fast to learn. The Feastables team had to quickly learn how to produce products that customers love, and how to build a community invested in giving continued support. The biggest lesson? You’ve got to leave room to fail so that you can pivot and change the course as you get on.
What it Means to Create the Experience You Want Your Customers to Have
The term ‘customer experience’ is relatively new, but experience marketing is really important as you build a community, because you are trying to build a place where people will engage with your product and talk about it to their network. What is the experience you want your customers to have when they purchase your product?
When your customer purchases that one product, what is it that brings them back? What makes them want to visit your website or open your email marketing campaigns? What is working for them? It’s about understanding your product and which channels you need to build a relationship with your customer from. It’s about treating your customers as if you want to have a relationship with them.
Going Against the Grain with IRL Branding
While not everyone has the funds to go out there and do big extravagant things, demonstrating your product or developing an experience outside of the online world can really support relationship-building. Great examples of businesses doing this are Liquid Death and Jess’s client, Fat Miilk.
Jess has been going out in the field and creating Happy Hour and experience events to create a sense of community and build a network outside of selling products. You become the host, and you’re able to have casual conversations that eventually turn into top-of-funnel marketing. You have to give what you are hoping to get. You never know where a relationship is going to take you!
Building a Brand that Does Good
First and foremost, be fucking nice! It’s not only important to be nice to people, but also knowing not to expect anything in return. You never know when someone is going to connect you, and you never know when you are going to be the connector for someone else.
MrBeast is known as a brand that does good. That’s based on his YouTube channel, but the brand is also exemplified in the Feastables brand. Building a brand experience that also does good will not only earn you loyalty, but also a sense of authenticity. Partnering with Beast Philanthropy, Jess has taken Feastables out into the real world to raise funds for Beast Philanthropy.
Secrets of Scaling Without Breaking
What’s really important as a business is to be really methodical about your steps. Don’t bite off more than you can chew! Building is a brick-by-brick process. Don’t compare yourself to individuals who are far ahead of you. You are building where you are. Your journey is completely different from everyone else’s. Do what you are doing at 110% and then build the next brick. You don’t have to launch something with all the bells and whistles because your plans are going to change anyway!
People tend to get really hung up on the transition process. What shifted in Jess’s process is knowing that you don’t have to be a millionaire before you make it happen. Bite off a little bit while you’re working full-time. Release your grip on the idea that you have to have a safety net. Sometimes you have to release something in order to survive. Shift your mentality and know that you might already have enough.
It looks different for everyone, and digging into the numbers is one of my favorite things to do. You can find out more about that at The Co-op.
Quote This
You’ve got to leave room to fail so that you can pivot and change the course as you get on. —Jess Cervellon
Highlights
How Jess Got to Where She Is Today [0:02:11]
What it Means to Create the Experience You Want Your Customers to Have [0:07:43]
How to Go Against the Grain with IRL Branding [0:10:59]
Building a Brand that Does Good [0:20:51]
Secrets of Scaling Without Breaking [0:29:13]
OUR GUEST:
Jess Cervellon
Jess Cervellon is the Vice President of Customer Experience at Feastables, a $100M+ chocolate venture founded by YouTube superstar Mr. Beast. She was the 4th person to join this incredible team, and has been laser-focused on crafting unforgettable customer experiences, especially for their Gen-Z audience. When she’s not at Feastables, she’s a fractional CMO for creators who have millions of followers. She has become one of the go-to experts in creator brand strategy and end-to-end customer experience.
Key Topics:
Scaling, Philanthropy, Brand Experience, Customer Experience, Relationships
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