The Five Star One Star Lesson

With inventory finally moving, I thought we were out of the woods. The small jar gave us life on Amazon but success brings its own set of problems, especially when you’re a new brand changing behavior with something brand new.

I knew it would happen eventually but that first 1star review still caught me off guard. Two words I never wanted tied to Nature's Wild Berry were right there in black and white: “Doesn’t work.”

I was desperate for more context but Amazon doesn’t allow seller-to-buyer contact. If I could just reach out, I knew I could help the customer get the berry working. Then my brain spiraled... Was this a competitor taking a cheap shot? Either way, I needed to flip this moment into a win.

That’s when I decided my main job moving forward was to make it ridiculously obvious that Nature’s Wild Berry works. Period. End of story. If I had to repeat that message for the rest of my life, so be it.

Before Amazon, we were already trying to build our presence on Instagram. We were unknowns, which meant reaching out to influencers and hearing nothing back. Or just as bad, “What’s your budget?” Or worse than that, “Talk to my manager.”

Nobody wanted to take a gamble on a flavor-changing berry brand they’d never heard of. Where had I heard that before? That left us with micro influencers asking hundreds of dollars per post. Frankly, it was getting to be a pain in my neck.

But now I understood the real purpose. This wasn’t just marketing for marketing’s sake. It was social proof. And the only way to beat a bad review is to drown it in UGC, or as I would put it, UDP - UnDeniable Proof from a lot of people.

Motivated now more than ever, I had to crack the code on getting influencer permission. And that’s where we’ll pick up next week, with an A-list celebrity who became our saving grace.

Now for this week’s flavor test…

Last time I shared a little about my grandma, who raised me while my parents worked hospital shifts around the clock. She was one of the first female doctors out of Johns Hopkins but I always thought she was a better chef than a doctor. Maybe all those apples she fed me kept the doctor away.

She could peel apples faster than the intro to Murder She Wrote and somehow made five disappear before bedtime. I had to know, what would those apples taste like after a miracle berry?

I bought sour Granny Smith apples, turned on an old episode and started slicing while I chewed the berry for 30 seconds and… shook again! I loved apples but this was how I’d always wanted apples to taste. You’ve gotta try it. As Jessica Fletcher would say, “Now, I may be wrong, but frankly, I doubt it.”

Next week I’ll share something to cool you down and start your summer day off right. You won’t want to miss it.

And as always, your hidden 48 hr 20% off alphanumeric code is hiding in plain sight. Look closely at the text! Did you spot a word that’s formatted oddly? Enter it exactly as shown!

– Hank