The Merchant Mastery Podcast: Recent Episodes
Merchant Mastery
Hin Lai is the CEO and founder of Sidekick, which develops the highest quality muscle recovery tools trusted by professional athletes worldwide. Hin emphasizes the importance of providing value to customers through excellent products. This core philosophy requires a quick method to validate product fit and connecting with their customers through influencers and ads.
Non-alcoholic, or "NOLO", drinks grew in popularity over the past year. In the U.S. alone, nonalcoholic beer sales went up 44% in May, 2020 compared to 2019. In this episode we interview Mitch Cobb, CEO and Co-Founder of Upstreet Craft Brewing and Libra, a non-alcoholic craft beer. When you want to enjoy a tasty beverage sans the alcohol, you shouldn't have to compromise on flavour. This is where Mitch and his team at Libra have managed to hit a sweet spot. They created a light and refreshing pale ale with all the flavour you'd expect from its alcohol-ier cousin, and only 30 calories! Grab your favourite beverage and listen in on our conversation with Mitch.
On Season 2, Episode 3 of the Merchant Mastery Podcast we're chatting with Janey Ganson from My Daughter Fragrances, an indie perfume house with ties to the perfume capital of the world: Grasse, France!
In this episode we discuss:
- How Janey has scaled her online store while maintaining her day job.
- How she managed to land in retailers across North America, Australia, and in Hong Kong.
- Where they'll be selling next. Ahem China Ahem
- Why sometimes you'll make your daughter scrambled eggs and chocolate pudding for supper and that's okay.
Sina Zere, Co-Founder of Buff Experts, shares SO much incredible information in this episode, we had a hard time wrapping it up at one hour.
You don't have to operate in the beauty industry to get some key takeaways from this episode, including:
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How to find a manufacturer.
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Why standing behind your brand is the single most important thing you can do.
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What to do when a big retailer like Nordstrom comes knocking.
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Why "naive optimism", as Sina likes to call it, has helped her navigate the sometimes treacherous waters of entrepreneurship.
Trust us, this is one episode you'll want to bookmark.
Hands up if you've ever heard of or used the Strava app... Now both hands up if you've successfully used it to build a virtual community that led to sales... How can you use an app to build community and monetize your audience organically? We kick off our 2021 Merchant Mastery Speaker Series with Michael Ng, Founder of Anti Social Running Club. Michael is a community-building pro with tons of initiatives under his belt. In this episode he shares some of his biggest tips and advice on what he's learned over the years.
Michael James started selling his line of men’s grooming products named after his grandfather, the original Frederick Benjamin, out of the trunk of his car into barber shops. He started to get a nice following, and from there began moving to other locations. Gradually, Michael noticed upticks in his eCommerce store as he was out there beating the streets, trying to hustle this product. Tune in as we chat with Michael in Harlem, New York.
Jose Diaz didn’t start selling cowboy boots because he thought he could turn a quick buck. He did so because he was a fan and believed there were other cowboy boot fans out there. While Jose dropships some of the boots on his site, he also has a line that he manufacturers. Tune in for a very real look into the hustle of this business owner, and find out how he became a sensation on Tik Tok!
Please note: You may want to listen to this episode when the kids aren’t around due to some colourful language. We get VERY excited talking about cowboy boots!
The team behind Mine & Yours, a consignment store based in Vancouver that specializes in luxury items, spends a lot of time on Instagram showing off their latest arrivals and one-of-a-kind items. They also spend a lot of time updating their website because, as is often the case, they only have one of each item, and once it’s gone, it’s gone! If you’ve been thinking about starting a consignment store, this episode is full to the brim with helpful tips and advice!
Cassandra is the founder of women’s lounge and sleepwear brand, hernest project. Her #1 tip for entrepreneurs? Do everything with intention. While she admits that her brand is not perfect and not everything works or looks the way she wants it to, every part of her business is very intentional and very centered around how she wants her customers to feel.
When Flax Sleep first launched as a business, they had to figure out how to acquire customers with very limited capital. The majority of their capital went towards inventory and a website, so there wasn’t much room left in the budget for things like marketing and customer acquisition. Vivian and the other co-founders of Flax Sleep shifted their attention towards building community. That was either by way of social media or via the strong community of supporters they had in the Vancouver area, where the business is based. They supplemented their eCommerce business with launch parties and popups that would bring people into the physical store. This generated the momentum they needed to keep the ball rolling.
In this episode, Dan Jordan, who is currently running dozens of Black Friday campaigns, gives merchants a detailed breakdown of what it takes to pull off a successful BFCM campaign, including proven strategies that yield sales.
Next, we pass the mic over to YOU to hear about your BFCM experience so far. We discuss how to create compelling offers, sending out value-based emails, what to do when you run out of inventory, whether or not it can be effective to extend your BFCM sale, and how you can create demand for your products.
We also let you in on a top secret project: our Merchant Mastery merch!
Simon Trafford and Dan Jordan from Social Lite, an eCommerce sales and marketing agency, break down the massive impact that Facebook and Instagram advertising and product pages have on maximizing BFCM sales. They explore specific strategies and case studies to further build on these key BFCM tips, leaving merchants with a tangible action plan for the holiday season.
This week we’re joined by Ryan Boonstra from Sezzle, a financing solution platform that focuses on improving the financial livelihood of its shoppers and financially empowers the next generation.
Ryan answers questions about payment plans for eCommerce shopping. He explains how interest-free and risk-free payment plans can increase sales and lead to a larger cart value; what sets Sezzle apart from its competitors; and he gives us a glimpse behind the scenes of what exactly happens when a payment is processed through Sezzle.
Cade Proulx from Carro, a brand partnerships platform, navigates us through the fascinating world of influencer marketing and how it can benefit merchants and eCommerce store owners, especially during the holiday season. Cade leaves nothing out and breaks down how Carro works, and how you can get started with influencer and affiliate marketing
Laura Woolner is the Brand Manager at Fancii & Co., an Edmonton-based eCommerce business that specializes in beauty tools.
Laura shares why they’ve decided to change things up this BFCM and start their Black Friday deals early. She also dives deep into their creative marketing ideas and the concept behind their most recent advert.
We look at how they get their brand out there, how they go viral, and the importance lead generation forms and emails play in their BFCM strategy.
In this episode Shopify’s Sigute Zitikyte breaks down all the exciting updates announced at this year’s Shopify Reunite. This episode is FULL of crucial takeaways from Reunite.
In this episode we talk to Vessi Footwear and 100 Ways Vintage and Modern Jewelry about their plans for BFCM. Hear what they did last year, what they learned, and what they plan on doing this year.
Rachel Tyers from Okendo, a customer review platform, shares the science behind getting more customer reviews, and gives you tips for how to get to those crucial first 10 reviews.
Customer and product attributions, FAQs, loyalty options, integrations with Klaviyo and Foursixty, segmenting your customers, and more -- Rachel shares it all in this episode.
Gabriel Scaglia Dias, Head of Digital and Growth at Vessi Footwear, has been with the brand from day one, and has led the tremendous growth of Vessi across Canada and North America since their very first BFCM.
In this episode, Gabriel shares the strategies Vessi is implementing for this year’s BFCM based on what they have learned over the past 3+ years.
Gabriel dives deep into the importance of understanding and developing the “why” of the brand, and striking the perfect balance between product ideation and marketing.
For merchants who don’t want to spend on traffic but still want to ramp up sales, Marco De Paulis from Privy dives straight into three crucial tactics to help you optimize your website and drive sales this BFCM and holiday season. Marco shows you how to do all of this while using your existing traffic.
Richard Carreon is the Director of Marketing at Refersion, an app that helps merchants connect to brands with affiliate and influencer marketing. Richard dives deep into why influencer marketing is shifting and evolving right now to a performance model.
Cassandra Ratcliffe is the Local Community Manager at Shopify. She brings us up to speed on what Shopify is doing to support merchants this BFCM season. If you’re looking for specific BFCM events, resources, and how to book one-on-one meetings with Shopify, tune in to this podcast episode and get all the details.
Kevin Kline is the Manager - Solutions Providers at ShipStation, a global shipping app that helps merchants streamline their shipping process. Kevin explains “the shipping difference” and how the shipping process is an extension of your brand.
Lizzie Nirenberg is the Agency Marketing Manager at Klaviyo, an email marketing platform for eCommerce merchants. If you’re curious about how email marketing can effectively fit into your BFCM strategy this season, this is the episode for you. Lizzie gives us the inside scoop on BFCM numbers so far, and what we can expect for the remainder of the year. She looks at the 2020 eCommerce landscape, her predictions for this year’s BFCM, and gives us her checklist on how to prepare for it.
"People expect free as an option."
Krish Iyer is the Head of Industry Relations and Strategic Partners at Shipstation, an eCommerce shipping platform that creates better workflows across carriers.
Krish breaks down the importance of over communication during the covid period and holiday season, as well as the importance of giving your customers premium shipping, in addition to free shipping. Krish also unpacks how much time you should allow for shipping this season, and why your cutoff day was yesterday.
Jeff Wenberg is the Director of Content Marketing at Zipify, an eCommerce app that helps grow and market your business with useful tools like tried and tested product pages that are optimized for conversions. Tune in as Jeff fills us in on how merchants are using Zipify to scale their businesses.
Kevin Kent is the Founder of Knifewear Group and Kent of Inglewood. His love of beautifully crafted Japanese knives began years ago, when he was working as sous-chef for Chef Fergus Henderson at St. John Restaurant in London, England. Kevin and his team have since become known for hosting interactive events like chopping down a Christmas tree and putting it smack in the middle of their store in Inglewood, Calgary, for their customers to decorate, or holding an 8-hour live Knifewear Garage Sale on Facebook and YouTube to kick off their holiday season. In this episode, Kevin shares how they come up with engaging content, why they don't fully participate in Black Friday, and gives us a peek into his tech stack.
Scott Cunningham is the CEO and Founder of Social Lite, an eCommerce sales and marketing agency located in Edmonton, Alberta. In this Black Friday / Cyber Monday (BFCM) Special, Scott addresses all merchants who are at any stage in their business looking to grow and scale. He breaks down the Customer Value Journey methodology step-by-step, and introduces us to online BFCM courses and other useful resources.
CoutuKitsch was created in late 2010 and has grown into a home-based business located in Inglewood, Calgary. In this episode Dorian Kitsch, the Designer and Founder behind the brand, and Alexa Stollbert, the General Manager of CoutuKitsch, talk about how brand authenticity, customer engagement, and customer feedback have played a pivotal role in making their business successful.
Dan Jordan is the Director of Strategy at Social Lite, an eCommerce sales and marketing agency located in Edmonton, Alberta. Dan shares strategies that will help you grow your revenue and business sustainably, and provides us with a step-by-step guide on everything you need to do to get your Shopify store from $0 to $100k in 90 days.
Brandon Newcomen focuses on online business development at Newco Natural Technology, a business in the natural health sector. In this episode he discusses how he leverages user-generated content and email marketing to scale his business, and shows us how he integrates Yotpo and Klaviyo into his sales and marketing strategy.
Abdul Ahmed is the CEO and Founder of Adesso Man, a men’s lifestyle brand in Calgary, Alberta. In this episode Abdul walks us through the philosophy behind his brand and how his team comes up with new product ideas.
Recart, a popular messenger marketing app, has sent messages to more than 90 000 people worldwide. Soma Toth, the CEO and Founder of Recart, simplifies how the integration of messenger marketing can drive eCommerce growth to any online store.
Simon Trafford is the Managing Partner and Director of Strategy at Social Lite, an eCommerce sales and marketing agency based in Edmonton, Alberta. In this podcast episode, Simon weaves in examples from real Shopify store owners who are doing it right and have seen growth during the pandemic.
Scott Cunningham is the CEO and Founder of Social Lite, an Alberta-based eCommerce sales and marketing agency. Scott shares 6 ways eCommerce merchants can pivot during the pandemic, so they can continue to scale and grow their online stores.
Michael Weir is the CEO and Founder of Inventory Boss, an inventory management company that helps eCommerce merchants "do the math" and find balance in their inventory. Michael breaks down the science behind inventory management and discusses how to effectively manage your inventory during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Marco De Paulis lets us in on how Privy, an eCommerce marketing platform, is maintaining customer engagement when shopping isn’t a priority. Marco discusses this from a merchant’s perspective and gives us tips on how to shift your focus to maintaining customer engagement.
Klaviyo is an email marketing software that specializes in eCommerce marketing automation. Listen as Lizzie Nirenberg gets us up to speed on the importance of customer data, and breaks down how Klaviyo and its special features can help you own your marketing, pandemic or not.
Lynch Creek Farm is an eCommerce merchant that started out as an organic vegetable farm and has progressed, grown, and transformed over the years to become a farm that now specializes in selling beautiful wreaths for the winter season. Tune in to hear about their story and the methods behind their success.
Kat Donatello is the CEO and Founder of Austin And Kat, a CBD pet food business that started online in 2016 and has grown tremendously since. Kat dives deep into the many ways she has been getting creative as a merchant during the COVID-19 pandemic. Let’s take a look inside her eCommerce toolkit.