You might imagine the logistics around subscription box fulfillment are rather simple, right? You have control over what goes in your customer’s box, when it gets shipped, and how often you build them...

Think again. This week, Alex and Michelle practice mindful breathing with John Roman, CEO of BattlBox and Carnivore Club. Throughout their conversation, John emphasizes the importance of fostering community and building transparency when facing inevitable cracks in your supply chain–regardless of who’s at fault.

John joined the BattlBox team back in 2015 once he heard his college friend was creating a subscription box model for survival and outdoors gear. Working as CMO for five years, he became the CEO back in October of 2021. Since then, John has worked to expand and scale BattlBox to Canada and launch their latest brand, Wanlow, a children’s subscription box aimed at inspiring more connections to the outdoors.

Today, hear as John shares how he and his team prepped for incoming demand following the release of their very own Netflix show, Southern Survival. Also, find out what the procurements process looks like when it comes to selecting items for subscription boxes.

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Guest Bio:

John Roman is the CEO of subscription box retailers BattlBox and Carnivore Club. BattlBox provides customers with handpicked outdoors/survival gear each month, offering a variety of price points to accommodate every budget. Subscribers can expect everything from premium axes to full sized tents for their next adventure. Carnivore Club is the world’s first subscription service featuring premium cured meats delivered to customers’ doors.

John joined BattlBox after leading several successful sales organizations in telecomm and software, including his roles as VP of Enterprise Business Development at AVOXI, and Director of Enterprise Sales at Cbeyond. Together, John partnered with college friends, BattlBox Founder Daniel Dabbs, and COO Patrick Kelley (AKA “The Three Amigos”) to build the brand from the ground up.

Since becoming CEO, John has overseen the EMERGE acquisition of BattlBox and Carnivore Club, launched BattBox to Canada, and debuted their newest brand, Wanlow. If you want to hear more from him, he also hosts the blog: onlinequeso.com

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Guest Quote

"At the end of the day, it's all about the customer experience. You want to create a sense of excitement and anticipation for your subscribers every time they receive a box from you. That means paying attention to every detail, from the product selection to the packaging to the delivery experience." - John Roman

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Time Stamps

*(1:43) An all too familiar challenge

*(6:23) Memorable BattlBox products

*(7:45) Championing content & culture

*(10:21) Building customer loyalty during delays

*(14:43) Subscription box procurement

*(17:19) Preparing for Netflix promotion

*(22:49) The simple path to customer success

*(27:47) Focusing on each NPS score

*(31:32) Hard Hitting Questions

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