Episode Number:

35

July 28, 2025

In this episode of The eCom Growth Show, Danan Coleman interviews Dan Kurtz, founder of Miss Pepper AI, to explore how AI, SEO, and identity resolution intersect to create breakthrough opportunities for ecommerce brands. With nearly 20 years of digital marketing experience, Dan unpacks exactly how sellers can move beyond “AI slop” and build real human-powered automation.

Meet Dan: The Marketing Mercenary for the AI Era

Dan Kurtz has been a marketing mercenary for hire since 2006. Over his 15+ year career in digital marketing, he has consulted for companies like Bing and Nielsen, helping them optimize workflows and scale through automation. Today, Dan runs Miss Pepper AI, a company that leverages advanced data and automation to connect brands with buyers in smarter, more human ways.

AI Is the Assistant, Not the Hero

Dan warns that treating AI as the centerpiece of your marketing leads to generic content—what he calls “AI slop.”

  • Most tools produce the same bland results because everyone uses them the same way.
  • AI should be trained on your brand’s voice, values, and customer feedback to make the output unique.
  • Human oversight is essential to preserve brand soul and resonance.
Big Idea: Let AI save you time, but use that time to re-invest in your brand's strategic growth.

Identity Resolution: Know Your Buyer Before They Know You

Dan defines identity resolution as building digital profiles of your audience using public and partner-sourced data.

  • By matching data like browsing history, geolocation, and app usage, brands can predict what a customer wants before they ask.
  • This isn’t just about ads—it informs strategy across email, website, SMS, and even direct mail.
  • B2B and B2C targeting become incredibly precise with the right data streams.
Smart Play: The best customer experience is one that feels intuitive. Identity resolution helps you deliver exactly that.

Why SOPs + AI = Scale

As businesses grow, the lack of documentation becomes a bottleneck. Dan argues that standard operating procedures (SOPs) combined with AI automation is the real unlock.

  • SOPs allow you to replicate yourself and scale operations without chaos.
  • With tools like n8n and Go High Level, you can automate onboarding, email workflows, GMB posts, and more.
  • One-time setup can replace 12+ hours of manual labor per client.
Takeaway: Don’t automate chaos. Get your processes tight first, then use AI to scale them with confidence.

B2B Sales: Forget Cold Calls, Follow Real People

Dan debunks the myth that B2B selling is all about brute force outreach.

  • Start by researching your ideal customer on LinkedIn.
  • Follow, engage, and comment before sending the first message.
  • Personalization and authenticity beat automation every time in B2B.
Pro Tip: Business still happens between people. Sell like a human, not a robot.

SEO Isn’t Dead—It’s Just Evolved

Despite the noise, Dan insists SEO is far from obsolete.

  • SEO now includes optimizing for AI answers, not just search engines.
  • Search engines still want to know: Who are you? What do you do? How do you do it?
  • Repurpose content across formats—longform, shortform, podcast, and blog—to dominate across platforms.
Insight: If you're answering real customer questions consistently, you'll win organic attention.

Automate What Drains You, Not What Connects You

Dan and Danan agree: automate the parts of your business that sap energy but preserve the human touch in areas that build trust.

  • Email follow-ups, onboarding sequences, and task management can all be automated.
  • Relationship-building, creative strategy, and high-touch sales need your personality.
Actionable Insight: Automate the back-end so you can show up fully for the front-end.

What’s Worth Testing? One Variable at a Time

Dan’s go-to method: small weekly experiments.

  • Run 7-day tests on specific variables like headlines or hero images.
  • Avoid split-testing multiple changes at once; it muddies the data.
  • Over time, this approach compounds into large strategic gains.
Key Move: Progress doesn’t require disruption—just disciplined iteration.

When You’re Ready to Scale Beyond Amazon

Miss Pepper AI can help you target customers off-Amazon through smart identity data, SEO, and content strategies. But as Dan notes:

  • You need a website or brand presence outside of Amazon for this to work.
  • It’s about becoming omnipresent to the right person at the right time.
Prime Positioning: Mass marketing to a niche audience is now possible. Don’t miss the opportunity.

Stay Ahead of the Curve

To connect with Dan Kurtz:

Final Thoughts

Success isn’t about chasing the latest tech or hottest tactic. It’s about understanding your brand, your buyer, and the systems that connect the two. AI can accelerate growth, but only when anchored in human insight and a clear operational playbook.

As Dan put it best: You can’t track what you can’t measure. So start measuring, start automating—and start scaling.

Stay tuned for more episodes of The eCom Growth Show—where strategy meets execution and smart sellers level up.