Louise: The New Partner for Rising CPG Brands
Starting a business, let alone a food business, is not for the faint of heart. The competition is fierce, the distribution channels crowded, and crafting a product people love takes time and effort.
Having worked with CPG (consumer packaged goods) brands in the data space, I can attest that they have some of the most inspired and driven individuals who only know how to hustle. Multiple hats for startup founders and employees are the norm and every dollar counts.
There are never enough hours in the day when you’re growing a business. So what’s a brand elbowing for shelf space and wanting to improve their DTC (direct-to-consumer) strategy to do?
Enter stage right, Louise.
Louse is a small, women-owned business, committed to solving CPG brands’ needs with tailored operations support, customer experience and response solutions, and order management strategies. By leveraging the power of flexible work, Louise aligns CPG brands with their own dedicated Lead, a stay-at-home mom, committed to supporting their brand(s). From deepening customer relationships to order tracking to product launch initiatives, or even just filing the digital paperwork, Louise’s team members are a helping hand with whatever the business needs!
A little background
Louise Founder, Sarah Hart, is first and foremost a busy stay-at-home mom of 4 (yes, you read that right). How she has time for all that, and run a business is a different article all together.
So let’s rewind a bit. After 11 years as a SAHM, Sarah was ready to get back to work – on her terms.
“I decided to get back into the workforce but only under certain criteria – part-time hours, no phone calls, vibrant culture and solid leadership.
Somehow the stars aligned and Sabeena Ladha hired me to lead CX at DEUX.
What started as a little part-time gig, grew into so much more.”
~ Sarah Hart, Founder & CEO ~
With a re-ignited passion for marketing and support, Sarah thrived in her new role. Many of her friends and colleagues were intrigued by her position, which sparked the idea for Louise.
With Sabeena’s encouragement, Sarah set out to create her own operations and CX agency serving CPGs with a refined focus on each company’s tailored requirements and unique voice.
In December 2023, Louise came to life!
Over the last year, Louise has seen substantial growth allowing Sarah to employ 6 Leads to take care of their customers. Brands, even those outside of the CPG space, continue to turn to Louise for assistance in scaling efficiently.
With well-known customers like Deux, Nomadica, Nori, and BelliWelli, there are no signs of slowing. This mom-powered operations partner has tapped into an incredible opportunity supporting growing brands, and the future is bright!
Supporting CPG brands
Businesses today forge their own path to success when they build community and retain loyal customers, make data driven decisions, and manage costs. Louise brings value to this equation for growing CPG brands by managing customer relationships and essential support tasks, while saving their clients the overhead of added head count.
As a result, business leaders are freed up to focus on product expansion and growth!
The Louise CX difference
Louise aims to foster amazing customer experiences for both their customers (the brands) and the brands’ customers. Not your run-of-the mill “issue ticket response agency,” Sarah steps it up with personalized service, product knowledge, and offers experienced Lead support in both Shopify and direct-to-consumer portals.
Here’s how it works.
Sarah conducts discovery with each new brand to determine their needs, be it ongoing support, or a special project. From there, a little magic happens, and she matches them with their perfect Louise Lead.
Her focus then switches to acting as the project manager for the brand, while assisting the Lead to streamline processes to best support their current project or scoped tasks.
Leads then handle the day-to-day work, like:
- managing inboxes
- gathering data points or reports
- order tracking and delivery
- responding to customer inquiries
- and more based on the brand’s individual needs.
There are no canned responses here, though! This agency gets to know their brand’s language and products, and becomes a natural extension of the team (without the overhead of an internal full-time employee). Leads seek out trends in the communication they receive and handle customer feedback with the genuine care and attention it deserves.
If brands want to better understand their customer’s experience? Louise has the answer with a recently launched service – a Customer Journey Study. In a nutshell, the Louise team:
- orders product
- analyzes the touchpoints (i.e., SMS and email communications, order tracking, delivery)
- and reviews their customer experience (both pre and post purchase)
The ultimate mystery shoppers, Louise leads leverage their e-commerce backgrounds to properly evaluate your customer experience!
Leads also support each other during crunch time, creating a network of helping hands for any requirements throughout launches, promotions, holiday seasons, and ad-hoc projects. The Louise team can flex as needed, which helps brands keep their labor costs down.
“Corporate customer service companies remove the connection that customers want and brands need.
Louise works to bring a voice back to the brand.”
~ Sarah Hart, Founder & CEO ~
Creating flexible jobs for moms
As a stay-at-home mom herself, Sarah knows firsthand the value that this community can bring to the workforce since “moms bring a natural drive to get things done.” (And the moms in the crowd are nodding.)
Louise Leads are:
- tech-savvy
- college-educated moms
- and the primary purchaser in their households.
They also share the same passion for brand growth, which makes them the perfect front-line response for any incoming questions from customers.
In addition to part-time, flexible jobs, these moms are gaining valuable skills in the world of remote work. Which, let’s be honest, is getting harder and harder to break into as many companies are championing RTO (return to office) programs.
From ticket response etiquette and customer service, to on the job training in e-commerce platforms and collaboration tools like Slack and Loom, these roles offer a break from the mom mental load and the ability to contribute financially to the household.
Nori Lead, Brittany, shared the following with Work-From-Home Mommy:
“This opportunity with Sarah and Nori has provided the flexibility and understanding I needed to ease back into the workplace while still being the mom I love to be. It’s given me the freedom to balance both roles – contributing financially to my family and helping with the little comforts that make a difference, while still fulfilling the homemaker role I cherish. It’s truly given me a renewed sense of purpose, and I’m so grateful.
Sarah truly deserves all the praise for her dedication to empowering moms who are easing back into the work beyond homemaking.”
Conclusion
The stay-at-home mom community is passionate about their roles as homemakers, as they should be! Lately, they’ve also been bringing light and acceptance to the need for a break from the mental load of motherhood. Sarah stands at the forefront of this movement, providing part-time remote roles for SAHMs while allowing them to continue caring for their home and family. She and Louise should be an inspiration to us all.
Oh, and for any CPG brands seeking an extra hand during the upcoming holiday season, Louise is primed and ready to step in to support!
Disclaimer: This is NOT a paid promotion or advertisement, nor is there any affiliate relationship between Work-From-Home Mommy and the featured business. The content listed here is the opinion of this author based on personal research, interviews, and information or data sourced from the linked articles above.
Curious about Work-From-Home Mommy? Learn about my story and this mama’s goals here.
