Bill Aicher: Leading Growth Spark, a Top Shopify Marketing Agency

Welcome to our latest blog post where we introduce you to the dynamic new CEO of Growth Spark, a Shopify marketing agency powered by Trellis. Bill Aicher, a new leader behind the creative and strategic wheel of Growth Spark, brings a wealth of experience in digital marketing and a vision to innovate the Shopify marketing landscape. With a rich history in digital strategy and a forward-thinking approach, Bill is poised to set the stage for unprecedented growth and cutting-edge marketing solutions in the eCommerce sector. Join us as we delve into his journey, experiences, and aspirations.

Meet Bill: Journey and Professional Backdrop

Q: Can you tell us a bit about your journey leading up to joining Growth Spark as the CEO?

A: I’ve been working “online” for nearly three decades now, starting with building my own BBS (Bulletin Board System) back before the internet as we know it was a thing. In high school, I worked for an ISP doing support and web design work. Then in college I launched and ran a music review website that was fairly popular – and this was all back in the 90s. So, I started working “online” quite a ways back before my “professional career.”

I went to school at UW-Madison, double-majoring in journalism and philosophy (after starting as a psych major). My goal was to someday move to NYC and write for something like SPIN Magazine. But as we all know, the rise of the internet as a ubiquitous platform killed most of that industry. So instead, I joined a very early startup in the sheet music business – Musicnotes.com. I started as a “marketing assistant” and ended up working there for 16 years.

Q: What was digital marketing like back then?

A: While at Musicnotes, the whole “digital marketing” thing didn’t exist. For the most part, we figured a lot of it out as we went. As such, I’ve been involved in pretty much every aspect of digital marketing and web experience design. Over the years at Musicnotes, my role continued to evolve. Later, it included roles as a Creative Director, Director of Web and Marketing, Chief Growth Officer, and Chief Marketing Officer.

Q: What prompted your move to new industries?

A: After spending 16 years growing the business to where it was, it was finally time to move on. Over the next few years, I worked in marketing leadership roles within the mobile gaming space and swimming pool eCommerce. After that, I returned to music publishing at Musicnotes’ biggest competitor, Hal Leonard.

My role there was to help build out ecom and digital marketing teams and strategies for the multiple properties Hal Leonard had built or acquired over the years. They included Sheet Music Direct, Sheet Music Plus, Noteflight, Musicroom, and others. While doing this, it became quite clear that one of the best approaches was to build what I referred to as our own internal marketing agency. It provided various services as needed across the different properties (think design, email, paid search, etc).

Q: What brought you to Trellis?

A: As we also know now, 2023 was a year of layoffs across many businesses. Particularly those in the digital sector were affected. And in March of 2023, I (and many other people in the company) became a victim of layoffs.

I started my introspective period determining just what I wanted to do next. That was the time when I was approached by Isaiah Bollinger, CEO of Trellis. He reached out to me on LinkedIn (where we’d been connected for some time) and asked if I’d be interested in potentially joining the marketing team to do some contract/consulting work. And as you can guess, I said yes.

Q: What motivated you to accept the role of CEO at Growth Spark, a Shopify marketing agency?

A: When I joined the Trellis team, I was struck with the company’s approach to client relations. I also found their marketing and development expertise to be highly impressive. It became clear that this was a group of talented individuals, doing excellent work. Most importantly, they are doing so as a partner to clients. In my previous roles on the other side of the table I often found it to be … not so much the case.

So when I was approached by the Trellis leadership team with the question “Would you be interested in being the CEO of Growth Spark?”, it was pretty simple to answer: “Of course, I would be interested!”

It’s a great team, focusing on the types of business I’ve most enjoyed working at or with. The goal is not just to offer ad-hoc marketing “services” but to become a true fractional ecom and marketing partner. A Partner that helps businesses grow holistically online.

Then all I needed was for them to agree we were a good fit … and here we are.

Leadership vs Management

Q: What experiences in your career do you feel have been most instrumental in preparing you for this role?

A: Of course, everything in life plays a role in who we become. When it comes to preparing myself for this role, everything I’ve done in terms of marketing and leadership has helped prepare me. But if I had to narrow it down, I’d have to say that my early roles were most instrumental. I wore dozens of hats and learned the concepts of digital marketing across virtually every marketing and ecom touchpoint. It allowed me to gain a very firm grasp on how all pieces of marketing and customer interaction work together. With this knowledge, I know we can ultimately build what are strong, profitable, online businesses.

Q: How would you describe your leadership style?

A: First off, I’m happy you referred to this as “leadership” versus management. Yes, “management” is part of a role like this. However, above all I feel it’s important to act as a leader. And my version of leadership includes a lot of humility. Understanding that none of us (including me) know everything is core to the way I try to lead my teams. We’re all people who are constantly growing and evolving. In my version of leadership, we identify and understand our strengths and weaknesses. In the end, we discover how our knowledge and identities interlock, much like pieces of a puzzle.

But it’s also more than a puzzle. It’s more of a gestalt – i.e. the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I believe in this in terms of marketing strategy as well as leadership. Together we are stronger – and that means we won’t always agree on everything – and I love that. As long as we are aligned in where we are going and what we’re trying to accomplish, disagreements and debates are core to success.

Q: How do you view your role in guiding your team towards problem-solving and client success at Growth Spark?

A: My role as a leader is to help define and communicate the vision. The goal is to give input and strategic direction where I can. Additionally, I want to enable the team members to learn and grow. There are many ways to solve a problem. I plan to let people approach problems from different perspectives. In the end, solving problems and delivering success for our clients is what matters. I encourage the team to find the path to that solution in the manner they believe is most effective.

Q: Can you share an example of a leadership challenge you faced and how you overcame it?

A: While not a specific example, many years ago, I used to rule by mandate. It meant I had an idea, I believed in it, and pushed the rest of the team to execute it. Oftentimes this led to friction and ultimately, bad management and team rapport. Thankfully, my manager at the time saw this and helped me fix it. She guided me on Emotional Intelligence, gave me some books, and hired an executive coach to help me improve.

Once I started to think differently and explain the “why” of ideas, I became a much better leader. I adjusted communication based on the people I was talking with. Since then, I have made empathy a core of how I approach relationships. I believe that’s a major part of why the teams I’ve worked with have enjoyed the successes they have.

Expertise and Skills

Q: What specific skills or expertise do you bring to the Shopify marketing agency team?

A: I approach marketing with a highly data-driven approach and an obsession with human psychology and behavioral economics. In terms of expertise, I believe this is where I can be the most valuable to the team. Challenging the team means always thinking of the WHY. The “why” behind not only what we’re doing, but what our clients’ and their customers’ goals are an lead us to produce some remarkable results. It’s important to get the team to work together through their various expertise.

I believe that once you’ve identified a goal, you can work backward logically from that goal to ultimately build out a successful, and measurable, strategy. My goal is to help the team see this. I want to let them understand how each part of what they do is an integral part of it.

Detangling all these steps is a crucial part of the process. I focus on building models for complete customer experiences. This involves using data, analyzing flows, and understanding consumer psychology and behavior. These skills are likely the most valuable expertise I bring to the team.

Q: How do you plan to leverage your experience in digital marketing and strategy at Growth Spark?

A: Throughout my career, I’ve spent considerable time working with various channels. These include email, SMS, PPC, SEO, push messaging, onsite experience, and more. This experience helps me communicate effectively with our team’s experts. More importantly, it allows me to see how each channel functions within the larger strategic framework.

Vision and Strategy for Shopify Marketing Agency

Q: What is your vision for Growth Spark under your leadership?

A: My vision for Growth Spark is for us to be fractional eCommerce and marketing partners that serve as true extensions for our clients’ internal teams. Each team member at our Shopify marketing agency is an expert in their field, capable of providing strong standalone services. However, our most effective role goes beyond merely completing tasks for clients. We strive to collaborate as active, integrated members of their teams. This includes us providing them with true full-service ecom and marketing solutions, where we work together with our clients to identify and define goals, and then build out the right solutions to help them achieve those goals.

Working with Growth Spark involves a dynamic and evolving relationship. It’s a process where we continuously adapt our strategies across various channels, like email, SEM, SEO, CRO, and others. We constantly refine our focus on these channels. Our aim is to use every available “lever” to forge highly effective partnerships with our clients.

Q: Can you outline some key strategies you plan to implement to achieve this vision?

A: Strategically, the key here is going to rely on ensuring constant, relevant, and actionable communication is something we actively continue to focus on. This pertains to both the Growth Spark / Client relationship, as well as internally within our Shopify marketing agency team itself. 

Being a fully-remote team, our members naturally concentrate on their individual tasks. This environment is excellent for minimizing distractions and facilitating deep work. However, it can lead to challenges in communication. We need to be deliberate and intentional in how we communicate. By maintaining and enhancing open, candid, and honest communication, we can achieve our goals.

On top of this, I am a strong believer in identifying what success looks like for any work we do. It’s crucial to identify success metrics and comprehend their interconnections across different areas. Understanding how success in one metric influences another is key. Ensuring that everyone on the team, including internal members and clients, is clear about our objectives and how their contributions fit into the overall strategy is vital. This clarity positions us well to achieve not only our goals but also those of our clients.

Innovation and Industry Trends

Q: How do you stay abreast of the latest trends in digital marketing and business strategy?

A: After 20+ years in digital marketing and ecom, honestly I don’t think much about “how” I stay abreast – as it has basically become part of my life. Spending time on LinkedIn, reading articles and whitepapers, diving into longer-form works like books, and simply just observing what others are doing is definitely a big part of it. 

That said (and I hesitate to say this, due to how many sales inquiries it may send my way), I also really like sitting in on demos and having conversations with various solution providers and platforms out there. As I often say, you can’t choose to not do something without first having the opportunity to make that decision. And this is definitely how I approach technology and platforms. Not every one of those will be a good fit for us or our clients, but some may be better fits than others.

As a true partner, I think it is our responsibility to have as broad an understanding of the available solutions out there as possible. This way we can not only make sure we’re using the best options internally for our team, but also recommending what we believe are the best solutions for our clients – not just in a broad sense across clients, but also unique to each client’s particular business structure and goals.

Q: In what ways do you see Growth Spark, a Shopify marketing agency, innovating in the industry?

A: Our approach as a full-service ecom and digital marketing partner is absolutely one way we can innovate. Oftentimes I have come across teams that choose to build out an internal marketing team of their own, but frankly don’t have the budget to be able to hire experts across all necessary areas. This ends up with either an understaffed team or one without enough experience to truly know where to focus.

With our Shopify marketing agency, we can enable smaller businesses to utilize A-tier talent (and the subsequent results) within a price range that is much lower than hiring a full team in-house.

Our team at Growth Spark collaborates closely, with every facet of marketing and e-commerce addressed collectively. This approach ensures that our efforts are not just channel-specific but also enhance the overall customer experience. In contrast, working with multiple agencies or large, segmented ones can lead to isolated efforts and learning, which we strive to avoid.

Challenges and Opportunities

Q: What do you see as the biggest challenges facing Growth Spark in the near future?

A: One of the biggest challenges facing our Shopify marketing agency in the near future is frankly going to be making sure that potential clients know we exist, and then sufficiently explaining our value proposition to them. As Growth Spark has not been a front-and-center brand for Trellis, the name has less recognition in the eCommerce and Shopify marketing agency landscape. Many of our own clients, for example, may not know they are technically “Growth Spark” customers – as Growth Spark and our services have primarily been branded under the Trellis umbrella until now.

This, coupled with the fairly crowded market in ecom and Shopify marketing agencies, will require us to make sure that not only are we visible, but also seen as leaders in the space. I am confident in our ability to achieve this, given our team’s solid foundation and extensive industry knowledge and talent. However, it will demand a focused effort to effectively communicate the Growth Spark story, celebrate our client successes, and attract new clients to join our roster in 2024.

Q: Conversely, what are the most exciting opportunities that you’re looking forward to?

A: The most exciting opportunities, in my opinion, are where we can expand our relationships with existing clients to additional marketing and eCommerce areas that we may not already be helping them with. As we enhance our core services and venture into new areas like conversion rate optimization and creative services, Growth Spark seizes a unique chance. We aim to partner comprehensively with our clients in their entire digital journey, driving growth to new heights.

Team and Culture

Q: How do you plan to foster a positive and productive workplace culture at Growth Spark?

A: Above all, I want the team to know they are all people. And that means that none of us are perfect. We will make mistakes. We’ll have some ideas that sound brilliant to us, but maybe really aren’t.

So in terms of fostering a positive and productive workplace culture in our Shopify marketing agency, I’ll say my goal is to push for what Kim Scott refers to as “Radical Candor” within the team. This means being honest with one another. Even when it might be critical. Any respectful relationship requires trust, and trust means not always saying just what you think the other person wants to hear. 

As long as we continue to challenge each other, and work together to solve those challenges, we’ll be a pretty great place to work.

Q: What’s your approach to team development and collaboration?

A: Years ago I read a book called Consensus is not Kumbaya, and for the most part I ascribe to this. The goal, particularly in terms of collaboration (and thereby team development) is to make sure voices are heard, and considered – but in the end, decisions need to be made. Sometimes the team will agree on how to approach a problem, come to consensus, and then move forward. But other times we won’t all agree. And in those instances, someone needs to be the one to make a decision.

We need to understand that each of us brings something different to the table, both in terms of experience and knowledge. I want people on the team to lean on what they know as well as what they feel, and share that with others… but also know that it doesn’t mean we’ll go ahead and do it or approach the problem in the way they suggest.

Things are up for debate and discussion, but in the end decisions need to be made. Defining ahead of time who the decision-makers may put additional pressure on some people to ensure they’re making the right decision – even if it’s not what everyone on the team necessarily recommended.

But when those decisions are made, regardless of if they are full-agreed upon in terms of strategy and execution, we all are in alignment in terms of what exactly those next steps are, and will work together to ensure that what we have planned is executed.

Client Relations and Business Growth

Q: What’s your philosophy on client relations and service?

A: Up until June of 2023, I’ve been on what I now refer to as “the other side of the table” – namely, the client side. And that means my philosophy is highly skewed toward the clients’ needs. I’ve been in their shoes many times before, and in all of those instances I’ve wanted to work with agencies and consultants who had a genuine interest in understanding our business and viewed any work being done together as a true partnership (versus “work to be done.”)

Since the success of Growth Spark is ultimately dependent on the success of our clients, through the work and guidance we provide for them, this same philosophy I held as a client remains my philosophy from this “new side of the table.”

This means working closely with clients to understand their business and ultimate goals, as well as learning everything we can about their brand, products, customers, target market, KPIs and OKRs. In doing so, we can develop and implement strategies informed by our experiences with other clients. These strategies are not generic but are based on proven best practices. We tailor and adapt them to meet the unique needs and circumstances of each client.

Q: How do you plan to drive business growth and enhance client satisfaction?

A: Communication. Both inside and outside. Communication with clients – understanding their goals, pain points, aspirations, and opportunities. And communication with the larger world, sharing what we learn and experience with others who may not yet be our clients, to help lift them up however we can.

I’m a huge fan of sharing successes – even if it may mean that from time to time you let a little of the recipe for your “secret sauce” slip out. In the end, I want eCommerce and digital marketing to continue to grow and evolve to provide end users and consumers with delightful experiences. I believe that it is only by understanding our customers’ needs and fulfilling them that businesses can ultimately succeed.

Of course, this also means being cognizant of what some may call “failures,” and addressing them as such. A commitment to being candid, as well as being responsible, is key to any relationship, business or otherwise. And that means weathering the good along with the bad, together with our clients. If we can do that, and remain committed to continual improvement, we all win.

Personal Aspirations and Goals

Q: What personal goals do you hope to achieve during your tenure as CEO of Growth Spark, a Shopify marketing agency?

A: Personally, my goal is pretty simple. If I can see that all the experiences and everything I’ve learned in my career so far is helping both our internal team members and the clients we work with grow, then I’m happy.

Q: How do you plan to balance the demands of being a CEO with your personal life?

A: Although this is my first time in a job with this specific title, I’ve already worked quite a bit in C-level or similar roles. As such, I’m not too concerned in terms of balancing the demands of the role against my personal life. 

Generally speaking, I think it’s important for everyone to be able to disconnect from work and enjoy life. And as such, I make sure I take time for myself. I’m not a “get up at 4 am to hustle” kind of person. I’ve already learned this doesn’t work for me. For me it’s all about balance. Understanding what needs to be done. What matters now. What doesn’t matter now, or maybe doesn’t really matter at all. Prioritizing around that, and above all making sure that I’m purposeful in setting aside time to disconnect from work.

Closing Thoughts

Q: Any final thoughts or messages you’d like to convey to the Growth Spark team and its clients?

A: Way back in the late 90s and early 2000s when all this “Internet stuff” was taking off, there was no guidebook. Now, over two decades later, we’ve all learned a lot and have established a tremendous amount of tried and true best practices and approaches to digital marketing and eCommerce. Up until recently, however, being able to provide these best-in-class experiences online was prohibitively expensive, meaning that to compete you either had to have a tremendous amount of funding or be an already-established player.

Today, with platforms like Shopify, tools like Klaviyo, Yotpo, and Rebuy, and extremely powerful self-serve advertising platforms like Meta, Microsoft, and Google, the barriers have been largely destroyed. Now it doesn’t take an army of in-house developers and several million dollars in tech stack budget to build an online experience that can hold its own against the Amazons of the world. Selling online has been largely democratized, and there’s frankly never been a better time for small and medium-sized businesses to truly embrace what digital can offer.

Of course, all of this still requires a strong business model and offering and a well-executed (and constantly evolving) strategy. That’s where we at Growth Spark come in. We’re experts at this, and can for lack of a better word, “supercharge” your digital presence.

All it takes is a conversation or two to get started.