Ben Lau
Ben Lau
Co-Founder
Los Angeles, CA / Vancouver, BC
www.ecomdepartment.com
instagram @ecomdept
instagram @benlauis
WHAT DO YOU DO?
“We are a digital agency that supports fashion and lifestyle brands, we focus on e-commerce, digital marketing, email marketing, social media, design and development.”
WHAT STEPS DID YOU TAKE TO GET TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?
I started working for a variety of contemporary brands as the head of e-commerce and digital marketing. I was able to help these brands grow and scale by embracing the digital landscape early on. Working internally for brands helped me understand that resources and knowledge seemed limited out there, brands were still focusing on retail and wholesale with little to no effort with the emerging digital market. I started being a resource for brands to help them grow, little by little and by word of mouth our team grew and the support we gave brands really showed that we cared and respected people's budget and goals.
How do you stand out in your field?
Our team is well versed in helping in many aspects of e-commerce. We stand out by being genuine, nice and super flexible. We help growing brands with limited resources to scaling household name brands. We pride ourselves in learning about our clients and helping them scale and grow. Our approach is simple... we try to help companies with all their digital needs and these would include - Design, Development, Marketing, and ongoing support. We pride ourselves on learning about our clients and helping them scale and grow. We do all the heavy lifting for them and really embrace a true partnership with their brands – We are in it for their success. We are not pushy or resemble agencies that remind us of used car salesmen, we care. Most of our clients are referrals so that means a lot that we met that way.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
We are involved with many brands in one way or another. We are focused on helping each brand with their business problems and questions. These would include, website development, digital marketing, email marketing, and social media marketing.
WHAT'S YOUR STYLE/PERSPECTIVE/TASTE? DO YOU HAVE A PROJECT THAT REPRESENTS THIS?
We cater to fashion and lifestyle so that can vary but we like designs and digital commerce that works well. We have a few that come to mind.
www.bldwn.co
www.loveshackfancy.com
www.alcltd.com
www.raquelallegra.com
www.nsfclothing.com
WE ARE ALL SLASHIES WITH MULTIPLE SKILLS, WHICH ONE DO YOU WISH YOU COULD DO MORE OFTEN?
Great Question. We do like the variety of all the work we do, which all goes back to digital commerce and having a 360 degree view. We have a few commerce projects on our own and sometimes helping other clients versus working on our own products/projects do take a back seat. I think since people like talking to me first, I'm always busy but it's more personal that they talk to me before being introduced to our other staff members.
WHAT IS FRUSTRATING YOU RIGHT NOW?
It's part of what we do. We juggle a lot at times since our schedule is based on fashion calendar, pre planning, making seasonal changes, and supporting our clients. I wouldn't call it frustrating, it's just busy. I grew up in this industry so I think it's just part of who I am.
IF YOU COULD HIRE SOMEONE FOR $20/HR, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE THEM DO TO MAKE YOUR DAY EASIER?
I would want to pay them more than that, but wouldn't know what they would do.
LET'S BRING OUT THE TIME MACHINE. WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU COULD HAVE TOLD YOURSELF, WHEN, AND WHY?
I would go back to the moment I moved away for college and I was a bit scared and nervous. I would go back to that moment and tell myself, this is all part of the plan to grow and learn about myself, in life there are great times and dark times as well. I would tell myself that the future is bright and I'm still the same person that cared about people first and I was always willing to help others.
IF YOU COULD TALK TO AN EXPERT TO GAIN MORE INSIGHT ON SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE ABOUT?
I would love to spend time with an astronomer; I would have so many questions about everything up there.
WHAT KIND OF OPPORTUNITIES/PROJECTS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
My heart still loves small brands that need help, that are limited in budget and have questions on how everything works. We started our business in that mind frame but now we have clients that are larger as well now. The opportunities that we are looking for are established brands that need help, that feel that they need a partner/agency that has seen it all both internally at brands and are now on the other side.
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL JOB/CLIENT/COLLABORATION.
In short, an ideal client is a relationship where we all get along and they value that we are here to help them grow and scale. The most memorable story I have is a client that we have been with for 10 years. We met through a friend at an outdoor cookout/BBQ. I was the person to talk to about e-commerce and digital marketing and they had a lot of questions and doubts. I answered questions for about 2 years after that… they would ping me to talk about budgets and how they didn't understand digital and how it could work for them, etc. I took on the account for next to nothing to prove the concept. We watched this company go through everything from layoffs and pivoting from a men's brand to a women's brand. Eventually their business grew and we were a part of it, we never quit and we had a human element to it – we cared and stuck it out.
WHAT IS YOUR HOURLY RATE, RETAINER, OR SALARY RANGE?
Our web design and development rate varies but it's from $125-$175 and we have package rates for digital marketing. We have standard rate sheets but what really built this business is working with clients and helping them develop a budget that works for them and their business. Our goal with digital marketing is to help them show a return on their investment.
HOW SHOULD SOMEONE APPROACH YOU ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER?
Let's connect via our contact form on our website and schedule a call, it would be fun to chat.
HOW DO YOU STAY CREATIVE?
I have 2 little kids, a wife and a few hobbies. I'm busy but extremely happy.
This member profile was originally published in January 2020.