Podcasts about Bronto

** Originally published on January 18, 2023 **This episode is a favorite for anyone who's ever argued about buttons vs hyperlinks, wondered if open rates still matter, or just wants to get better at email without sounding like a spam bot.Kestrel Lemen is an email powerhouse: part strategist, part storyteller, and hands down one of the most insightful voices in email marketing. Her take on what actually drives conversions, how to balance plain text with visuals, and what marketers still get wrong about newsletters is full of gold.It's one I still reference, and if email is even remotely in your job description, you'll want to give this one a listen.Want a part two with Kestrel? Leave a review, drop a DM, or just say the word.— Jane--In this episode of Women in B2B Marketing, host Jane Serra sits down with Kestrel Lemen, email marketing expert and former Senior Strategist at Seguno Software (now Senior Manager Lifecycle Marketing at Zillow!) From her start in the art world to building Bronto's London office and becoming an email force in both B2B and B2C, Kestrel's journey is as fascinating as it is full of lessons.They get into:The difference (and surprising similarities) between B2B and B2C email strategiesVisual vs. plain text emails - and when each actually performs bestWhat's still true about email above the fold (and what's totally changed)The metrics you should be tracking now - and which ones are just vanitySpam triggers, button design, and real talk on segmentationHow privacy laws like GDPR and Apple MPP are reshaping email as we know itWhy your “free Yeti cooler” giveaway is probably not the moveBuilding emails that convert and don't annoyPlus: how to keep your resume “conversion-optimized” for your future selfIf email is part of your job - or just gives you heartburn - this episode is a goldmine.Key Links:Guest: Kestrel Lemen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kestrellemen/Host: Jane Serra: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janeserra/ Community: Women of Email - https://womenofemail.org/

Greetings, cave dwellers and retro gaming enthusiasts! Prepare to be transported back to a time when dinosaurs roamed the earth and pixelated graphics were cutting-edge technology. This episode of Play Comics is about to take you on a wild ride through the prehistoric world of BC's Quest for Tires and its bone-rattling sequel, BC II: Grog's Revenge. These ColecoVision gems, inspired by Johnny Hart's iconic newspaper strip BC, will have you pedaling your stone-wheeled unicycle faster than a Brontosaurus can say “Bronto-burger!” But wait, don't touch that dial (or scroll away from that podcast app)! We've got a special guest joining us on this Paleolithic adventure. It's none other than DC Dave from The Monitor Tapes, who's temporarily abandoned his own era to help us navigate through these Stone Age sidescrollers. Will we uncover the secrets of fire? Invent the wheel? Or just end up with calluses from furiously mashing those ColecoVision controller buttons? From dodging lava pits to outsmarting saber-toothed tigers, we'll explore every crevice and cave of these classic games. We might even answer burning questions like: “How does one steer a unicycle with square wheels?” and “Is collecting clams really the best use of a caveman's time?” So grab your club, don your finest animal print, and join us for an episode that's guaranteed to rock your world more than the invention of sliced mammoth! Learn such things as: Do newspaper comics still exist? How long can a single person continuously make a comic strip? Could be eventually get these old games released again but for phones? And so much more! You can find DC Dave on BlueSky @dcdavepodcast, and of course under his new podcast The Monitor Tapes on BlueSky @themonitortapes. If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you're interested in. If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store. Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix. You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, @playcomicscaston Twitter and in the Play Comics Podcast Fan Groupon Facebook. A big thanks to Nerd Best Friends and Carnival of Glee Creations for the promos today. Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who opened the door, got on the floor, but refuses to walk the dinosaur. Support Play Comics by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/playcomicsRead transcript

On today's Friday nooner , the GrepBeat Godfather and Melissa Crosby opened things up with some discussion about a few miscellaneous goings-on around the Triangle. They also touched on a yoga studio sliding into some former Bronto space at the Tobacco Campus. (Joe seemed to have some thoughts.) Once all that was done, they got to the heart of the episode and welcomed in Mark Littlewood, the Founder and CEO of the Business of Software (BoS) Conference. (P.S: Mark was also generous enough to provide a discount code for our readers/audience...)

Episode #25: From Stuck to Successful – Interview with DJ Waldow – Business Owner, Writer, Startup Founder, Email Rebel DJ Waldow loves words. He's also my hero because he wrote the world's best book about email marketing. The Rebels Guide to Email Marketing is a book that changed my life because of the concepts in it.  DJ has spent time at many software companies like Bronto, Marketo, and Zignal Labs. He now does what he wants on his own time and schedule as the owner of his copywriting agency, and even started Simple Summers. Listen to this show about how email marketing can change your life, your business, and how creativity and science should be engrained into every part of sales and marketing. Resources:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/djwaldow/

The brothers talk about the NFL, folks taking things too seriously and more

In dieser Dino-Geschichte lernst du den kleinen Bronto kennen. Bronto muss ins Bett, ist aber noch gar nicht müde. Während er im Bett liegt und kein Auge zubekommt, kriegt er plötzlich Besuch … wer den kleinen Dino besucht und ob er noch ins Traumland findet, erfährst du in dieser „Gute Nacht“-Geschichte. P.S.: Noch mehr tolle Geschichten findest du auf onkelguido.de

In today's sales climate, account executives and partnerships teams need to collaborate more than ever before to win deals.  Enter Mac Reddin, CEO of Commsor which is pivoting into sales enablement with their product Bronto.  Mac has been an outspoken contrarian this past year (follow him on LinkedIn) and is joining me today to share his views on partnerships, sales, and go-to-market.  On today's episode, Mac and I discuss: How Mac interprets “The people are your partners” as a strategy Why partner people talking to partner about partnerships people doesn't move the needle How can partnerships people actually move the needle for their org Community vs partners The future of partnerships  What Mac is and would do differently with a SaaS GTM strategy for the next two years The honest truth about partnerships as a team and process And we end with some advice on how to fix co-selling It get particularly good after minute 20, so hang in there… you'll be happy you did.  ‍ ‍Sponsors: Reveal - A free account mapping solution. ‍Partnerhub® - for finding and managing your partnerships.

This week Casey and Brent talk about the massive new Bronto, Tonto, Brachiasaurus model from Para Bellum, as well as aliens, and general hobby nonsense! ___________________________________________________________________________________ MERCH: Would you believe it we actually have merch for sale? If you would like to support this podcast and help keep it going, this is a tremendous (and currently only) way to do so, otherwise, we absolutely appreciate your support through subscribing and commenting, thank you! General Store: https://teespring.com/paint-bravely?pid=1027&cid=104079 ___________________________________________________________________________________ YOUTUBE CHANNEL LINKS: eBay Miniature Rescues http://www.youtube.com/ebayminiaturerescues Goobertown Hobbies http://www.youtube.com/goobertownhobbies ___________________________________________________________________________________ EQUIPMENT: We use Skype to monitor video record independently on Panasonic GX85 cameras. This all gets edited down into a visual and audio podcast by our editor Matt! Music: EpidemicSound

In this episode of Sir Henry's Haunted Podcast we sit down with Johnny Bronto of HauntScene and talk haunts, travel and more about our upcoming season at Sir Henry's Haunted Trail. 

For the second time on the show, we are joined by Gabe Gabe Macaluso, the Director of Customer Success at Omnisend. Prior to that he was on the Bronto team at Netsuite – so Gabe's got some serious eCommerce email pedigree! It was a refreshing conversation to hear Gabe unpack how to optimise your existing email content.In this episode we discuss:Improving the marketing methods you're already using Updating your email content to achieve low-effort, high-performance results Repurposing already existing content How to create fun, authentic content Understanding your audience's communication stylesGet 30% off Omnisend for your first three months >> https://keepopt.com/omnisend Join our brand new 'Chloe's eCommerce Club' here >> https://keepopt.com/club Find everything Keep Optimising at KeepOptimising.com

In episode 5, Kestrel Lemen, Senior Strategist at Seguno Software and "Queen of Email Marketing" in my eyes, goes deep into the status of email in 2023.Kestrel covers all things e-mail marketing, including:Her forever-love of Bronto

In dieser Dino-Geschichte lernst du den kleinen Bronto kennen. Bronto muss ins Bett, ist aber noch gar nicht müde. Während er im Bett liegt und kein Auge zubekommt, kriegt er plötzlich Besuch … wer den kleinen Dino besucht und ob er noch ins Traumland findet, erfährst du in dieser „Gute Nacht“-Geschichte. P.S.: Noch mehr tolle Geschichten findest du auf onkelguido.de

Today's guest Joe Colopy is the co-founder at Jurassic Capital and the Godfather of Grepbeat, which covers all things tech in North Carolina. But before all of that, he bootstrapped Durham-based email marketing software firm Bronto and led it to a $200M exit.  Tune in to hear how it all happened.Hosted by Trevor Schmidt, Founder Shares is brought to you by Hutchison PLLC and is edited and produced by Earfluence.

Mark Tippin is a published author, internationally-recognized keynote speaker and instructor in remote collaboration, human-centered design and visual facilitation. He is currently the Director, Strategic Next Practices at MURAL and a certified Lead Instructor at LUMA Institute. He brings over two decades of experience helping teams unlock their potential to lead powerful conversations in their organizations. Mark believes facilitation is the quintessential 21st-century skill and that extending those talents online to distributed teams is more important than ever. He has led design teams and facilitated transformation events with enterprise brands including Autodesk, Netflix, Mayo Clinic, IBM and All Nippon Airways. Previously, he was the senior manager of UX at Autodesk overseeing its cloud platforms. Mark has spoken at key industry events, delivering the keynote on The Future of Visual Facilitation for the International Forum of Visual Practitioners (IFVP), the keynote for Evolving Enterprise Design at Thomson Reuters and Working Visually at Autodesk's Design X Summit. Timestamp 2:13 Mark's journey into UX design 17:51 How Mark spends his free time 22:49 Mark sharing things that makes him excited everyday - LUMA 25:05 Mark's future vision and mission 34:20 The figure that Mark wishes to be 39:13 Tips on pivoting in life and getting through challenges Social Media Mark's Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/marktippin/ MURAL Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/mural.co/ MURAL Website https://www.mural.co/ Follow Patti Dobrowolski - Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/upyourcreativegenius/ Follow Patti Dobrowolski - Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/patti-dobrowolski-532368/ Up Your Creative Geniushttps://www.upyourcreativegenius.com/ Patti Dobrowolski 00:03 Hello superstars. Welcome to the Up Your Creative Genius podcast where you will gain insight and tips to stomp on the accelerator and blast off to transform your business and your life. I'm your host Patti Dobrowolski. And if this is your first time tuning in, then strap in because this is serious rocket fuel. Each week I interview fellow creative geniuses to help you learn how easy it is to Up Your Creative Genius in any part of your life. Hey, everybody, oh my gosh, I have Mark Tippin here. I told him really, I believe he's like Gordon McKenzie in the book orbiting the giant hairball.  If you've never read that book, then you don't know what I'm talking about. But I will say this, that Mark Tippin and Gordon McKenzie, they're both really creative geniuses in that they help people to kind of problem solve at this bigger level, like they are the Ideator 10x, right, or 100x.  And so you know, let me just say a little bit about Mark, before we get started, he is a published author. He's an international speaker. He's an instructor and remote communicator and collaborator. And he's the director of the strategic next practices at mural, which is an online collaboration platform, which is awesome. And he's also an instructor at Luma. And what he does is he helps teams to unlock their potential by leading these powerful conversations. And what I love about you is we're in alignment about this that facilitation is the skill that you want to learn in the 21st century as we are getting further and further into it, because you want to be able to have these conversations with people that are authentic, where you actually listen as a leader, and that you help guide the conversation to a better, bigger place. So please put your hands together to help me welcome Mark Tippin. Yes, Mark. Mark Tippin 02:11 Thank you so much, Patti. What a delight to be here. Patti Dobrowolski 02:13 Gosh, I'm so happy to have you here. You know, it's funny, because you were head of UX at Autodesk. And you know, my friend, Phil Shepper. Worked at Autodesk for many, many years. And so I used to go out there all the time to Autodesk, you know, and eat lunch and stuff like that. So, yeah, I'm glad you're at mural now. But tell people who you are like, What are you up to? Where do you come from? Why are you here? Mark Tippin 02:37 You bet. Well, everyone can start if they want to see roots, do a Google search, or Mark Tippin and Punk those two words together. And you'll see me back in the day with the Mohawk playing shows in the Bay Area and being part of a DIY community in high school where, you know, the odd and the quirky. And the interesting and the creative, had a bonded together and I started a band because I wanted to do the flyers, I wanted the T shirts I wanted to do. Patti Dobrowolski 03:03 Oh my God, I love it. Mark Tippin 03:06 And we didn't know how to play. So we have a numbering system where it was like number of string and fret and we'd pass notes in the hallways. And when we got together, we'd actually then figure out so what's the syncopation? What is this about? But that I also, you know, my dad handed me in eighth grade a copy of two Alvin Toffler books, Future Shock and third wave. And he said, you're going to be really different than mine. And he was born in 1928. So big generation different. I was born in 68, kind of that big, tumultuous year in America's history. But yes, so I appreciated that because they set me up for success. I had an Atari 800 computer, I typed 1000s of lines of code, yes, you know, antic magazine, all the stuff. Patti Dobrowolski 03:52 Yeah. Mark Tippin 03:52 And it led me on a course where, what I appreciated about design and having two older sisters that were both very accomplished designers, kind of seeing how you could take visual skills and then apply them to storytel or to consolidate some aesthetic into an icon and that stuff fascinated me. Patti Dobrowolski 04:12 Yeah, yeah. Mark Tippin 04:12 But always the technology was right there too. Patti Dobrowolski 04:15 Yes. Fantastic. I love that. Now we're gonna be side by side. I like it. Mark Tippin 04:21 It's interesting, because when you mentioned Autodesk, I have this unique vantage point their toes, I did two tours of duty one was in the 90s. Before the internet. Patti Dobrowolski 04:31 Yeah. Mark Tippin 04:31 So that was CD ROM authoring and seeing the birth of UX design, when it was in an eight bit studio programme designing what are the buttons look like when the highlights on the top versus the bottom? Very, yes, yes. Oh, what are the affordances mice were available then, but this whole new What is this human machine interface thing? And then I went and did a couple startups and then I was invited back in 2010. And it was like a Parallel Universe Marvel universe where I bet 90s No one except for architects new auditor. Patti Dobrowolski 05:07 That's right. That's right. I mean, you know, there was no CAD yet. Right. Autodesk didn't have it. It was like a brand new thing that was getting developed. Yeah. Mark Tippin 05:16 That's right. The merger and acquisition, right. Yeah, we're in the Hollywood effects, even though they couldn't talk about it on some projects, because people were still touring. They're investing, Patti Dobrowolski 05:25 you know, but they were so close to Lucasfilm. Right. So there was like, right across the valley there. Yes. Mark Tippin 05:31 And then fast forward. Wow. Instead of having to shuttle you know, if you're doing a sales presentation, something you'd have to shuttle people from SFO all the way through 19th avenue for anyone in the Bay Area, you understand how painful that is? Is your song a dance, and then get them all the way back to the airport? No, they have the gallery, right, which was a powerful way to actually highlight not look at us in our software, it was look at what our customers are doing with giving them that's humbling. I mean, some of it was how to build an incubator, to cut down infant mortality using parts that were available through a culture that really understood how to keep old cars running. So it's a car battery. It's a headlamp, and you really saw design come alive, and it'd be appropriate technology. So it was there. Ironically. Patti Dobrowolski 06:21 That was always that where you became a design thinker. Mark Tippin 06:24 It was because I. Patti Dobrowolski 06:25 It was right when design thinking was becoming a thing. Mark Tippin 06:29 Absolutely. It was unique, because it was ground zero for several things. Autodesk was at this point where in the 90s, it was Diso systems, it was these big other enterprise, right, that everyone was like, that's our competition. Well, 2010, we realised we're actually in competition against our users that cobbling together workflows from the internet, makes it possible can get your hands on. And so we intentionally needed to disrupt ourselves. And we needed to change business models, and all that kind of stuff. So I had a team that actually span 12 time zones. Tel Aviv. Oh, wow, Hyderabad, India, nice. And I was doing this crazy commute from Folsom, California to the other side of Sacramento. On a good day, it's three hours one way a Giants game in San Francisco, it's five and a half hours, crazy. And it sit at a desk, and then do nothing but hop on calls with my team that wasn't in the building with me. And through merger and acquisition, all this talent was being acquired, really, the software is being acquired. And then we have all these people, what do we do with. Patti Dobrowolski 07:32 What do we do with them? Of these? How do we fit them in exam or Cisco is just acquire, acquire, acquire, acquire? No, no, you stay your unique self, and then we'd go in and facilitate for them. And it'd be like, Whoa, that's a shit show. Me but yes, we'll probably have to bleep that out. But well, yes, but truly unbelievable. Mark Tippin 07:51 And so I was trained, or kind of my empathetic nature led me to be a kind of a servant leader, right? Hire people way smarter than you get all the rocks out of the way, set them up for success. And it was a challenge, because if you weren't actually in San Francisco, and around the water cooler, or having that cup of coffee, then your ideas didn't get heard. And if you're outside that domain, you pretty much got relegated to just execute on what was decided. And so I was looking for a way to level the playing field. And that's when I started looking for tools like Mirel. There are a few out there simultaneously Lumo was being brought in Autodesk, which is yes, one of their larger if you go to the Luma site, it's got a nice little showcase on but yeah, exactly. But it was part of a culture transformation where you had the 3D tools for movie studios have a different UI, because they're doing different things than people that are building pipes underneath civic infrastructure in a city, right. And yet the users were spanning across, right. Architects are saying, Yeah, I have to design the bolts and this kind of structural thing. Right, and sell it. I got to put people in there. So I'm using the Hollywood special effects stuff to put. Patti Dobrowolski 09:08 Yeah. Yeah. Mark Tippin 09:09 So they didn't see a distinction between the tools. Although if you don't ship your org structure, exactly. From inside, a totally different team. They're in a different part of the world. Patti Dobrowolski 09:20 Yeah. Mark Tippin 09:21 So there was a lot I was just had the amazing fortune to be right in the middle of this cauldron, and being alumina instructor. And having this crazy commute. I was already trying to figure out how can I do this without so much travel? And I'm running apps and people are flying in from around the world. And they're getting exposed to these wonderful methods. And this is amazing. Now what do I do when I go home to Switzerland to my teams in Italy? And in Toronto? Patti Dobrowolski 09:45 Yes. Mark Tippin 09:46 And I was like, Yeah, that's a darn good question. And so, for me, the nature of human centred design and these methods, and then a tool like Mural that actually gets really special their personas like facilitator, because a key persona, unlike, you know, most other software. Patti Dobrowolski 10:06 Yeah, that's right. And a facilitator really is the key persona in a meeting. Without one, you really just kind of bumble around through the agenda. Because most of you didn't have good meeting management, one on one, right? So you don't understand that you have to have a facilitator and a timekeeper, a note taker, right. But when you have something in an online format, that actually helps to facilitate the process and keep you all engaged, which is the key when we're now in COVID. Right? So you saw the value of that, and then you got involved somehow must have been early on, because you play a key role there now. Mark Tippin 10:46 I get it, it was one of those, you know, I know that you have the people that you've coached, and helped them pivot and certain things, and I happen to be in the middle of that where a massive pivot for me happen. I was a manager of design people. I was getting further and further away from. Patti Dobrowolski 11:03 What you loved me I loved, yeah. Mark Tippin 11:05 At the end of the day, or end of the week. Patti Dobrowolski 11:07 Remember, go back to high school, when the recently had the punk band was the T shirts in the poster. Mark Tippin 11:13 Hands on, making the music right? Patti Dobrowolski 11:16 That's right. And now second fret, second fret. Yeah, two fingers like that. Mark Tippin 11:24 And so at the end of the week, I knew that the team had things that they had touched, and they had made or they had, you know, had a hands on. And I'm looking and saying, Well, I can glory in my team success. But I'm totally separated from this. And it was the insight of my manager at the time, and dream. And Jeannie, who's now at Netflix, she's headed leading design over at Netflix, and she saw an opportunity where you know, you're pretty good. You got some high emotional intelligence, right? You can calm them very voices down. There's a lot of this Patti Dobrowolski 11:57 Human punching bag, punching, and punching bag, and then you take it, and then you turn it into love. That's, frankly, that's human transformation. Mark Tippin 12:07 That's, that's right. Boundaries. Patti Dobrowolski 12:11 It's so true. It's so true. So true. Mark Tippin 12:13 Facilitator journey is dead. Right? You know, but that was a pivot where I realised now instead of trying to stay on top of JavaScript, and databases, and the mechanics of what the web is, yes, there's actually this whole other layer on top of it, which is understanding the right dialogue to have at the right moment. Is it generative, then when it's generative, you have all these ideas? You don't? Yeah, off on the back? You've actually got more work to do how to Patti Dobrowolski 12:42 Yeah, that's right. Mark Tippin 12:44 Understand? Patti Dobrowolski 12:45 Yeah. Mark Tippin 12:45 How do you elevate? How do you pick one thing out and experiment? Patti Dobrowolski 12:49 Yeah. Mark Tippin 12:49 So that you can start the loop over and put it back in front of the car. Patti Dobrowolski 12:52 I can't wait for you to get the game of innovation, that book that I'm part of that I did the illustrations for because you're speaking the language in that book that David Cutler wrote. So it's going to arrive in your door, I think on Friday, so look for that. It's really heavy, and it's colourful, I think you'll like it. Oh, yes. This idea of elevating the right things at the right time in a meeting is essential, or even in a conversation that you're having around the dinner table, right? How do you get to the place where people are actually talking about what's real? Mark Tippin 13:23 That's right, and creating openings for that to happen. And being sensitive to the fact that people are cognitively different, you know, we've inadvertently found these delightful things that happen when the pandemic forced a new set of circumstances on this. Patti Dobrowolski 13:37 Yeah. Mark Tippin 13:37 Suddenly, the chat takes on a different level of importance with people that have something to say, but they don't want to interrupt the show to say it. So there are these multiple layers where people are contributing and getting a voice heard. Voting mechanism, and mural is anonymous. So right away, so much of the games we play in a colocated cohort to like, Okay, everyone, get it in your mind count to three, and then everyone go at the same time to try and remove the bias. Patti Dobrowolski 14:07 Yes, yeah. Mark Tippin 14:08 Follow the Leader. Well, it just happens now. Patti Dobrowolski 14:11 We have so I have the tools to do it. Right. And that's part of it. Well, what I love about that is in the evolution of what's happened with Mural, so for those of you that don't know what mural is, you should just Google it. Mural.co. And in there, you'll find isn't that what it is? Or is it yeah, Mural.co. And in there, you'll see that it's a virtual platform in which you can play and you can structure your meetings in such a way that you have much more engagement interaction you can, there are templates that you can pull in and you can do all kinds of design and, you know, I've been experimenting with using it with clients so that we can, I don't know deepen the conversation, but in both a visual and a audio way, auditory, right. Mark Tippin 14:59 Well, it's When the pandemic hit, there was a steep learning curve. And we don't acknowledge the ones that were suddenly there were, you know, adults who are also learning to be educators and nutritionists and everything suddenly. Patti Dobrowolski 15:12 Oh, my God. Mark Tippin 15:13 But even just coming up to speed on, you know, video conferencing tools, that was something new. And that helped. But I can see you and it's nice to see you, Patti. And it's Yeah, yep. Facilitator we definitely use it. Patti Dobrowolski 15:29 I mean, we always did conference calls, right? But they just aren't very valuable when you know, you can zoom, right? Or use teams are whatever platform they like, right? Mark Tippin 15:38 But you put this space in between us where we can both kind of reach through the glass and have something and now I can see what you mean. Right. You can actually, we can take any topic where we think we're aligned. Patti Dobrowolski 15:51 Yes. Mark Tippin 15:52 And you say, okay, cool. What's the order of that process that you think? Patti Dobrowolski 15:55 Yeah, yeah. Put it into some semblance. Yes. I love that. Yeah. Mark Tippin 15:59 And that's not it at all. Patti Dobrowolski 16:02 Yeah, exactly. I wasn't saying that. Where did you get that idea. But I love that because I think, and I can't wait for technology to improve even more. And then now, you know, today, I went and bought a video thing. So I could use my iPad while I was working in Mural so that I could draw in a really great picture because I'm a live illustrator. So I often, even if I'm in mural, and I'm doing the zoom, I'm drawing right here, because you can see how vibrant that is to see it. And there's something about being able to use real pastel that people go, Oh, my God, that looks so fantastic. And what they don't realise is that colour imprints on your brain. And then if you really love something, even if you draw a simple picture that you love, you will remember it, you know, 80 times better than anything else, right? Mark Tippin 16:53 Absolutely. Patti Dobrowolski 16:54 And so if you take a snapshot, like sometimes we'll be doing a session, where I'll be learning some mural process, somebody will share something, and I'll take a screenshot, I'm like, Ah, my gosh, how did they do that? That's fantastic. Because of course, I want to draw it right. Mark Tippin 17:10 Well, I think all the methods, you know, that are generative, you get, you know, 16, 20 people in the session, you give them two minutes, and they each generate one note, a minute or more. Patti Dobrowolski 17:21 Yes. Mark Tippin 17:21 That's a lot of information density. And, so I always encourage people, because you can draw on the notes to as opposed to just typing texting, right. And even the simplest little rudimentary squiggle, your brain has vastly more capacity to differentiate and to remember the sights and smells and language in that moment, when the discussion happens. Patti Dobrowolski 17:44 That's right. Mark Tippin 17:45 Then the text and information density actually becomes parsable. When it's visual. Patti Dobrowolski 17:51 Yeah, yeah, I love that now. So I want to know, like, when you are just being you out there, and you're doing your job, what is your favourite thing to do? Well, if you had free time to do anything, what would you do? What do you do? Mark Tippin 18:09 So in my free time, I gravitate heavily towards music, just because that's usually so far aside of the work, the pressure, the commerce side of it, that that's interesting, and where I kind of recharge. But I am also very fortunate, I'm going to mispronounce it, but iki guy, right, this guy. Patti Dobrowolski 18:30 Yeah. So you've got that iki guy going, Mark Tippin 18:33 I took me 53 years to find out what I wanted to do with my life. And it's kind of right now, this unique situation, where I find myself is something I enjoy doing. I enjoy working with people understand the problems, laying out a sequence of conversations or methods, if you want to call it so that you harvest the collective genius in the room, right? I love that moment. I discovered I didn't have to have all the answers. I just had to create the space where the ideas would come from the people in the discussion, and trust the process that we're going to do something amazing. Because I value you and we're creating a space where we can kind of open up and share and be authentic and the radical candour and call BS on each. Patti Dobrowolski 19:19 Yeah. Mark Tippin 19:20 All in the service of being passionate about the challenge. Patti Dobrowolski 19:24 Well, it's been hardest for you in this virtual environment. You've been in what's been hardest for you. Mark Tippin 19:31 I'm not very good with names. And organisational savvy is something that it's a tool that if you can bring up names on the fly, I was always the slow thinker, the one who, you know the bully at school says the mean thing and like two hours later, I'm riding the bus. Patti Dobrowolski 19:50 I shouldn't say this, that I know how to get that guy back. Mark Tippin 19:54 So that facility with the names I can draw them. I know what they look like I know what they had before. Breakfast in their favourite candy bar. I know all this stuff, but like the names that elude me. And so, but names are important, and they are a way to engender respect and start that creating that space of acknowledgement and everything. Yeah, so that's one of the things where I do a lot of extra heavy lifting. Patti Dobrowolski 20:18 I was gonna say, Do you ever do that, you know, when I started to run virtual sessions, where we didn't have zoom, and it would just be me with the phone. And then I'd have all my trainees there, you know, I would write and draw a picture of them what I thought they might look like on a post it and I laid them all out on the table in front of me. See, there it is. Because I think sometimes, well, it really does matter to people that you remember their name. Mark Tippin 20:43 Yeah. Patti Dobrowolski 20:44 It also matters that you remember things about them, like I was on a, I don't know where I was, but the person I was interviewing was talking about how you could tell if somebody really cared about you enough to remember your children and their names. And I thought, Oh, my God, like, that was like a stone, like hitting me on the head. And I was like, Yep, you're gonna remember her son's names. That's all there is to it. You're gonna go find them out. And then you get to see what they're up to on Facebook, because you can find him and go from there. Right? But I think it does matter. Especially wouldn't you say, mark in the world where it's so chaotic right now with all the stimulation. People are? They're very distractible. Mark Tippin 21:26 Absolutely. And the smallest kindnesses are really felt now, I mean, I'm, I got, you know, a handwritten thank you note for a kind of relatively innocuous thing. And that was, I mean, that completely made my day because I understood that someone had to have the presence of mind actually be thankful enough to stop their FOMO and Twitter, whatever to stop and write something and find my address somewhere, yeah, put a stamp on it. So little things do matter. And I think that's part of this massive, great recalibration, or whatever we're going to call it is, people are kind of pulling out of the 80s, meaning keeping up with the Joneses, and all this kind of consumers data control stuff and getting present to what really matters. And people want to have value, and they want to be doing things that are of value. And I think we're in a hinge time between a market economy where we still got to make money, but we're shifting towards a mindset economy. Patti Dobrowolski 22:30 Yeah. Well, we knew this was coming. Right. So you know, I think Malcolm Gladwell, or one of them, you know, predicted this, that they would be a mindset economy, although they didn't use that term. I don't know. You probably coined that term, but I like it. He's got a book right here. He's gonna show it to us. Mark Tippin 22:47 Well, it's Yeah, yeah. Patti Dobrowolski 22:49 Oh, yeah. Fantastic. Collaborative intelligence, if you didn't catch that book, when he held it up, for those of you that are just listening in the podcast, collaborative intelligence. And so when you think about where things are going and headed, what are you excited about? What excites you and get you up every day? Mark Tippin 23:07 Well, it's funny that this comes up occasionally, when we you know, I talk with other facilitators, and I'm curious what drives them as well. For me, it's fairly simple. When I was leading these workshops with Luma. Patti Dobrowolski 23:18 We were playing what Luma is for those people that don't know who Luma is, or they're not in that world, yeah, me who's Luma. Mark Tippin 23:25 So Luma Institute was founded as a spin out actually from my a design that was acquired by Boston Consulting Group and dear friend of mine, Mickey McManus, he's the author of trillions, and he's very much. Patti Dobrowolski 23:37 Dropped just then just catching up. I just want you to know his friend, Mickey. Mark Tippin 23:44 So yeah, someone who'll occasionally take my phone call when he um, I swear lives in the future. And you'll come every once a while go, you should be looking at thinking thinking, Well, I love that I love that. They were running these workshops that you and I would recognise today as kind of human centred design thinking workshops, and clients were saying, this is fantastic. Could we learn how to do this? Patti Dobrowolski 24:03 Yes. Mark Tippin 24:04 And most consultancies, when faced with that challenge would go, Huh, we teach you to do it, then we cannibalise our revenue. But there's a third way and what they did is they actually founded and spun out a complete separate entity that focused on teaching people to fish and so Patti Dobrowolski 24:19 Yeah, yeah. Mark Tippin 24:20 Chris Patagonia and Bill Lucas and Pete Mahara are the founders. And they went and looked at 1000s of design thinking methods. And everyone at the time, if you remember, you go to Amazon and do a search for a book, you'd get two books that would show up 1001 design thinking methods and exactly another 1001. It was just like, where do you start? Patti Dobrowolski 24:43 Well, exactly. Mark Tippin 24:44 They boiled it down to a very neatly done taxonomy that really, it kind of is steeped down to the essential ways of if you think of their name, Luma - looking, understanding, making, and activating right. Patti Dobrowolski 24:59 Fantastic. Mark Tippin 25:00 So yeah, that process of actually going and observing, so user research and those kinds of. Patti Dobrowolski 25:05 Versus a mall, which is backwards activating, which is most what most people, myself included being an activator, we're gonna get going first and then go backwards and figure out where you blew it. Right? Hello. All right. So that's who Luma is. And so part of it when you think about the future, then what inspires you about that and where things are going, I'm sorry, I distracted you from that direction. So bring us back there to the future you. Mark Tippin 25:32 My Ravel brain? Patti Dobrowolski 25:34 No, no, no, I'm refocusing because I went down that rabbit hole with you. I led to the rabbit hole, and then I pointed go down. Well, you, Mark, please tell us about Luma. And then everything else. Okay. All right. So the future that you're excited about? Mark Tippin 25:50 So the future I'm excited about is I've seen firsthand how those that could afford it would get the benefit of these types of workshops and the education and a company that would buy in and fund steeping in this wonderful Bronto of design thinking. And yes, but every time I was in the Uber heading towards the big, shiny building on the hill, where I was doing my workshop, I'd see all of these small businesses. Yes. Now I wasn't sitting there thinking I can save them. Patti Dobrowolski 26:20 Oh, no, no, no now, but yeah, but we're thinking, what can we do to help these businesses be successful? Mark Tippin 26:26 Exactly. So the democratisation of access to guided methods and a platform where you and activate their conversations that help you actually get to well framed questions, or exhaustion is makes all the difference as a credit question gets you a lot of clarity, none, Patti Dobrowolski 26:46 Right, right. Mark Tippin 26:47 Framing it in a way where you go, that's a problem we're solving is the beginning of an amazing journey that you can invite those people into, and it changes everything, it changes. Patti Dobrowolski 26:57 I love that. And so if you're not a design thinking person, it's really about framing the problem in a lot of ways, and then ideating a solution to that problem. And then iterating, anything that you mock up to make sure that it actually works, because most of the time, you know, we create things in our basement. And we know that our mom loves them. So they've got to be good for the rest of the world. And we come up with these things. And then no, they're not. But when you can actually test things and try them come up with a real problem that you're solving, then you come up with something like Uber, that's what's true. And then you can compare it to lift, and you can see how they're different. And one has its own built in mapping software so that you know, it's not outsourced and things like this. These make a big difference. So you're excited about this part of the future. Your people, entrepreneurs understand design thinking. Mark Tippin 27:58 Yeah, I mean, each have our own sphere of influence, right? Patti Dobrowolski 28:01 Yeah, well, okay. All right, well, then, let's test this with you. So what's the biggest problem that you've been solving? Mark Tippin 28:08 So recently, I designed the XU love, I shaped herself, she has a wonderful thing that, that she convenes every once in a while. Patti Dobrowolski 28:17 Who? Say again, say again. Okay, good. Mark Tippin 28:21 She's known as the Queen of toilets, because she's an adult. But the challenge that she said, you can plug anything you want into that statement. So the x is a variable. And I said it was a family dynamic, was the thing that we went through. And so part of it is two years into a pandemic. And we all feel like Bill Murray, in Groundhog Day hitting the clock and going he over and over and over again, how do you actually intentionally create a dynamic in the family that is really your closest to and provides you the support? And that should actually be the best? And sometimes it's put under the strain? Because it's the one you assume will always be there? Patti Dobrowolski 29:02 Or yes, you take it for granted. Mark Tippin 29:05 Take it for granted. And, you know, humans are humans and that isn't a. Patti Dobrowolski 29:09 No, no, you have to create something there. All right. So that led you to understand. Mark Tippin 29:16 Yeah, so that led me to understand that, that it's not the kind of the Hail Mary, you know, oh, can I order that off Amazon? Can I fix that with you know, I actually have to go put some intention in there. Patti Dobrowolski 29:27 Yeah, yeah. Are you talking about your family right now? Right. Mark Tippin 29:30 No, yeah. Patti Dobrowolski 29:31 Oh, okay. Good. Cuz you know, you're a guy. So you're talking around this, and I want to go in? Oh, I like to get a deep. So you're talking about your family. It's interesting, because I was telling my wife this morning, I was saying, you know, this pandemic brought us closer than we've ever been, and which is kind of a miracle because she's commanded, I'm demanding, you know what I mean? And that was the dynamic when we first got married, we had to have command cards. And on one side they would say command and on the other side, they would say I don't even remember what it was, but it was something like truth or ask or you know, I don't know what they, you could only got a certain number of command cards before they were taken away and you couldn't. You couldn't do it anymore in a day. That's right. Well, yeah. Mark Tippin 30:15 Even acknowledging one of the reasons why the dynamic works is because my background and my family, a lot of talking a lot of stuff being said, a lot of verbosity and loquacious. pneus. And you know, and. Patti Dobrowolski 30:31 If you know what that word means loquacious, yes, it's a lot of talking. Mark Tippin 30:35 Talking, talking incessantly. But actually saying stuff of impact or. Patti Dobrowolski 30:40 Yeah. Mark Tippin 30:41 And a lot of circuitous type understanding. Do they mean that? Or should I say this to suggest that so, you know, whereas to the point? Patti Dobrowolski 30:52 Yeah. Get down to it, honey. I mean, you're going on and on about that enough context? Get to the point, right? Mark Tippin 30:58 There is something well. Patti Dobrowolski 30:59 Yeah. Mark Tippin 31:00 Yeah, say what you mean, you know, it's a journey. And you know, certainly in the job that I do and what I'm asked to do as a facilitator, this kind of verbal grease is sometimes helpful to draw in the shy folks and all that kind of stuff. It can border line on abusiveness, if you just. Patti Dobrowolski 31:17 Do it too much, if you do it too much. Yeah, yeah, like this. I love that you're talking about this, because as a facilitator, it's a fine line that you walk between telling a personal story, and actually getting them to talk to each other and talk to you. And sometimes you do it, tell the personal story to break the ice, or to let them know that you are credible, I was thinking about that credibility, or you set it up in a way where you create a problem for them to be thinking about right then. And can you how many of you can relate and you haven't raised their hand. So this is a way engagement technique, right? But you can't do that with your family. You know, with your loved ones, you have to really ask them a question, and then listen to what they have to say. And stop trying to solve the problem. Just listen, right? Mark Tippin 32:10 Absolutely. And they know all your tricks, right? I did this with my dad, where we got to the point where he'd start. He'd say the first three words, and they go, yeah, that story. 42. Now that story 147. Yep, we've heard them all. And my family is now I'm getting the same treatment like, yeah, you know, you've told me that before. Patti Dobrowolski 32:11 I know it, I know it. Well, it's good to peel back the layers of that stuff, I think to get to, you know, it's okay to sit in silence. I think this is so hard for people to, you know, this is what we did before we had the internet. And our phone is that people would actually have a conversation, they would enjoy the meal, they would sit in silence at night, and they might read a book, you know what I mean? And these are, what this is about is a certain kind of stillness that we've moved away from, what do you think of that? Mark Tippin 33:04 I heard recently just reminded me, I need to find the author of the quote, but it was a silence as a sound of trust. And I thought that's interesting. Patti Dobrowolski 33:12 Silence is a what? Mark Tippin 33:14 Is the sound of trust of trust? Yeah, super uncomfortable. And but, but yeah, and what you're talking about with enjoying the meal, there is, I can't believe I made it, you know, into my 50s. Before learning, nutritionally, what happens when you actually eat slower, and why it's important to breathe while you eat. Patti Dobrowolski 33:35 And masticate frequently, I mean, like you're supposed to chew, remember, when they told you, you know, you chew it 50 times, or 25 times or 30 times. But in fact, the healthier digestive system. Mark Tippin 33:48 You're actually the oxygen you're putting into your body while it's doing the work down there isn't putting more fuel, oxygen burns, you're actually putting more oxygen into the stuff that your body is storing, and making it higher quality? I was like, I feel like there's an instruction manual. Patti Dobrowolski 34:06 Yeah, I think that's your next book. You know, you've written all these other books, so why not write that book? Because that book I think people would be very interested in? Mark Tippin 34:16 Well, I would basically, it would be a list of other people's, Mark, David. Patti Dobrowolski 34:20 Of course, I was gonna say like, really whatever. And it would be based on what your preferences because everybody, you could follow one person's expertise or another, and everybody's body is different. And to me, this is about even as we try to pivot from one thing to another. What I want to do and pivot into is going to be vastly different from maybe even the person I was yesterday. Does that make sense? And so I've been trying to treat these different, you know, years as a different person that I was because I think it's easier to understand that you are not your personality, that you can have a personality, but that you're malleable and you'll change all the time. And you for sure have changed because you were a guy who was in a punk band doing this. And then you were like UX expertise and now your strategic next practices at Mural. And, you know, I mean, so when you think about who that you want to step into, what would that who look like? Mark Tippin 35:30 Well, it's interesting as the hair gets grey hair, and as I'm, you know, reminded that there are more years between me and when I had a mohawk than I think there are in my head, I think there's a few more steps, I would love to see the emerging technology be developed in a space where the human relation, intelligence that happens, the things that facilitators do, and the methods or the conversations or whatever you want to package it, the technology allows people to step through a series of inquiries or input an output, that those things are actually seen as one and that the fulfilment of the lower half of the Maslow's hierarchy, which has been eroded our sense of belonging and a lot of cavities over the last few years that are preventing us from being that fully self actualized ready to go get them person, we need to do some healing there. But when you look at that, and inverts into another pyramid above, which is how do groups become actualized? Right? How do we go from being a GarageBand into being, you know, the Pat Metheny group or, you know, choose your own artists? That is at the peak as a team is at the peak of their practice. They have the skill in pocket, but now they're inventing and creating and. Patti Dobrowolski 36:49 Yeah, with freedom. And, you know, I think that's part of it. I love that. Sorry, did I interrupt what you're about to say? Because I felt like there was more. So it's like going from this GarageBand to the Pat Metheny group, or whoever it is Beyonce or whoever your favourite is, right. Mark Tippin 37:04 The point there being I guess the thing I've also factor in here is in I remember, the 70s gas lines, right? Cars backed up in gas shortages? Patti Dobrowolski 37:13 Yes, of course. So I was pumping gas back then I was probably filling your tank. Just FYI. That's right. Michelle, there I was, okay. Mark Tippin 37:24 We've had many opportunities to kind of address the big challenges that are central to survival as a species, and we keep kicking that can down the road. And so I don't know about you, but a lot of facilitated sessions, you seem to have a lot of the same conversations over again, okay, let's do another value statement. Let's do another team chart or something like so you can kind of waste a lot of time with conversations that are kind of fundamental. Can we get beyond that? And get aligned and really work in a like a teal sense or something about what is the good for us? Good for the customer? Good for the planet? Yeah, that's the thing that I read your Patti Dobrowolski 38:03 puppy, you know that your puppy profit people planet? Yeah. Okay, I love that I'm in on that. I also think that part of what I think that you are probably excited about too, is the thought that we could be in a virtual reality together, that next time that we are together, we are actually standing facing each other. We might have an Oculus on but we are standing there talking to each other in such a way that we feel like we are in a virtual space. And so that the Jetsons actually come into reality, this is my hope that in my lifetime, I can actually see that happen, you know, and that we are talking about things that matter. Not things that are superficial. Mark Tippin 38:46 Well, you hit that right on the nose, because the things that I'm most excited about. And we're experimenting, Steve Schofield, in our labs team is doing really interesting things. The things that I love is the VR tools are being handed not to game designers, not for another first person shooter. They're being handed to facilitators. Patti Dobrowolski 39:04 Yeah. Mark Tippin 39:04 They're coming up with immersive, shared experiences around these well framed questions. Patti Dobrowolski 39:10 Yeah. Mark Tippin 39:11 Those are games worth playing. Patti Dobrowolski 39:13 Definitely, I'm with you there. Now, if you were going to, if you were going to give any tips to people that were listening, now, you've pivoted a couple different times in your career. So but if you in this day and age, if somebody is out there that needs to make some kind of a change, what tip would you give them? What would you suggest? Mark Tippin 39:33 You need to find someone that you can trust, who will call you on your BS, and you know, and tell you a real friend, right? One that'll let you get away with it until it's not good for you to get away with it, and then they'll call you on it. And you need to find out more ideally, if they're people you actually work with. If it's a job pivot that you're talking about. You can do a personal pivot or there are all sorts of pivots, but you need feedback on how they see you what your superpowers are that you're probably not present to, or you don't value because it's very easy for you. And it can be eye opening. And that was a huge pivot for me at Autodesk. And another thing we did was having only deal with the positive. We weren't critiquing. We were just like, here's what's amazing about you got to share it with other people. And there were tears, it was very emotional. Patti Dobrowolski 40:22 Yes. Mark Tippin 40:23 But we're, like, suddenly present this amazing thing that people valued them. Patti Dobrowolski 40:28 Yeah. Mark Tippin 40:28 That thing. And that allowed me to drop my panic over staying on top of the tech and being able to code. And I realised, that's not my value, my value is in this other emerging facilitation thing. It's in the taking those skills about the empathy and the team building and the creating that space for the conversation and having enough of an interest of curiosity and the background. Yeah, to be able to create that space. Yeah, that was a fundamental pivot that it is, yeah, is a side gig. Patti Dobrowolski 41:05 Well, and I would say that, that in a way that your superpower that you can't see, right, it's on a door. And all you have to do is have somebody's point, sometimes to the door, and then you just walk through it and see what's in there. And that I think, is the beauty of life is that you have these, you know, reflective tools that you've surrounded yourself with, these are people, but they actually are a great reflection of you because water rises to its level. So you're always going to be surrounded by people who reflect some part of yourself, even if they irritate you, that's part of you. And so if you can figure out how to get feedback from them, and learn from them and grow, I think this is like, that's such a great tip Mark, I love that. I have to say, I have loved spending time talking to you. And I felt like we just got to one little piece of it. But I would love to as I and continue to open up the mural box and see what else is in there. And then we go into more of a VR space, I want to come back here. And then I want to talk about that. Because that in and of itself is something very exciting, that I'd love to get your perspective on. Mark Tippin 42:18 I'd be happy to anytime, Patti. Patti Dobrowolski 42:21 All right, well, I loved having you here, Mark, and you know, everybody that's listening, be sure to look in the show notes. So you can figure out how to get you know, connected with Mark and follow him you know, see what he's up to on Mural, he just, you know, spoke at a big conference. So you want to see and follow him on LinkedIn because he's doing a lot of cool stuff, and always posting something interesting. So I look forward to seeing you again, Mark, thanks for spending time with us. And you know, everybody out there you know what to do? Go out there and until next time Up Your Creative Genius, right? Mark Tippin 42:55 Right. Patti Dobrowolski 42:59 Thanks so much for listening today. Be sure to DM me on Instagram your feedback or takeaways from today's episode on Up Your Creative Genius. Then join me next week for more rocket fuel. Remember, you are the superstar of your universe and the world needs what you have to bring. So get busy. Get out and Up Your Creative Genius. And no matter where you are in the universe, here's some big love from yours truly Patti Dobrowolski and the Up Your Creative Genius podcast. That's a wrap.

Chaz Felix, co-founder and COO of Bronto Software, joins host Kevin Mosley—who is a former Bronto employee. Chaz goes into detail about Bronto's bootstrapped story from 2002 to 2015. He talks about how his mindset shifted from scrappy startup to a scaling organization, and how all that work led to an eventual exit to publicly traded NetSuite in 2015 for $200M. This is part II of a 2-part episode.

Chaz Felix, co-founder and COO of Bronto Software, joins host Kevin Mosley—who is a former Bronto employee. Chaz goes into detail about Bronto's bootstrapped story from 2002 to 2015. He talks about how his mindset shifted from the scrappy startup to a scaling organization, and how all that work led to an eventual exit to publicly traded NetSuite in 2015 for $200M. This is Part I of a 2-part episode.

#24 Sean Bean's Pound Shop Subterfuge - Richard proves he is down with the cool kids by chatting to his teenage fans about skateboards and exams before introducing a man who is at home driving a Bronto-crane as he is befriending a talking snowman as he is having a friend who travels through time and gets off with Samantha Mumba whilst he waits around in Victorian London twiddling his thumbs, it's bona fide Hollywood superstar Mark Addy. Will he live up to Richard's hopes and be as nice and down-to-earth as he appears to be on screen or will it all go a bit Game of Thrones? There are some great insights into how he was persuaded to do some of his films, what happens when you go to a pub with your name, what it must be like to be in Chris Rock's posse, and how Sean Bean gets cheap shampoo. Tales of a good York boy in Hollywood and the craziness of LA and the dangers of auto-fellatio and how he ended up playing Hercules. York is the best!SUPPORT THE SHOW!Watch our TWITCH CHANNELBecome a badger and see extra content at our WEBSITESee details of the RHLSTP TOUR DATESBuy DVDs and Books from GO FASTER STRIPE See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hello Bronto customer! Chances are you are on the lookout for a new email service provider(ESP) or planning a platform migration. We have partnered with Chris Marriott, Founder at Email Connect, to help you understand the process of selecting your next ESP. Marketers are often put off by ESP migration as it appears to be complicated and stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. An ESP migration is easier when you have a team to show you the best practices and processes for a successful transition. Don’t wait, now is the time for you to evaluate the product capabilities of a new platform, and understand how they can positively impact your marketing goals.

Evolving Into A Global Brand with Shiri Hellmann In Episode 111 of the Lion’s Share Marketing Podcast, Tyler and Jon discuss the breaking news that Bronto, an email marketing software, coming to an end in May of 2022. They discuss how Bronto was overtaken with other options due to the overcrowding of the email marketing space. They commented that market leaders can never become too attached to their software. Tyler and Jon also mention that the team at Fidelitas are more than happy to help with migrating over from Bronto to any other platform. (See FidelitasDevelopment.com for details) Then Tyler introduces Shiri Hellmann, The Vice President of Marketing at SodaStream. Hellman dishes on her career path leading up to leading SodaStream's US marketing. Tyler and Shiri go on to discuss the different factors of her marketing strategy working for an independent company versus being a part of a global entity like Pepsi. In addition, Shiri gives some insight into how to market the same product with various global narratives. Shiri ends the podcast by providing listeners with a key takeaway: to have fun, because if you don’t have fun it’s not going to be worth it. There are ups and downs, but by the end of the day you have to want to get up again.  Join Tyler, Jon, and Shiri for insight into the role of global marketing and communications strategies and ways to be creative when faced with various marketing challenges and opportunities. Timestamps 00:00 - Introduction 00:58 - What’s in the News: Bronto Declared They Will be Entering Their ‘End-of-Life’ Phase 06:09- Featured Guest: Shiri Hellmann 06:27 - Shiri’s Career Path 08:05 - Strategy Differences Between An Independent Company And A Global Brand 12:05 - Nuances of a Communication Strategy For a Global Brand 14:20 - Differences Between Marketing the Same Product In Different Countries 17:22 - SodaStream Through the Pandemic 20:30 - New Channels That SodaStream Is Investing In 24:17 - Creative Process of SodaStream and Shiri's Approach To The Brand's Messaging  27:06 - Advice For Younger Marketers  29:27 - Differences Between Agency Life and Brand Life 33:07 - Key Takeaway 37:05 - Outro   Featured Guests | Shiri Hellmann SodaStream What's In the News  Bronto Enters End of Life Phase Lion’s Share Marketing Podcast Learn More About Tyler & Jon www.tylersickmeyer.com  Need Marketing Help?  www.FidelitasDevelopment.com Music Intro Music – Colony House – Buy “2:20” on iTunes Outro Music – Skillet – Buy “Lions” on iTunes

Gabe is the Director of Customer Success at Omnisend, and prior to that he was on the Bronto team at Netsuite – so Gabe's got some serious eCommerce email pedigree! We get into the latest tips and tricks around email sign ups - including Wheels of Fortune, Quizzes, to discount or not to discount?, and pop up testing. Get all the links and resources we mention at https://keepoptimising.com/?utm_source=captivate&utm_medium=episodenotes (KeepOptimising.com) Episode sponsored by https://www.klaviyo.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=masterplan (Klaviyo) This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

Today I read Doc McStuffins Bronto Boo-Boos by Marcy Kelman. Enjoy! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/story83/support

Windsor Circle co-founder and CEO, Matt Williamson, joins host Kevin Mosley to share his incredible story from seeing a market gap at Bronto and turning that into a massively successful company with a fantastic culture that stood the test of multiple funding rounds and an eventual strategic exit to WhatCounts in 2018. 

Joe Colopy is the founder and former CEO of Bronto software, a cloud-based provider of commerce marketing automation headquartered in Durham, North Carolina. Bronto grew its revenue from zero to $50 million dollars over fifteen years with a $200M exit in 2015, selling to NetSuite which was then acquired by Oracle. I’ve known Joe since 2006 when I started using the platform and have watched it grow and become an industry leader in omni-channel marketing. Recently, Joe launched Jurassic Capital which invests in B2B software companies throughout the Southeast, leveraging his experience to help growth-stage software companies scale. Two years ago, he also launched GrepBeat which covers tech news and views for Raleigh-Durham and the surrounding area. It’s like TechCrunch for the Research Triangle Park with a bit of Buzzfeed. It is a great resource for entrepreneurs in the area to help their voices be heard and put RTP on the map as an emerging and world-class business hub. Joe completed his undergraduate degree in Computer Science and Economics from Harvard University and has an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. With an MBA and Computer Science degree, Joe and I get pretty technical and talk about what it takes to scale a software business, hire and recruit developers, and we discuss future trends in digital marketing. Joe also provides his insight into how best to leverage an MBA education and the relationships you build while at school.Discussion Topics:(2:43) The skills needed to start a business and then scale it.(5:44) Keeping motivated when faced with failures and setbacks.(8:40) Bootstrapping a business from the ground up with the right partner.(12:45) Launching GrepBeat and helping entrepreneurs share their stories.(18:04) Building company culture and recruiting and retaining software engineers.(23:56) Community involvement and Joe’s experiences in the Peace Corps.(29:35) Future trends in omni-channel digital marketing.(38:11) Advice for putting an MBA education to best use in one’s career.

Joe Colopy is the founder and former CEO of Durham-based Bronto, which sold to NetSuite in 2015 for $200M. Joe is now involved in the Triangle startup scene, running both Colopy Ventures and Jurassic Capital, and he has an online tech startup newsletter – Grepbeat – which a lot of you probably read in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday.With a $200M exit, you might expect Joe to have a huge ego, but that's not him at all. He's all about community, family, and helping other entrepreneurs. The Donald Thompson Podcast is hosted by Walk West CEO, mentor, investor, and Diversity and Inclusion Consultant Donald Thompson.Music for this episode provided by Jensen Reed from his song, “You Can't Stop Me”.The Donald Thompson Podcast is edited and produced by Earfluence. For more on how to engage your community or build your personal brand through podcasting, visit Earfluence.com. High Octane Leadership is hosted by The Diversity Movement CEO and executive coach Donald Thompson and is a production of Earfluence. Order UNDERESTIMATED: A CEO'S UNLIKELY PATH TO SUCCESS, by Donald Thompson.

DEI Navigator offers access to our award-winning team of proven business leaders and certified diversity executives, along with expert curated content, how-to guides, specialized training, and a community of peers sharing their ideas and lessons learned — all at a fraction of the cost of hiring a full-service DEI consultancy.Joe Colopy is the founder and former CEO of Durham-based Bronto, which sold to NetSuite in 2015 for $200M. Joe is now involved in the Triangle startup scene, running both Colopy Ventures and Jurassic Capital, and he has an online tech startup newsletter – Grepbeat – which a lot of you probably read in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday.With a $200M exit, you might expect Joe to have a huge ego, but that's not him at all. He's all about community, family, and helping other entrepreneurs. The Donald Thompson Podcast is hosted by Walk West CEO, mentor, investor, and Diversity and Inclusion Consultant Donald Thompson.Music for this episode provided by Jensen Reed from his song, “You Can't Stop Me”.The Donald Thompson Podcast is edited and produced by Earfluence. For more on how to engage your community or build your personal brand through podcasting, visit Earfluence.com.

English hard....Zack and Dillan no speak good English...English mean to Zack and Dillan....*insert Captain Caveman reference here* For this week, we jump into whether or not the reveal of "Spider-Man: Miles Morales" was misleading or not, Dillan begins his newfound distaste for "Borderlands 3", and Zack reminisces about a game he love/hates "Steamworld: Heist". Grab your dictionaries, get your Bronto-steaks, and watch out for fire as you join your favorite PlayStation cavemen figure out how to speak their own language! Topics for this episode include: PS5 Teased to Have Customization Options Star Wars Podracer Release Date Revealed Ratchet and Clank's Newest Character is Playable If you're able to, please consider supporting the show by kicking just even $1 a month to our Patreon, which can be found at: www.patreon.com/PlatCast Be sure to follow us on Twitter for show updates and crazy PlayStation themed goofs! twitter.com/PlatCast Title: Better Style: Jazz/ Acid Jazz / Funk Composer: Hicham Chahidi More Jazz royalty free music: https://www.musicscreen.org Opening and closing soundtrack credits go to Kamex, PLEASE go check out their YouTube channel at: www.youtube.com/channel/UCUem8ytyhczNMEsuHTv2M5A

Joe continues our startup series by sitting down with Elizabeth to share his insights about how the reality of starting Durham-based Bronto Software was quite different from what he'd learned in business school and what it took to deliver 13 years of successful growth.

Back in early 2000's, Joe Colopy left his job to build a software product - without funding or without even a firm idea of what to build. The first attempts was not going anywhere and the clock was ticking.  But then with his wife three months pregnant, and his back against the wall, he stripped down his product and focused in on something one of his customers said was useful. That hint of something eventually became Bronto Software, that Joe grew along with his co-founder Chaz Felix from pre-revenue to an exit of $200M dollars, all done without taking on debt of venture funding. In this episode we talk about Joe's upbringing, how he founded his company, found his first customers, partnered up with his co-founder, as well as how and why he sold the company and what it like to be on the other side.

This is the mistake of the Bronto

Kelsey has a bone to pick about a '54 convertible too (light blue), Robert struggles with not spreading Christmas Poo joy, we give Dallas Bryce Howard the love she deserves. SPOILER WARNINGS 21:42 - 29:30 The Mandalorian 25:20 - 28:02 Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom   Steven Universe Fear   Our theme song is "The Grim Reaper Blows the Horn" by Firage. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Visit YMBToAP on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

Pete McEntegart, managing editor of Grepbeat.com has had quite the windy career path, starting as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs, then going back to college, then writing at Sports Illustrated – if you ever read SI.com in the 2000's, Pete was the guy who wrote The Ten Spot, which was a daily column on 10 funny things in sports that day. During his time there, he was rudely interrupted by a six-month trial of the Tyco CEO and CFO who were accused of embezzling millions from the company – and he wrote about it for Time Magazine. He then went out to LA to be a film and sitcom writer, and then to Chicago where he co-founded a company called CharacTour, which is kind of like a Netflix algorithm that tells you what shows and movies you should be watching. That ended up not working out, and so in July of 2018, he started working for Bronto founder Joe Colopy's passion project, Grepbeat.com, which is an online publication that supports the tech startups in the Triangle. On the show today, Pete talks about lessons learned in his windy path, what he sees from successful entrepreneurs, and what's different about the Triangle ecosystem. Such an interesting guy, and the only one of our guests so far who has a Wikipedia page. Subscribe to Grepbeat's twice-a-week newsletter at Grepbeat.com.And be sure to read his article in Time, One Angry Man, about his time as a Tyco trial juror. Hustle Unlimited is hosted by Walk West CEO, mentor, investor, and hustler himself, Donald Thompson.Music for this episode provided by Jensen Reed from his song, “You Can't Stop Me”.Hustle Unlimited is edited and produced by Earfluence. For more on the Earfluence Podcast Network, visit @EarfluenceMedia on any social media platform. High Octane Leadership is hosted by The Diversity Movement CEO and executive coach Donald Thompson and is a production of Earfluence. Order UNDERESTIMATED: A CEO'S UNLIKELY PATH TO SUCCESS, by Donald Thompson.

DEI Navigator offers access to our award-winning team of proven business leaders and certified diversity executives, along with expert curated content, how-to guides, specialized training, and a community of peers sharing their ideas and lessons learned — all at a fraction of the cost of hiring a full-service DEI consultancy.Pete McEntegart, managing editor of Grepbeat.com has had quite the windy career path, starting as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs, then going back to college, then writing at Sports Illustrated – if you ever read SI.com in the 2000's, Pete was the guy who wrote The Ten Spot, which was a daily column on 10 funny things in sports that day. During his time there, he was rudely interrupted by a six-month trial of the Tyco CEO and CFO who were accused of embezzling millions from the company – and he wrote about it for Time Magazine. He then went out to LA to be a film and sitcom writer, and then to Chicago where he co-founded a company called CharacTour, which is kind of like a Netflix algorithm that tells you what shows and movies you should be watching. That ended up not working out, and so in July of 2018, he started working for Bronto founder Joe Colopy's passion project, Grepbeat.com, which is an online publication that supports the tech startups in the Triangle. On the show today, Pete talks about lessons learned in his windy path, what he sees from successful entrepreneurs, and what's different about the Triangle ecosystem. Such an interesting guy, and the only one of our guests so far who has a Wikipedia page. Subscribe to Grepbeat's twice-a-week newsletter at Grepbeat.com.And be sure to read his article in Time, One Angry Man, about his time as a Tyco trial juror. Hustle Unlimited is hosted by Walk West CEO, mentor, investor, and hustler himself, Donald Thompson.Music for this episode provided by Jensen Reed from his song, “You Can't Stop Me”.Hustle Unlimited is edited and produced by Earfluence. For more on the Earfluence Podcast Network, visit @EarfluenceMedia on any social media platform.

Villandrea returns to the Deep Roads to discover hidden research, Manny writes a children's book in the Dragon Age universe, and Brandon faces the toughest battle yet. @EnchantmentCast | EnchantmentPodcast@gmail.com | https://enchantmentcast.com Audible: https://enchantmentcast.com/audibleAmazon Recs: https://enchantmentcast.com/recs Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/enchantmentcastPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/enchantmentcastShop: https://enchantmentcast.com/shopForum: https://enchantmentcast.com/forumDiscord: https://enchantmentcast.com/discord

My guest on today’s episode is Greg Zakowicz the Sr. Commerce Marketing Analyst from Oracle NetSuite, where he has a strong focus on the Bronto Marketing Platform.Bronto is one of the leading email service providers (ESP) for some of the top retailers around the world. Personalized email and marketing automation are important strategies to have a firm grasp on, which is precisely why I invited Greg onto the show today.Simply put, Bronto is built for growth. They supply the tools and capabilities to be the first and last marketing automation platform you will ever need for your Shopify brand.Even if you believe you are happy with your current email marketing platform, this episode has some great strategies to level-up your business with the goal to help maximize your revenue opportunities.What You Will Learn Today…Lifecycle messaging automation and how can it help your Shopify brand.Build strong customer engagements that translate into sales by sending the right message at the right time.Use your Shopify store data to create targeted, relevant cross channel messages that are unique to each customer.Links And Resources Mentioned In This EpisodeBronto Marketing PlatformBronto BlogThe Commerce Marketer PodcastThank You For ListeningI really appreciate you choosing to listen to the show and for supporting the podcast. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.I would also be so grateful if you would consider taking a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the show in iTunes. They’re extremely helpful when it comes to reaching our audience and I read each and every one personally!New Strategies Each Week To Help You Build And Scale Lifetime Customer Loyalty. SUBSCRIBE HERE!Being an entrepreneur is a life of learning. All it would take is a new idea, strategy, Shopify app, or marketing platform to be the next thing you need to drive more revenue and lifetime loyalty for your Shopify store. Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, or Spotify. Don’t miss a single episode!Episode SponsorThis episode is brought to you by ShopMessage, an incredibly powerful Shopify App.Do you want to know the secret marketing channel that Fashion Nova, Puravida Bracelets, and MVMT Watches use to drive millions in revenue?The answer is Facebook Messenger, and it’s powered by ShopMessage, the leading conversational marketing platform.Try ShopMessage for free for 30 days. Being a listener of eCommerce Fastlane has many benefits including this free offer from ShopMessage. Test their platform with your brand (for free) for 30-days and prove it to yourself the ROI and significant revenue lift you will achieve.Go to ShopMessage.me/fastlane and get started today! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This is a special Valentines day episode the last week of September. Giving thanks for thanksgiving and all the advancement subsequent to that. Anthropos and Ozymandias are looking forward to having Bronto Burgers 

“If the message isn’t relevant, there’s no way anyone is going to open up that email and they will ignore you forever.” Greg Zakowicz of NetSuite and Oracle Bronto is a B2C and B2B eCommerce and email marketing strategist, analyst, speaker, content marketer, and award-winning podcaster. He has consulted with over 130 companies from around the globe on eCommerce marketing strategies, and currently serves as the senior commerce marketing analyst at Oracle NetSuite, where he analyzes, writes, podcasts, and presents on eCommerce and email marketing industry trends, strategies, and challenges. He is a frequent speaker at eCommerce events, and has been published and quoted by top retail, marketing, and business publications, including Forbes, MultiChannel Merchant, and Internet Retailer. He created, produces, and hosts the award-winning Commerce Marketer Podcast, where he speaks with professionals across the retail industry about trends, strategies, and what lies ahead for commerce marketers and retailers. Listen And Learn: Making messages and content relevant. What you need to know about GDPR regulations. How email marketing approaches differ between B2B and B2C. Giving people a compelling reason to join your email list and keeping them there. Optimizing an impactful email marketing strategy. Effective audience and behavioral segmentation in an email marketing campaign. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT, NETSUITE CLICK HERE. TO FIND GREG ZAKOWICZ ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.

Earlier this year, we helped migrate one of our first clients onto Shopify Plus. As part of that re-platforming, we tried a new app called Retention Rocket that had dramatic results. That shouldn't be a surprise if you're familiar with the co-founder. Dylan Whitman started BVAccel, the largest Shopify agency. His experience as an agency owner directly led to the creation of Retention Rocket You'll hear: How insights as an agency owner led to the creation of Retention Rocket Why rising acquisition costs are the biggest threat to your business The intentional reason they're NOT in the app store Ryan Somrak Started in the eCommerce industry 10 years ago running sales for Bronto software where they grew the company from 0-50M having never raised a single penny of VC funding. Successfully sold to Netsuite for 200M in 2015, and eventually purchased by Oracle in 2016 where he helped open their 1st Santa Monica location. Now Ryan heads up sales at Retention Rocket. Tune in for more details! Special Offer from Retention Rocket Retention Rocket: Free Install & Free Trial 50% Off 1st 2 months Platform Fee Dedicated resources to install for non-Shopify Plus stores. Show Links Example store: Yvonne Estelle's Transcript Kurt: Hello and welcome back to the unofficial Shopify podcast. I'm your host Kurt Elster in a beautiful kind of gray, rainy, but I don't mind Skokie, Illinois, high top, Westfield Old Orchards professional building in. This is my version of Wayne Tower in Gotham city. Anyway, I want to hop in the time machine and tell you a story. Kurt: A good eight years ago, early in my career before I was the Shopify guide and fully committed to it, I had an office and below that office where some retail shops and there was one wonderful shop called [inaudible 00:00:37] that sold fine linens and tableware and basically expensive French home goods for your house. And it really is very pleasant store to go into and it turned out the owner had an interesting background and was a fun person to talk to and she said, you know, right now my website, I think she used to like Front Page. She's like, I wish I had something better. I said oh I cold help you out with that. Kurt: And we got them on Presta Shop. And it was way better. But you know, over time it was a big pain. And she stayed on that custom Presta Shop theme we developed for seven years until at the very beginning this year we moved her to Shopify plus and it was just phenomenal. I mean you can imagine going from like old and busted to the absolute super car of a E-commerce platform that is Shopify plus, really had a phenomenal impact on her business. First just in time savings, then second in a better user experience that resulted in a higher KPIs across the board. And then third, the sheer number of opportunities that were opened up by apps. Like in the past, her Google shopping was, she was literally like writing her own Google shopping feed, manually uploading it. Kurt: I mean, just crazy stuff. So now we get to automate that stuff, which freed up bandwidth for this single owner seven figure business to then turn around and start trying new things. And of the new things we tried was one that utterly prints money and has been a phenomenal experience that I want to tell you about, and that's retention rocket. So it was new to me, I was skeptical, but it looked cool. The more I learned about it it sounded good. So I said, okay, well let's give it a shot. We tried it, and just utter phenomenal success. So I've got with me Ryan Somrack from retention rocket and I'm going to, we're going to pick his brain and hear about retention rocket and why he believes it is absolutely crucial to your marketing, along with a brief history of the platform because it's kind of interesting. Kurt: So Ryan started in the E-com industry ten years ago running sales for Bronto. It's my understanding that Bronto is like the enterprise equivalent of Klaviyo and he while with them went from zero to 50 million and ACV having never raised a single penny of AVC funding. Yes, a man after my own heart, successfully sold to NetSuite for 200 million in 2015 eventually purchased by Oracle where he helped them open their first west coast office in Santa Monica. And now Mr. Ryan, where are you? Ryan: Hey Kurt, now we are in San Diego. Kurt: And whatcha doing in San Diego? Ryan: Yeah. So I'm running the sales team here at retention rocket. Kurt: Cool. And what the hell is retention rocket? Describe it for me? Ryan: What retention rocket does right, is essentially we are a retention platform that is going to gear conversations with folks, sending the right message at the right time to folks, but most importantly through the right channel, right? So if you look at how E-commerce continues to become more competitive as merchants are duly pressured by the increased ad cost and new online competitors, as a consequence of that, right? Teams are getting leaner, larger merchants are cutting staff and smaller upstarts or are comfortable running lean, teams leveraging technology. Essentially what we want to do, right, is build a retention platform that can drive on its own for clients. So that way, again, when they are paying these customer acquisition costs to get people on their site, we're then capturing their information, whether it's email or SMS or Facebook or push, right? And so that way what we're able to do with deliver messages to retain those customers through whatever channel it is that they prefer. Kurt: All right, so recapping, we run, presumably a lot of folks run Facebook ads. Facebook ads, as we've discussed on the show, are getting more expensive than ever. So you've got this high acquisition cost to drive someone to your website and then once they're there, obviously we want to compete, keep them there. But even if we had some extraordinary conversion rate, like 5% , which would be super high. That still means that 95 out of a hundred people don't buy, but they still, we still spent the money on the ad, right? Kurt: So we want to convert, retain, as many people as possible into customers. So in the past that's all right, we're going to follow up with some dynamic remarketing and we've got like, if we're really sophisticated, we're going to send it a multi part, so like three or four abandoned cart emails. And that would be part of like a larger piece of software. What I'm hearing is in retention rocket, the sole focus of your automation suite is cart abandonment recovery, really. And in that like just have it, that's just the pure focus and it's doing it in more than just email, to multiple channels. Ryan: Yeah. So think about it in this way. Right? So we started off, it was only natural for us to start off in the SMS space. Right? So to kind of give you a brief history of retention rocket, right? So our co founder Dylan Whitman was running one of the largest Shopify agencies in North America, BB Excel. Kurt: Well truthfully, I like, BB Excels' reputation is great. I like Dylan with a lot. I met him a few times and that was part of my interest and willingness to try retention rocket. I'm like if Dylan is behind it, I need to pay attention to it. Ryan: Yeah. And so that's kind of the initial reaction that most people get when we talk about our, when we introduced SMS right up front, a lot of people are hesitant about it because their initial response is, hey, we don't want to pester the customer through text messaging. And usually our response behind that is, is, well, whether you're sending them a text message, right, versus an email, if you're sending out a four part abandoned series email, how much non pestering are you doing versus you know, sending them out a one time text message to try to recoup that through a different channel? Ryan: But essentially going back, right, so Dylan working with BB excel, what he was able to do is work with a variety of merchants in the world, right? Surrounding E-commerce. And he kept coming across a consistent problem with these E-commerce shops specifically on Shopify, which was retention marketing was just taking too many systems, too many technologies, and it was way too complicated to execute. And for the people who were executing it, it was costing them so much money to where they were constantly having to worry about the overhead cost of it. So at the end of the day, again, marketing tools should empower marketers and technology should not essentially bog you down. And so that's kind of where we wanted to focus the core solution, is how do we make a tool that's easy to use for everyone. And also a tool that when we turn it on right, you can start seeing demonstrable revenue day one. Kurt: That's, yeah. Well, that's always a great win for customers. I love that. The common story that we hear from entrepreneurs, from merchants on the show is they have a pain or problem in their own life. They identify a problem and they go, "Hey, I could do this better. Why not me?" And it sounds like that exact same path got followed in software by Dylan, and having you, you said, you know, hey, this thing's going to be easy. It's going to be a quick, fast to use. Having used the thing, that is how it feels like it is no nonsense. It's not bloated. It's not over complicated. Coming from a software development background. I appreciate dashboards like that. All right, so we've established where it came from. Walk me through a certain, you've got to have a roster of cool clients on this thing. Give me a few. Just drop those names. Ryan: Yeah. We work with a variety of clients. So think of like Ivory Ella, Pura Vida, Kopari Beauty, Head Kandi Pro, Brooklyn. And so those are just a variety of clients that we work with. And then from a total demographic standpoint, right? We work with over a hundred clients today, I, and we're constantly growing again, being only a 13 month old company, having a hundred plus clients. You can kind of see the adoption rate that this is starting to take place. Kurt: Yeah, I was going to ask, hey, when did this start? All right, so just over a year ago? Ryan: Yeah, February. That like the first week of February of last year is when we officially kicked things off. Kurt: Oh, so I'm imagine, you're just starting, you've probably got like these are the core things we fixed and I mentioned you've got a long roadmap, run me through, or we've established what it does, it's retention, but really, you know, we're gonna stop browse abandonment, cart abandonment. Walk me through currently the tools in your toolbox that let me do that. And then some of the stuff that's on the roadmap that's going to be coming down the pipe soon? Ryan: Yeah, so currently what we do today, right from think of it, from when we launched our MBP, was an SMS abandonment feature, right? So somebody reaches your cart, right? Or they reached the checkout page. Most people are already collecting a phone field in that checkout or cart page, right? And so what we're doing is we're collecting that opt in, right, and then we're triggering out an abandoned text message that goes out to those customers. Ryan: Additionally from that, right, we're also providing different opt in widgets. So think of tools like texts to opt in. So you'll walk into a lot of stores, especially on Shopify, what you see today, these clients are starting to run pop up shops. So what we're doing right, is we're allowing those customers to do like a text in campaign. So, you know, text Kurt, right to 12345 to receive a SMS, like specific promotions. Right? Kurt: Those are like, those work well as radio ads. I always hear those on like Sirius. Ryan: Yeah. Kurt: You know, like Howard Stern and they're like text blah blah blah 2345 to get here, you know, free info. Ryan: Yup. Yup. Kurt: Okay cool. Ryan: Yeah. We also do things like form builders, right? So we created, after speaking with some of our customers when we launched them, right? One of the biggest things, or the concerns that they had were, hey, we've been in business right, for ten plus years we've collected a substantial amount of emails, but we've never done text message marketing before. How can we start to convert those people in a rapid growth type way. So what we've done right, is allow them to create a separate landing page, whether it's on their site or whether it's one that we actually can create in the platform itself to where you can now start leveraging the email subscribers that you have and push them through like your normal monthly newsletters that encourage those customers to then sign up for like, mobile VIP offers through the site. Right? Ryan: So now you've got an email that's triggering out to your normal customers, giving them the ability to now sign up for another channel where they might receive let's say one to two messages per month and that could be just exclusive only to like those mobile users. So that's one of the other tools. Ryan: We're just also about to release a push notification tool, right? So our whole goal right, is to start now rolling out a lot of these separate performance marketing channels. And then for us, right, it's going to start to determine when these customers are so because we're integrated into Shopify, we're able to track when that order is completed. And so for us, right, it's again, it's not focusing on, hey, we want SMS to be the main driver of it. It's really to understand, hey, this customer is receiving three to four messages a month across email, push, Facebook and text, right? We're now able to track when this customer is purchasing so we can determine like when they should receive which message at what time and when they should start falling off the different engagements from those channels. Kurt: Oh, so you're adding machine learning to it? Ryan: Yeah. That's going to be towards like the second half. Now that we're starting to collect all this data, right? Our longterm goal is to start collecting those algorithms on when the customer is purchasing, when they're making that purchase, what channel they're making that purchase on. Right? So let's say if I set up, you know, a five part abandoned series, that five part abandoned series might be a five part multichannel engagement, right? Between SMS, push, email and Facebook. But if I know that the customer purchased after receiving a text message, they automatically fall off the funnel of the remaining channels that are supposed to go out. And then now I know, hey, this customer purchased through a text message at a, you know, a 5% off coupon as opposed to purchasing through an abandoned email where I might have leveraged at 15% off coupon. So again, it's starting, we want to start to leverage again, how you want to start sending out those messages to the customer. Kurt: All right let's walk through a practical example here, cause my fear is that people aren't grasping how cool this is 'cause it may be hard to picture between, you know, buzzwords like sales channel. Yeah. All right. That wasn't a great example of a buzzword, but the ... Ryan: AI, AI is a great buzzword. Kurt: Yeah I did say machine learning. Okay. So let's walk through an example. I'm, we'll go with you Yvonne Stills, since you started with that one, I'm on Yvonne Stills dot com ,I find like, oh, these are the place mats for me. I add these to my cart. I start to check out, the doorbell rings, I moved on. What happens? How are you going to fix this for me? Ryan: Yeah. Yeah. So from there, right on the backend, we've set up based on, again, working with Yvonne and understanding what she doing from an abandoned email standpoint because it's safe to say, right, most people are sending some type of abandoned email today. Right? Kurt: Lord I hope so. Ryan: Right. Yeah. And if you're not ... Kurt: Get to work. Ryan: Yeah, right. Yeah. You're behind the game already. So essentially what we did right, is we sat down with Yvonne to understand when those emails are going out from a time perspective, we know from our end, right, that went an abandoned text message is sent out. 97% of the time that message is opened within the first three minutes of receiving that text. So again, you got to think about when a customer is abandoning, they're really essentially abandoning for a couple of reasons. One, there's customers out there that are really just looking for a discount. The other ones, there is something that could come up where they might actually have a question of they abandoned, does the short coming a different color does the shirt, do the shoes coming in different size. Right. My kid threw up in the kitchen sink, right? So now I've got to attack that. Ryan: So essentially what we're able to do then, right, is trigger out that automated text message to go out after a unique set of timing that the customer chooses. Right. Some of them send a text message out within the first 30 minutes of someone abandoning. Some people send it out after two hours of when someone abandons. So for us it's understanding when they're sending an email. So that way we can determine when we should send out a text. So now let's say I've got an abandoned text that goes out after 30 minutes, right? I follow that up after let's say four hours of sending an abandoned email and then let's say 24 hours from then, right? I want the last notification to be through, let's say their Facebook messenger account if we've collected that opt in. Ryan: So now I've got three different channels that I'm now following up with the customer to say, to remind them the purchase. So let's say they then received that text message, they open that text, right? They click on the link that's provided there and then they make that purchase. As soon as that purchase is made, right? It's an notifying Shopify on the back end that that order has been completed. So what happens is, is they fall off any abandoned email program that was set up and they would fall off any Facebook notification that's scheduled to be pushed out. Kurt: Oh dude, sweet. It's painless and seamless. All right. So for my experience with Yvonne was like literally she was like, yeah, let's set it up. And then you guys set a meeting, and then like by that afternoon it was up and running and going. Is that, did she get special treatment because this is, this is one of Kurt's clients? Or is this just because it's this easy? Ryan: Yeah, no. So it really is that easy, right? So if you, if you look at it, right, the new breed of advanced and fast growing merchants, they just want, they just want software that works, right? They don't want to have to think about it too much. They want it to produce revenue in a way where you aren't bombarding individuals X number of times. And they also want to be able to turn it on. Right? And then kind of let it go from there. Ryan: So essentially during all of our on boards, that's when we, we sit down with the customer, right, to understand like, hey, what are the different channels that they're already working in today? And then the strategies behind that and then we introduce, right, what are the strategies that we see from a multichannel perspective work for our clients. We set up their campaigns, we configure the best practices behind that and then from there moving forward, right as soon as we turn it on. Right. They've got dedicated teams behind them to help assist in any way because at the end of the day, right, it is software. It's a certain channel that most people have not gotten into. So they need that hand holding experience, which is where we typically win most of the time. Kurt: All right, so devil's advocate question here is this thing lets you some retention messages through text, number one, and it's actually we should, it wasn't noted, you know when I tested it, it's MMS. So like I got a text message with the product photo in it. It was really cool. You're in push notifications, there's Facebook messenger, there are existing solutions that do all of those things individually. Devil's advocate question, like what's the difference or the advantage here? Ryan: Yeah, no, that's a great question. Right? So I think the biggest thing that we're going to be focusing on is that these tools that we're going to collectively put into the platform, right, are not going to be things where it takes an entire team to run those technologies, right? So I think that's primarily like the first and biggest thing is that, so ease of use is really our biggest focus. I think the next thing that is going to be the biggest game changer is that we're going to be able to start collecting all of the data and from a predictive intelligence standpoint, right? Predict from an automation way of like, Hey, we noticed that customer A converts 10X higher, throw an email at a 10% off coupon, push them down this flow. But we know customer B converged 20X higher through an SMS and no coupon at all. Right? Ryan: So maybe we want to save that coupon, right? For someone that we know purchases more through, let's say email, we're going to now push customer B through like the text message funnel. So again, it's starting to understand like, where the customers are purchasing and how often they're purchasing. So then that way you can start leveraging. Another thing that we're looking at right now is, is think of like post mail, right? So companies that we know have purchased, like maybe they purchased one time and they haven't purchased within the last six months, right? Send them actual postcard, a with an offer tied to that, right? Kurt: Does it do that? Can I do that now? No? Ryan: No. It doesn't do that now, but that's exactly what we're working on. Right? So ... Kurt: That's be cool. Ryan: It's not leveraging just one channel to try to steal an attribution from another channel. We could care less about what, you know, what channel makes the sale. Right? We literally just want to understand from a customer viewpoint, right, which channel is communicating to that person and which channel they're responding the most with. So instead of say, hey, I want to have an email platform, right? And then I want to have a Facebook message platform that's going to try to take the acquisition away from my email, right, now you've got two conflicting platforms trying to steal the attribution. For us it's more about understanding what these customers, or where in the funnel they're making these purchases from first and foremost. Kurt: Yeah, it's an important distinction that I had not picked up on, that is a big advantage is you've got better attribution as opposed to like last, touch attribution that a lot of these platforms use, so you have like multiple apps all taking credit for the same thing. It's silly. Ryan: And the hard part of balancing that is right is when we start chatting, like when we go that deep with customers, a lot of the times we're having those conversations with customers that have never done SMS before, So now like you really have to kind of dial it all the way back and and look at first and foremost and say, okay, what are the retention strategies that you're doing today? Most people that we talk to are like, our retention strategy isn't that strong. We're really focused on the customer acquisition side, which we can completely understand and relate with, especially as technologies are changing and the rapid pace that E-commerce is going through. That's a valid point. But people, I think in the next, you know, in the next twelve to 24 months, you're going to see a dramatic change and people trying to focus on how do they grow the LTV of a customer and then how do they grow the AOV of a customer. And that's where I think retention is going to like take over by storm, right? Ryan: It's because now you've spent all this money to get somebody to your page, so now it's a matter of like how do you get that person to then not only convert one time on that page, but to keep that customer for let's say 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, and to take them from $60 in revenue, right to $120 in revenue over the course of that 12 months. Kurt: It's absolutely a safe bet, as acquisition costs keep getting higher, eventually currently profitable E-commerce businesses won't be sustainable anymore unless they have that shifted focus to, okay, let's focus on retention and we're going to, you're going to see that represented in a few key performance indicators where, all right, what's our lifetime value? What's our average order value? What's our repeat customer rate? And I think you're absolutely right. Not like, if you're thinking, oh, that's a hot take, it's really not. It's inevitable. Ryan: It really is. And again, it's not to focus on one channel over the other, like email, like you hear these things, that email is dying, right? Or email is going away, right? That's just 100% false. What's happening, right, is that there's just been so many email providers, right, that the space in general is just a bit saturated and email is so cheap, right? That people can send, you know, five, six messages a week to the same customer. Right. And it's relatively inexpensive, which is why I think email is going to continue to be around. Ryan: Our position, right, is you need to find, you need to find a real like, almost like painting a picture, right? You need to find a way to where you're not just focused on one specific outlet to start responding to that customer and that's all part of like what we're even learning as a company. Right? Do we know if a back in stock reminder is better notified through push notifications than email or text? Do we, you know, do we notice that hey, a new product launch or, or let's say you know, basically hey an update to some new products that we're rolling out. Like should that be going through an email as opposed to anything else? Do we think a buy one get one free sale is more geared towards SMS then email or push? These are all things that like we're starting to at, and which is I think going to be the biggest proponent of like how customers start to trigger out their marketing messages. Kurt: No, absolutely. Okay. Going backwards a little bit. What is the, if we've got all of these channels unified in one app and we don't have to deal with a bunch of separate apps and now we're collecting this data. Okay. Then it stands to reason. You may have a cool dashboard, but it's also, it's a 13 month old app so, I don't know if it isn't there yet. Talk to me about the reporting and what that dashboard it looks like a little bit? Ryan: Yeah. So right now we're able to look at total messages sent right from a channel perspective. So if you sign up and you use like our Facebook tool, if you sign up for obviously SMS and push, right? We'll the able to tell you how many messages are going out through those various channels. We'll be able to report on how many people have opted in through those various channels. Then we can take a look at a sales attribution's as well as revenue generated. Right? So what we're going to be doing moving forward is we're actually going to dive in a little bit deeper from a reporting standpoint. So from like a customer level, right? You can actually look at the customers who have opted in. You can see things like their their last purchase. You can see things like the last item that they abandoned. Ryan: You can see things like total orders that they have on your site. You can see the average order value that they have on your site and we're actually putting them into predefined segments. So then that way when people start to send like outbound promotionals through text or through push or through Facebook, right? You're now able to maybe not send the same message to everyone. You can now start to dissect, hey, I want this message with free shipping to go to customers that we know have purchased more than twice. We want the customers who have purchased less than twice, right to receive, maybe like 5% off or something like that. Ryan: So from there, right, we're also going to be tracking things like opens, clicks, conversions, and then we're also going to be, from a diagraph standpoint, being able to show you exactly where customers are opting in. So, for example, right, if we know that we've got 30 customers that sign up for the text to join campaign versus maybe 15 people who have signed up by abandoning a product versus 10 people who have signed up after completing a purchase, right? You obviously want to know where some of these folks are are signing up. So then that way you can also determine like, which message should be going out to those folks as well. Kurt: So dope, dude, so sick. Ryan: Yeah, it's exciting. So we're super stoked, you know, like at the same time we've got, you know, we've got a two year roadmap, that like we're looking ahead on which is, you look at that and you're like, shit, like that's a long roadmap. But you think of like where E-commerce is going to be, you know, two years from now. I mean just over the last 12 months, like it's changed so radically, just with the changes that are happening within Facebook itself, right? Like, and the customer acquisition costs between now and 12 months ago. There's just always a constant radical shift. So for us, right, it's the challenge for us is, is staying on focus to the roadmap that we have in hand and making sure that we develop a product that again, is easy to use for the customer. And then first and foremost drives them revenue the moment that they turn it on. Kurt: So cool. Yeah. Well that was what amazed, me was how rapidly we were able to get the thing going and making sales. But one objection possible, objection here some of the brands you rattle off, I know her on Shopify plus Yvonne Styles is on Shopify plus. Do you have to be on Shopify plus for this thing to work? Ryan: Yeah, great question. No, you don't have to be on Shopify plus a to use the APP. So right now in its current state, right, we work with Shopify plus and people who are on Shopify, you know, either regular, or if they're on Shopify advanced and Shopify itself is just such an easy platform to work with. It's also a reason that we wanted to start there before venturing out. Kurt: That makes sense, on the topic I noticed like all right, another devil's advocate question. This thing's not in the Shopify APP store and I noticed like there's some big popular apps that aren't in the APP store. What's the deal with that? Ryan: Yeah. So in our current state, right, we're really focused on building, with how young we are still in our current state, we're focused on building one to one relationships with our customers and solving their problems. I think over time, right, as our product eve continues to evolve, you'll see retention rocket in the app store. So we're definitely looking at something like that. We just want to make sure that from a timing perspective, that we're able to deliver right, what the customers are looking for. Kurt: That ambulance you order just arrived. Okay. Nope, that makes sense. The way I'm hearing that as if it was in the APP store, anyone could just click install retention rocket. It's much harder to scale that experience, versus right now it's easier for you to work one on one and have that very high touch onboarding by having it just, okay, you sign up for it on the retention rocket website. Ryan: Yeah, because here's a perfect example of it, right? We get someone who's never done text messaging before, right? They download the retention rocket app in the APP store having never done anything with text messaging before. Like, their question is going to be, you know, what's the best way to op customers, via SMS, what's the best practices on sending SMS, right? Do I send once a week? Do I send twice a day, right? Do I send once a month? So these are all questions that for each customer, they're all going to be different, right? It depends on are, you know, are you a Pura Vida, right? Versus you know, a TAF clothing. Like are you selling $30 items right, where you don't care what the discount is a or are you selling, you know, $400 pairs of shoes that you're not discounting at all? Ryan: So for us, right? It's really a matter, the tool we know will be effective, right, when done the right way. And that's why we want to sit down with those customers and really understand like what they're doing today and how we can incorporate retention rocket to take them to the next level. Kurt: Cool. So what's, what's the typical ROI or results of using retention rocket? Ryan: Yeah, that's a good question. Right? Kurt: 'Cause it says you've got so far, you've got a 20 million that you've revenue increase for retention rocket customers. I see that on your website. Ryan: Yeah. I mean our average, I would say for people who do, from an abandoned cart standpoint, right? I'm just from a recovery standpoint and we've got customers that average anywhere from 300 to a thousand bucks a day, even more, right? Like I don't want to single out the people that we see doing like 4K a day. And I know that's a big average, but it also determines, right, again, like the amount of traffic that they're driving on their site, right? And the actual, the cart value of when someone abandons, right? Ryan: So I'd say typically, on average you can see about 300 to a thousand bucks per day in revenue. The conversion rates that we're seeing a range anywhere from 19 all the way up to 38% right? We've got a reach a fashion retailer down in Auburn that when we turn it on and we ran a 30 day performance forum, they drove over 40K and sales. They had a 46% open rate and a 38% conversion rate. Kurt: That's crazy. That's nuts. Ryan: Yeah. You think about it, right? If you, if you're doing an abandoned cart emails exceptionally well, you're seeing anywhere from let's say like a 12 to 15% conversion rate. Right? That could be fair. So imagine, right? If you increase that even another 9% or 10% what's that doing to the bottom line of the business, and for some of these folks, right? Who are just starting, you know, on a Shopify, an extra 300 bucks a day in revenue is a really big impact for them. So that's kind of some of the things we've seen from an outbound standpoint, people who were doing, I think you'll start to see more and more of this as people start to engage with SMS more, right? Ryan: The average ROI that we see is anywhere from a nine to 10X on those out bounds. Kurt: Alright, you've already sold me on it, stop selling, I want it. How much is it going to cost me? Ryan: Yeah. Right. So we do it based on different tiers, right? So it's based on the amount of orders that they do per day. So it could be anywhere from 99 bucks a month all the way up to 1000 bucks a month. And then from an outbound standpoint, right, they just pay a per message costs on those out bounds. So if they send a regular text message, or like a regular hundred 60 character SMS, you're looking at a penny per message. If they send an MMS like you were referring to earlier where they send something like a picture in there or a Gif, right, you can even include a two minute video inside those tax. You're looking at two cents per message. Kurt: That's cheap. Is there a set up fee for it? Ryan: Yeah, so typically there's a setup fee. So what we're going to do for anyone who wants to try it out, right from, from viewing on the podcast is we're going to do a free install for them as well as ... Kurt: Alright they're gonna shake you down. All right. We'll do a free install. What else do they get, any more? Keep it coming. Ryan: A free install. We're going to do a free trial for them. Kurt: How long is the free trial? Ryan: Yeah, the free trial will last up to 30 days. Kurt: Okay. Free install ,free trial. Gimme more. I need more? Ryan: Yup. Yup. You're going ... Kurt: Let's turn those pockets inside out. Ryan: So if they want to sign on right after after the trial, right. We're going to do 50% off their first two months of the platform fee. Kurt: Oh yeah. Okay. All right. That's you've been properly shaken down so we get free install free trial, 50% off for the first 60 days. Did I miss anything? Is that everything? I mean this is pretty good. All right, where do I go to get started? Ryan: So you're going to, there should be a link that's provided to the podcast, right? Kurt: In the show notes, all right. Exactly. Yeah, so in the show notes that they sign up through that link, it will then generate back to us to give them that special promotion. All right, listener note. If you're on you're on your phone, tap or swipe up on the episode art and it will open up the show notes and you'll find I will stick that in there. Like big heading, special offer from retention rocket. We turned Ryan's pockets inside out and then that will have the link, like a special shortened link that will take you to the page to get the offer. Or if it doesn't, I'm sure you could just, when you're doing the onboarding doc, I heard about you for Kurt, give me those free 60 days nerd and they should help you out there. Don't call him a nerd though, I guess Ryan: Say whatever they want when they sign up. Kurt: Cool. All right, well here I got one. An odd ball question for you. What apps have really good synergy with retention rocket? Like if I really want to make sure that I'm getting the most out of retention rocket, is there anything I should already be doing that would make me a good candidate for it? Ryan: Yeah, right. So I'd say the, the platforms right? That we're working right now on to build some pretty cool use cases. So [inaudible 00:34:56] won, right? Clavio from like an email perspective, smile.io from a rewards. Kurt: Love smile. Ryan: Yeah. Right. So we're working on some really good use cases with them on how they can incorporate SMS to their client base. Right. And then we're also working, we're going to be working pretty closely with recharge from a subscription standpoint, which I think will be, will throw out some really good use cases on people who obviously are abandoning subscriptions or things like auto refill reminders. So stuff like that is going to be down, actually not, pretty far away. So we'll be rolling those out pretty soon. So I think like people that are using those technologies seem to play really well with retention rocket. Kurt: Super Cool. Wow. All right. I got to go sign up. I gotta go sign my wife up for retention rocket. Thank you Ryan. This has been fantastic. I'm inspired. I got to go set this thing up. Ryan: Yeah, we appreciate it, man. So thanks for the help.

Did you know that having good email deliverability does not mean your emails reach the inbox? Email deliverability has many components that factor into a message reaching the inbox. Understanding email deliverability is crucial, yet many marketers do not fully understand what goes into it. This episode features Chris Kolbenschlag, Oracle Bronto's director of deliverability, who tackles the myths, best practices, things marketers shouldn't do and other elements around email deliverability. You'll hear us discuss: · What email deliverability is and the factors that impact it. · The fundamental elements of good email deliverability. · The myths around subject lines, including specific words, emojis, and punctuations. · Whether IP reputation or domain-based reputation is more important. · Whether sending transactional and promotional emails through same IP is a good idea. · The differences between B2B and B2C deliverability. To contact Chris, or to learn more about Oracle Bronto: Email: Chris.Kolbenschlag@Bronto.com Website: http://www.Bronto.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/Bronto Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oraclebronto/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/oracle-bronto To contact Chris, or to learn more about how Oracle Bronto can take your email to the next level: Email: Chris.Kolbenschlag@Bronto.com Website: http://www.Bronto.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/Bronto Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oraclebronto/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/oracle-bronto

“The landscape has totally changed, and it becomes harder and harder to fight for that real estate in the inbox.” As a retailer, how do you solve this challenge? Kyle Randall and Nate Martin work in a niche industry notorious for email deliverability issues, and they've not only overcome these issues, but built an email marketing program that engages their audience in a way that's impressive to any retailer. In Episode 45 of The Commerce Marketer Podcast, I welcome Randall and Martin, both from the adult novelty retailer Fort Troff. We'll talk about how they built a successful email program from the ground up, which lifecycle messages are the most successful, how they approach email testing, and what niche marketing can teach you about marketing to a wider audience. You'll hear us discuss: · The business-altering impact of successful email inbox deliverability. · How testing incentives and removing personal biases is critical to their success. · Most important KPIs they are looking from an email standpoint. · How they used dynamic content in emails to increase inbox deliverability while staying true to their brand. · How customer service plays a crucial role in customer loyalty. To contact Kyle or Nate, or to learn more about Fort Troff: Kyle Randall: kyle@ceruzziconcepts.com Nate Martin: nate@ceruzziconcepts.com I welcome your feedback, invite you to share any topics you'd like to hear more about, or let me know if you're interested in becoming a guest. Greg.Zakowicz@Bronto.com | https://twitter.com/WhatsGregDoing SPONSOR: This episode is brought to you by: Oracle Bronto The Bronto Marketing Platform powers personalized multichannel content that generates the higher engagement needed for retail success. Keenly focused on the commerce marketer, Bronto continues its longstanding tradition as a leading email marketing provider to the global Internet Retailer Top 1000 and boasts a client roster of leading brands, including Rebecca Minkoff, Timex, Lucky Brand, Theory, Brooks Sports, Ashley HomeStore and Christopher & Banks. For more information, visit http://www.bronto.com

Whether you're a seasonal business or not, focusing on the customer experience is a key component of driving repeat and loyal customers. But, if you sell high-quality, made-to-last artificial Christmas trees, how do you generate that repeat business? How do you stay relevant and top-of-mind throughout the non-holiday season? Enter post-purchase email marketing. In this episode of The Commerce Marketer Podcast, we're going to talk about how one seasonal retailer found success driving repeat business by focusing on a dedicated post-purchase email marketing strategy. I welcomed the Senior CRM Manager of Balsam Hill, Stephanie Maassen, to talk about the genesis of the strategy, how they got it done, and what they learned along the way. You'll hear about: • How listening to customer service drove the post-purchase email strategy. • Ways to manage execution when faced with limited resources. • Keys to finding cross-sell opportunities in seasonal buyers. • How to use customer data to formulate your post-purchase plan. • Why post-purchase emails are not always about the immediate conversion. • How they determined the timing for sending post-purchase emails. • Types of messages and things to consider when planning a post-purchase series. • Ways to blend transactional, customer service and marketing messages. To contact Stephanie or learn more about Balsam Hill: smaassen@balsambrands.com https://www.balsamhill.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balsamhill/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/balsamhill/ I welcome your feedback, invite you to share any topics you'd like to hear more about, or let me know if you're interested in becoming a guest. Greg.Zakowicz@Bronto.com | https://twitter.com/WhatsGregDoing SPONSOR: This episode is brought to you by: Oracle Bronto The Bronto Marketing Platform powers personalized multichannel content that generates the higher engagement needed for retail success. Keenly focused on the commerce marketer, Bronto continues its longstanding tradition as a leading email marketing provider to the global Internet Retailer Top 1000 and boasts a client roster of leading brands, including Rebecca Minkoff, Timex, Lucky Brand, Theory, Brooks Sports, Ashley Homestore and Christopher & Banks. For more information, visit http://www.bronto.com

More than 100 million people watch the Super Bowl each year, but the commercials have become the must-see event within the event. At a price tag of more than $5 million for a 30-second commercial, companies are banking on the effectiveness of these ads. In Episode 43 of The Commerce Marketer Podcast, we'll have a three-person roundtable discussion about the Super Bowl from a marketing and entertainment perspective. We'll revisit the commercials, halftime show, and even how we interacted with our mobile devices during the big game - after all, what good is a $5 million commercial if everyone is checking their Instagram feed? Topics will include: • Most disappointing ads and why we think they missed. • Generational differences between how ads were received. • How we used our mobile devices during the game. To learn more about our guests: Erika Simms: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikasimms/ Previous guest appearance on Episode 43, “Facebook and Social Marketing Strategies” Matt Sutor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattsutor Previous guest appearance on Episode 20, “The Ecommerce of Sports With the Durham Bulls” I welcome your feedback, invite you to share any topics you'd like to hear more about, or let me know if you're interested in becoming a guest. Greg.Zakowicz@Bronto.com | https://twitter.com/WhatsGregDoing SPONSOR: This episode is brought to you by: Oracle Bronto The Bronto Marketing Platform powers personalized multichannel content that generates the higher engagement needed for retail success. Keenly focused on the commerce marketer, Bronto continues its longstanding tradition as a leading email marketing provider to the global Internet Retailer Top 1000 and boasts a client roster of leading brands, including Rebecca Minkoff, Timex, Lucky Brand, Theory, Brooks Sports, Ashley HomeStore and Christopher & Banks. For more information, visit http://www.bronto.com

Social media marketing is no longer simply applying a budget and boosting front-facing posts. They're mostly pay-to-play platforms, and in order to truly get ROI from your targeted audience, you have to implement a deeper strategy with the right data. So what can companies learn from a digital agency that serves the automotive industry, a vertical with high price points and longer decision cycles? In this episode, we'll talk about Facebook and social media marketing strategies: how to target customers when their buying considerations are longer and more heavily researched, how these lessons might apply to everyday retailers, and when to pull the plug on retargeting. Joining me for the conversation is Erika Simms, vice-president at Dealer Authority. You'll hear us discuss: · Why breaking ads into smaller components can help guide the customer journey. · Which social channels and ad types are getting the best ROI right now. · Which marketing tactic resulted in a 20-30% increase in click-throughs. · How video on social is performing and which audience responds to it best. · Ways to effectively use landing pages in conjunction with social ads and paid search. · Which single element can you add to product photos to increase conversions? · How to target consumers for larger purchases with longer buying and research cycles. · When to abandon targeting prospects on social media. To contact Erika or learn more about Dealer Authority: http://www.dealerauthority.com | Twitter: https://twitter.com/DealerAuthority Contact Erika: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikasimms/ | erika@dealerauthority.com I welcome your feedback, invite you to share any topics you'd like to hear more about, or let me know if you're interested in becoming a guest. Greg.Zakowicz@Bronto.com | https://twitter.com/WhatsGregDoing SPONSOR: This episode is brought to you by: Oracle Bronto The Bronto Marketing Platform powers personalized multichannel content that generates the higher engagement needed for retail success. Keenly focused on the commerce marketer, Bronto continues its longstanding tradition as a leading email marketing provider to the global Internet Retailer Top 1000 and boasts a client roster of leading brands, including Rebecca Minkoff, Timex, Lucky Brand, Theory, Brooks Sports, Ashley HomeStore and Christopher & Banks. For more information, visit http://www.bronto.com

Many B2B companies today are making the move into selling direct-to-consumer (D2C). This allows companies to grow revenue, control their branding better, and provide a more personal customer experience. But trying to keep your partners happy while growing your bottom line can be like walking a business tightrope – but while difficult, it can be accomplished if planned properly. In this episode of The Commerce Marketer Podcast, I am joined by the Director of Ecommerce at RST Brands, Matt Grimm. We're going to talk about how RST Brands made the move from B2B into D2C, mistakes made along the way, email marketing and segmentation strategies, growing an email list from the ground up after launching a D2C site, connecting third-party purchases, and a whole lot more. You'll hear about: · How to approach your retail partners while making the move to D2C. · Product assortment strategies that make all retail outlets happy. · Mistakes made early on and the most important lesson learned from them. · Ways to grow your email database when you first launch your D2C site. · How to use email to compliment purchases made on third-party sites. · Types of lifecycle emails implemented, and which ones convert best. · What happened with their email marketing that made them realize segmentation was necessary? · Segmentation strategies used in emails and why it matters. · How to maintain email engagement even after consumers make large purchases. To contact Matt or learn more about RST Brands: RST Brands: https://www.rstbrands.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/rstbrands Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rstbrands/ Contact Matt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewtgrimm/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/matthewtgrimm I welcome your feedback, invite you to share any topics you'd like to hear more about, or let me know if you're interested in becoming a guest. Greg.Zakowicz@Bronto.com | https://twitter.com/WhatsGregDoing SPONSOR: This episode is brought to you by: Oracle Bronto The Bronto Marketing Platform powers personalized multichannel content that generates the higher engagement needed for retail success. Keenly focused on the commerce marketer, Bronto continues its longstanding tradition as a leading email marketing provider to the global Internet Retailer Top 1000 and boasts a client roster of leading brands, including Rebecca Minkoff, Timex, Lucky Brand, Theory, Brooks Sports, Ashley HomeStore and Christopher & Banks. For more information, visit http://www.bronto.com

Think of the last time you bought flowers online. Chances are it was for a specific occasion. Most retailers selling occasion-based products obsess about driving repeat purchasers while minimizing churn — easier said than done. This is why segmentation and targeting tactics across digital channels is critical for achieving long-term customer loyalty. In this episode, I'm joined by Phil Irvine, CRM Director at online floral retailer Bouqs.com, who knows this story all too well. You may recognize the name from their appearance on ABC's Shark Tank, but this time they're on The Commerce Marketer Podcast where we discuss email marketing and segmentation strategies, driving customer lifetime value, and segmenting across digital channels. You'll hear about: • How The Bouqs approaches their email segmentation strategy. • Segmentation tests, what they found to lift conversions, and why segmentation changes seasonally. • How to value different acquisition and retention channels and how they impact messaging and offers. • Preference centers and how your product offerings and AOV affect them. • KPIS to determine customer value and how product variety increases their loyalty. • Phil's no. 1 piece of segmenting advice. To contact Phil or learn more about The Bouqs Co: The Bouqs Co: https://www.bouqs.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheBouqsCo Phil Irvine: http://www.linkedin.com/in/pirvine Twitter: https://twitter.com/@ndbruin09 I welcome your feedback, invite you to share any topics you'd like to hear more about, or let me know if you're interested in becoming a guest. Greg.Zakowicz@Bronto.com | https://twitter.com/WhatsGregDoing SPONSOR: This episode is brought to you by: Oracle Bronto The Bronto Marketing Platform powers personalized multichannel content that generates the higher engagement needed for retail success. Keenly focused on the commerce marketer, Bronto continues its longstanding tradition as a leading email marketing provider to the global Internet Retailer Top 1000 and boasts a client roster of leading brands, including Rebecca Minkoff, Timex, Lucky Brand, Theory, Brooks Sports, Ashley Homestore and Christopher & Banks. For more information, visit http://www.bronto.com

Have you ever checked a store's site to confirm an item is in stock, only to get there and find that it wasn't? Or maybe went to order something online but found it will take more than one week (gasp!) to reach you? What's the next move… wait a week or shop elsewhere? Consumers today expect speed and efficiency with online purchases, and inefficient supply chain management can not only create a poor customer service experience but also unnecessarily increase retailers' costs. In this episode of The Commerce Marketer Podcast, I'm joined by Bob Carver, the VP of Cloud Inventory Solutions at DSI. We're going to talk about current supply chain trends, the evolution of supply chain management, why omnichannel is still difficult for retailers, and what to expect in the years to come. While it may not sound like a sexy topic, the supply chain matters to business success. And don't worry, we'll keep you entertained! You'll hear about: • The evolving landscape of the supply chain and how it's impacting retailers. • How global commerce has disrupted the supply chain. • When you should reassess your supply chain infrastructure. • How last-mile delivery is impacting the traditional supply chain. • Why retailers should look at last-mile as a revenue opportunity. • The biggest obstacle for transitioning supply chain management systems. • How one retailer successfully removed a distribution center to increase efficiency. Learn more about DSI: Bob.Carver@DSIglobal.com | https://www.dsiglobal.com/ | Twitter: https://twitter.com/dsimobile I welcome your feedback, invite you to share any topics you'd like to hear more about, or let me know if you're interested in becoming a guest. Greg.Zakowicz@Bronto.com | https://twitter.com/WhatsGregDoing | #TCMpodcast #BrontoPodcast SPONSOR: This episode is brought to you by: Oracle Bronto The Bronto Marketing Platform powers personalized multichannel content that generates the higher engagement needed for retail success. Keenly focused on the commerce marketer, Bronto continues its longstanding tradition as a leading email marketing provider to the global Internet Retailer Top 1000 and boasts a client roster of leading brands, including Rebecca Minkoff, Timex, Lucky Brand, Theory, Brooks Sports, Ashley Homestore and Christopher & Banks. For more information, visit http://www.bronto.com

During the 2017 holiday season, paid search drove more than 23% of website traffic. It is an important, and, for many, invaluable marketing tactic. But if not done right, it can be costly – too costly! As everything else in digital marketing evolves, paid search is no exception. In this episode of The Commerce Marketer Podcast, I am joined by the founder of StatBid, Roy Steves. We are going to talk about the changing landscape of paid search with both Google and Amazon, strategies for optimization, holiday planning, and what lies ahead for paid search in 2019. You'll hear about: • The biggest paid search challenges for retailers today. • Keys to striking a balance between your mobile and desktop strategy. • Resources available to monitor your competition. • Keywords versus key phrases – which strategy is best to follow? • Are Google Shopping ads worth diving into? • Is paid search on Bing worth the investment? • Holiday planning strategies and how to capitalize on competitor mistakes. • What to expect from paid search in 2019. • How has Amazon changed the paid search landscape and how to adapt To learn more about StatBid: Roy@Statbid.com | https://www.statbid.com | StatBid on Twitter: https://twitter.com/StatBid | Roy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/roysteves I welcome your feedback, invite you to share any topics you'd like to hear more about, or let me know if you're interested in becoming a guest. Greg.Zakowicz@Bronto.com | https://twitter.com/WhatsGregDoing SPONSOR: This episode is brought to you by: Oracle Bronto The Bronto Marketing Platform powers personalized multichannel content that generates the higher engagement needed for retail success. Keenly focused on the commerce marketer, Bronto continues its longstanding tradition as a leading email marketing provider to the global Internet Retailer Top 1000 and boasts a client roster of leading brands, including Rebecca Minkoff, Timex, Lucky Brand, Theory, Brooks Sports, Ashley Homestore and Christopher & Banks. For more information, visit http://www.bronto.com

Have you ever bought something on Amazon that had a 1-star rating – or no ratings at all? Me neither. Have you ever bought something on Amazon that you liked, but did not review it? Guilty as charged! Customer reviews can be critical to product success, especially when it comes to the first 10. But collecting them can be difficult. In this episode of The Commerce Marketer Podcast, I am joined by the CMO of Sellerlabs, Jeff Cohen. We are going to talk about strategies for collecting those first 50 ever-elusive Amazon product reviews. We'll discuss under-utilized tactics, ways to add value for your customers, the Early Reviewer Program, what's going to get you into trouble on Amazon, and more. You'll hear about: • Why your first ten reviews are so critical to success. • What you can and cannot do when asking for reviews. • Amazon's Early Reviewer Program: Is it worth it? • Under-utilized tactics that go into collecting product reviews. • Brand versus reputation and how it impacts product sales. • How your product category can determine your review strategy. • How to add a personal touch with customer messaging. • Ways to use your product listing to help encourage reviews. To learn more about SellerLabs: Marketing@SellerLabs.com | https://www.sellerlabs.com/bronto | Twitter: https://twitter.com/sellerlabs | Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seller_labs/ We welcome your feedback, invite you to share any topics you'd like to hear more about, or let me know if you're interested in becoming a guest. Greg.Zakowicz@Bronto.com | https://twitter.com/WhatsGregDoing SPONSOR: This episode is brought to you by: ORACLE BRONTO The Bronto Marketing Platform powers personalized multichannel content that generates the higher engagement needed for retail success. Keenly focused on the commerce marketer, Bronto continues its longstanding tradition as a leading email marketing provider to the global Internet Retailer Top 1000 and boasts a client roster of leading brands, including Rebecca Minkoff, Timex, Lucky Brand, Theory, Brooks Sports, Ashley Homestore and Christopher & Banks. For more information, visit http://www.bronto.com

Cory, Chris (AviaryLaw), and Britt do a bonus episode where we discuss secrect bunkers, running out of tp, and do our new top 5 segment. We teach some amazing health secrets, and discuss the anatomy of dinosaurs. If yoyu love learning, you'll love this one. Also special shout out to all things Buffalo. Follow, Rate, Review as always and check out all of the SGT entertainment podcasts. Thanks you for listening! Email us at LosLostBoys@icloud.com

In this episode we continue the newest addition to the series. We take some more time to learn about people from the HHN fan community that are doing some really cool and fun things out of the event. This episode we welcome Johnny Bronto to the show. Johnny is the founder of hauntscene.com and the YouTube Live Series “Haunt Scene” that cover local Haunt events for the central Florida area including, of course, Halloween Horror Nights. Check out Haunt Scene at: See the Haunt Scene Live YouTube Series at: Follow Haunt Scene on Facebook at: Haunt Scene on Twitter at: And Haunt Scene on Instagram at:

Eric Boggs: He’s the CEO at RevBoss – a sales prospecting SaaS company. RevBoss helps B2B sales teams grow pipelines and win more customers. Prior to RevBoss, he was the founder and CEO at Argyle Social and was a one-man sales team at Bronto Software. Eric is in North Carolina with his wife and 3 small children. Famous Five: Favorite Book? – The Hard Things About Hard Things What CEO do you follow? –  Matt Williamson Favorite online tool? –  Stripe Do you get 8 hours of sleep? –  No If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – “To not worry so much about the long term—that things just have a way of working themselves out”   Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:35 – Nathan introduces Eric to the show 02:10 – Eric shares what happened to Argyle 02:42 – Argyle raised $1.5M 03:52 – Argyle’s buyers 05:32 – Eric was only 22 when joined he Bronto 05:39 – Eric was a one-man sales team for 2 and half years 06:32 – Eric went to business school after Bronto 07:05 – Bronto is now an Oracle company 07:12 – RevBoss is a SaaS company that helps B2B seller relations find more prospects and win more customers 07:45 – In between the Argyle wind down and RevBoss, Eric was a consultant for a year 08:20 – RevBoss’ competitors 09:20 – RevBoss started as a services company and launched in September 2016 09:47 – Building a services business is easy, growing it is hard and turning it into a SaaS business is much harder 10:26 – Eric shares the weird things he encounters in the business 11:07 – “We’re cannibalizing ourselves a little bit” in the short term, in regards to services revenue vs. recurring Saas revenue 12:12 – Average customer pay per month 12:28 – Weighted MRR 12:39 – RevBoss raised a seed round for $1.1M 13:45 – Eric sold 20% of the business for $1.1M 14:50 – Total 2015 revenue 15:01 – Team size and location 15:41 – Projected LTV 16:27 – CAC 16:34 – All inbound sales 17:20 – Gross churn 17:59 – Eric plans for the worst after his experience with Argyle 19:50 – The Famous Five   3 Key Points: Recurring SaaS revenue will beat out services revenue in the long run. Your worst experiences are your greatest teachers. Don’t worry too much about the long term—things just have a way of working themselves out.   Resources Mentioned: Acuity Scheduling – Nathan uses Acuity to schedule his podcast interviews and appointments Drip – Nathan uses Drip’s email automation platform and visual campaign builder to build his sales funnel Toptal – Nathan found his development team using Toptal for his new business Send Later. He was able to keep 100% equity and didn’t have to hire a co-founder due to the quality of Toptal Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for the cheapest price possible. Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he’s driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5-hour drive) to listen to audio books. The Top Inbox  – The site Nathan uses to schedule emails to be sent later, set reminders in inbox, track opens, and follow-up with email sequences Jamf – Jamf helped Nathan keep his Macbook Air 11” secure even when he left it in the airplane’s back seat pocket Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

Darren Pierce. He’s the founder and CEO of eTailInsights. Prior to launching the business, he has spent many years working with B2B companies specializing in leadership, strategic development, client relationships, and maximizing revenue growth. Darren was the Director of Sales for First Research which was acquired by Hoover. Darren helped Bronto Software accelerate their revenue market share to become the leading email service provider in the ecommerce industry. He’s a graduate of The Walker College of Business at Appalachian State University with 2 BSBAs in Management and Marketing. Famous Five: Favorite Book? – The Hockey Stick Principles What CEO do you follow? –  N/A Favorite online tool? — Buffer Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – Darren wished that his 20-year old self could have been more patient   Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:50 – Nathan introduces Darren to the show 02:35 – Darren didn’t want to leave Bronto Software, but he came up with the eTailInsights’ idea and couldn’t let it pass 02:53 – Darren joined Bronto, in 2008, to help sell their email marketing and make offers to online retailers 03:25 – One of the early problems in Bronto was how to find the companies/retailers 03:47 – eTailInsights is a database that indexed the e commerce companies 04:03 – eTailInsights is a SaaS business 04:10 – Average MRR/ARR 04:43 – The pay is manual upfront 04:48 – eTailInsights was launched in 2011 04:51 – Total 2015 revenue 05:15 – 2016 goal 05:50 – Average MRR 06:18 – Average churn is adjusted 06:50 – CAC 07:29 -  eTailInsights’ average pay per click 07:48 – LTV 08:25 – eTailInsights has been tracking hundreds of thousands of retailer globally 08:36 – eTailInsights will start indexing next year 08:58 – Number of current companies is 3000 09:09 – The three biggest competitors of eTailInsights 10:08 – Exit is not Darren’s priority at the moment 10:16 – Darren’s dream number is $100M 11:18 – Darren wants to know how far his business can go 11:30 – eTailInsights is completely bootstrapped and they have $100K in it 12:06 – Current head count 12:20 – Average compensation 12:36 – eTailInsights’ location 12:52 – eTailInsights sourced their own data and they built their own tech 14:38 – The Famous Five   3 Key Points: When you become predictable, you lose SO much leverage. If the idea of a business strikes you, go with that passion and just do it. Be patient—it takes patience to be a successful entrepreneur.   Resources Mentioned: Acuity Scheduling – Nathan uses Acuity to schedule his podcast interviews and appointments Drip – Nathan uses Drip’s email automation platform and visual campaign builder to build his sales funnel Toptal – Nathan found his development team using Toptal for his new business Send Later. He was able to keep 100% equity and didn’t have to hire a co-founder due to the quality of Toptal Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for the cheapest price possible. Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he’s driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5-hour drive) to listen to audio books. The Top Inbox  – The site Nathan uses to schedule emails to be sent later, set reminders in inbox, track opens, and follow-up with email sequences Jamf – Jamf helped Nathan keep his Macbook Air 11” secure even when he left it in the airplane’s back seat pocket Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

RHLSTPEATGYF #2: Sean Bean's Pound Shop Subterfuge - Mark Addy. Richard proves he is down with the cool kids by chatting to his teenage fans about skateboards and exams before introducing a man who is at home driving a Bronto-crane as he is befriending a talking snowman as he is having a friend who travels through time and gets off with Samantha Mumba whilst he waits around in Victorian London twiddling his thumbs, it's bona fide Hollywood superstar Mark Addy. Will he live up to Richard's hopes and be as nice and down-to-earth as he appears to be on screen or will it all go a bit Game of Thrones? There are some great insights into how he was persuaded to do some of his films, what happens when you go to a pub with your name, what it must be like to be in Chris Rock's posse, and how Sean Bean gets cheap shampoo. Tales of a good York boy in Hollywood and the craziness of LA and the dangers of auto-fellatio and how he ended up playing Hercules. York is the best!SUPPORT THE SHOW!Check out our website and become a badger and see extra content http://rhlstp.co.ukSee details of the RHLSTP tour dates http://richardherring.com/gigsBuy DVDs and Books at http://gofasterstripe.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Company culture is a vital part of the way Travis Romine build his companies. Travis is the Founder of Sharp Commerce. His company is  a group of e commerce ninja's helping with customer engagement, retention and advanced marketing. He Took sales from $100/day to $15,000+/day over 10 year period at Paradise Fibers that he cofounded which grew to one of the top performing businesses in the needlecraft industry.  Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:   [0:15] Jeremy’s introduction to Travis Romine, today’s guest. [9:01] How Travis got started in ecommerce alongside his Dad. [14:11] Why Travis moved to Magento. [17:00] People want deals but they also want entertainment, a careful balance. [21:00] Using software properly so you get the biggest use of it. [37:57] Staff growth over the years: how it happened and why. [50:10] How the company had an $80K day of sales. [53:20] Failures along the way. [58:31] The decisions Travis and company had to make about phone systems. [1:07:03] The support and skill of Travis’ wife in the growth of the businesses. [1:13:23] The big mistakes ecommerce businesses are making. [1:18:12] What you can do when your sales plateau. [1:21:21] The types of clients Travis works with. [1:30:25] Software that Travis finds essential for his e commerce businesses. [1:32:40] The things Travis looks for in his software decisions. [1:38:21] Why employees make your business. [1:39:15] How Travis gives ownership of the business to employees. [1:45:40] The software showdown: Travis’ comparisons of major platforms. In this episode… There has been a lot written and said in recent years about the importance of building a healthy company culture. And the larger the company gets the more difficult it is to establish and maintain. One of the most obvious takeaways from this conversation with Travis Romine is the huge success he’s had building successful companies that scale while at the same time keeping the company culture not only healthy, but incredibly strong. All you need to see to believe it is to take a look employee and customer comments from the time frame when Travis was in charge of things. His name is mentioned repeatedly in glowing terms and the way people felt about working for him is obviously positive. Travis prefers not to think that employees are working for him, but alongside him - and that’s a huge reason why the culture of the companies he’s run has been so outstanding. But company culture is not the only thing you’ll hear on this episode. Travis has so much experience and skill in the e commerce space that the interview would be incomplete without tapping into his know-how. Travis generously shares a significant amount of wisdom about what it takes to not only build a strong company culture but to also grow and e commerce business successfully, including the software and packages that make the most sense to keep an e commerce business profitable and running smoothly.   The conversation wraps up with what Jeremy calls “The Software Showdown” where he asks Travis to give his opinion about the big players in the e commerce software space, including their strong and weak points, areas where improvement is needed, and how each works in a practical, function way in real life scenarios. If you’ve been looking for the right e commerce solution and haven’t made up your mind yet, you need to listen to this conversation before you do. Resources Mentioned on this episode www.Skubana.com www.SharpCommerce.com www.ParadiseFibers.com www.Volusion.com www.Magento.com www.Bronto.com www.DotMailer.com www.Kayako.com www.Shopify.com www.Asana.com www.ListTrack.com www.SweetTooth.com www.ZenDesk.com BOOK: Drive www.BigCommerce.com

Adobe Summit: Jason attended the Adobe summit. Adobe announced a Cross Device Attribution “Device Co-op”  From the retail supersession, Sucherita Mulpuru shared the Forrester mobile forecast,$35B in mobile sales, $977B mobile influenced sales.  So for every dollar purchased on a mobile device, another $28 are influenced. Adobe demoed an entirely unrealistic retail use case "REI Shopping Bag" based on technology from Twyst. Razorfish debuted a new set of tools for creating B2B commerce experiences using the Adobe stack, called Razorshop B2B  Bronto Summit Scot attended the Bronto conference, and gave a talk on "E-Commerce and the On-Demand Economy" Other News Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. announced Monday that it sold 3 trillion yuan ($463 billion) of goods through its online shopping websites in the past year ending in March, a milestone for the company.  When their fiscal year ends on March 31, they likely will surpass Walmart as the largest retailer in the world Macys thinks amazon can’t compete Microsoft Chatbot “Tay” - taken down after abuse Apple Pay is coming to the mobile web Online Grocery - there is some conflicting opinions about the future of online grocery. HSBC Analysts were bearish - "We remain unconvinced of long-term viability of home deliveries for grocery” David McCarthy  While a Morgan Stanley study predicts online grocery is growing fast.   Episode 19 of the Jason & Scot show was recorded on Thursday, March 24th, 2016. http://retailgeek.com/podcast Join your hosts Jason "Retailgeek" Goldberg, SVP Commerce & Content at Razorfish, and Scot Wingo, Founder and Executive Chairman of Channel Advisor as they discuss the latest news and trends in the world of e-commerce and digital shopper marketing.

EP018 - Target "Goldfish", Instacart, and Amazon Peeves Amazon News: This week is the 10th anniversary of AWS.  Stratechery has a great piece about how Amazon leverages AWS with it's novel strategy for scale  Journalists touring Amazon Fulfillment centers, noticed that Amazon uses video shaming to discourage theft.  You can take your own tour of an Amazon FC by signing up here.  Dropbox announced that they are (mostly) moving off of AWS and developing their own storage. Walmart has released OneOps, their platform for deploying cloud based infrastructure apps, such as Walmarts own e-commerce platform.  Apps can be agnostically deployed across Microsoft Azure, Amazon AWS, Rackspace, and OpenStack. Amazon has VR guru Avi Bar-Zeev, and filed for a patent on room based headset-less VR.  Amazon also filed for a patent around using selfies for payment. Amazon private label suits have been favorably reviewed by business insider.:  Jason & Scot discuss our Amazon peeves: Prime now not well integrated website Amazon Echo App Store (Skills) is just a 37 page list of apps. Delivery drivers, pantry GUI, and customer service edge cases could all use improvement. Non-Amazon news: Ultra announced surprisingly strong earnings, and plans to open 100 new stores, and dramatically expand brand boutiques. US Dept of Commerce released it's February retail sales data. Brands are now paying instacart for deliveries. Target project "goldfish" Target is running ads for engineers for a mysterious new project, codenamed "Goldfish".  The job listings specify "You must have a deep understanding of the fundamentals of retail marketplaces, social commerce and influencer networks," which caused Jason & Scot to speculate about what the project might be. Scot is in Florida this week for the Bronto conference, giving a talk on "E-Commerce and the On-Demand Economy" Episode 18 of the Jason & Scot show was recorded on Tuesday, March 15th, 2016. http://retailgeek.com/podcast Join your hosts Jason "Retailgeek" Goldberg, SVP Commerce & Content at Razorfish, and Scot Wingo, Founder and Executive Chairman of Channel Advisor as they discuss the latest news and trends in the world of e-commerce and digital shopper marketing.

“Today brands need to surgically remove and filter insights.” How can we make sense of it all? This week on the On Brand podcast I was joined by two old friends, Tim Hayden and DJ Waldow. These two innovative marketers have joined forces as part of the team at Zignal Labs, a realtime digital story-tracking platform. I couldn’t wait to learn about the realtime branding possibilities, politics, and everything in between from Tim and DJ. About Tim Hayden and DJ Waldow With more than 20 years of marketing and business leadership experience, Tim Hayden has been a founder of new ventures such as NION Interactive, GamePlan, and 44Doors and a catalyst for innovative change within some of the world’s largest brands. Along with past guest Tom Webster, he’s the co-author of The Mobile Commerce Revolution. DJ Waldow is an alumnus of the University of Michigan, a knowledge craver, a sponge, and a lover of beer, coffee and people. He’s also a seasoned digital marketing pro with a career that’s taken him from Bronto to Blue Sky Factory to Marketo. With Jason Falls he’s also co-author of The Rebel’s Guide to Email Marketing. DJ was also my co-host on my first podcasting venture, The Work Talk Show. Tim and DJ have recently joined forces to lead marketing and brand building at Zignal Labs, serving as VP of Marketing and Director of Marketing respectively. Zignal Labs is a realtime, cross media story-tracking platform that enables brands to quickly spot trends, see relevant stories unfold, and take action. Brands who use the Zignal Labs platform include Bacardi, Citrix, and HP. Those interested in Zignal can learn first hand at the Social Brand Forum this October in Iowa City, Iowa, where Zignal joins us as a sponsor. Tim and DJ will be on hand to share real-time insights from the event. As We Wrap … Before we go, I want to flip the microphone around to our listeners … Recently Kogan Page Marketing gave us a shout on Twitter about our recent episode focused on luxury branding featuring JP Kuehlwein. Thanks for listening! Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Do you have a question you’d like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show. Last but not least … Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via iTunes, Stitcher, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to iTunes and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review. This helps others find the podcast. OK. How do you rate and review a podcast? Need a quick tutorial on leaving a rating/review in iTunes? Check this out. And don’t forget that this podcast is brought to you by our Brand Driven Digital events series, learn more about the industry leading Social Brand Forum and our other trainings and workshops now. Save $100 by using promo code ONBRAND when you register for the Social Brand Forum. Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet!

Show Notes The IRCE interview series continues with Phillip sitting down with Bronto‘s own Ryan Murden Meet Magento NY, September 21, 22 in NYC. Get 20% off your admission with code MAGETALK. ny.meet-magento.com Links Bronto...

Video: Vimeo - YouTube Photos: Flickr Audio: zip file (right-click, save as) The Toad Session I was probably most nervous about recording was Milk Maid, I think.  It was arranged at the last minute, they are a full, four-piece rock band, their profile is riding relatively high at the moment and I'd never really recorded anything so loud in our house before. As it was, it turned out pretty fucking well, if you ask me, so when PAWS came in I was confident enough that we'd get decent recordings, but I have to confess I was a little nervous about how we'd get away with the racket and the general lawlessness of their performances. There were some changes to the team this time as well, as a lot of the usual suspects couldn't make it.  Wee Matthew was helping out on cameras again, and Rory from Broken Records was back for a second batch of filming.  But we also managed to coax former ace Edinburgh gig photographer extraordinaire Nic Rue out of retirement to take the pictures, and Rory 'brought at friend' to help out with the filming.  And his friend just happened to be Chris Park.  Who just happens to be a serious professional.  So if you're wondering why this isn't as shit as usual, that's probably why. As per usual, all the session mp3s are available to download for free, either below or in this zip file, we have videos of the songs and of the interview here, photos here, Nic's slightly larger portfolio of pics here, and of course the interview podcast below, with the playlist at the bottom of the page.  Enjoy.  And pity our poor neighbours. PAWS - Jellyfish (Toad Session) PAWS - Bloodline (Toad Session) PAWS - Bird Inside Birdcage, Ribcage Inside Bird (Toad Session) PAWS - Winners Don't Bleed (Toad Session) 01. PAWS - Jellyfish (Toad Session) (07.17) 02. Bronto Skylift - Cobblepot (15.50) 03. Mr. Peppermint - Carp Act (20.25) 04. PAWS - Bloodline (Toad Session) (26.47) 05. Ultimate Thrush - Complex Cat (35.31) 06. Crystal Swells - Waco, Wasilia, Waikiki (36.41) 07. PAWS - Bird Inside Birdcage, Ribcage Inside Bird (Toad Session) (42.35) 08. Pavement - Gold Soundz (48.59) 09. Dolfinz - Blowhole (51.44) 10. PAWS - Winners Don't Bleed (Toad Session) (61.49)

Shooting the Bull is the weekly survey of cultural and political events in Durham, NC, hosted by Kevin Davis (Bull City Rising) and Barry Ragin (Dependable Erection). This week Barry talks with neighborhood activist Nancy Rizzo about Bronto the Brontosaur, his history, the vandalism episode from earlier this year, and the community's efforts to restore him to his previous glory.

This week, Barry takes a look at the vandalism of Bronto, the NC Museum of Life and Science's historic pre-historic figure; and talks about Saturday's Beaver Queen Pageant with one of last year's contestants, Beach Barbie Beaver.Kevin Davis returns next week.

Mark and Erika talk haunted houses with Johnny "Bronto" Lipscomb of Hauntscene. Johnny has been to every haunted house on his bucket list and he's here to share his favorites. Episode Credits:Hosts - Erika Lance @authorerikalance - Mark Muncy @eerietravelsGuest - Johnny "Bronto" Lipscomb @hauntsceneProducer - Beau Lake @beau__lakeinfo@eerietravels.comIntro/Outro Music - Destini Beard @destinibeardmusicFull Song available for purchase now at destinibeard.bandcamp.comOur PO Box - Eerie Travels, PO Box 419, Sylva, NC 28779Patreon - patreon.com/eerietravelsDiscord - https://discord.gg/HrE6U3KQQ6Links:Hauntscene - http://www.hauntscene.com/American Ghost Adventures - https://www.americanghostadventures.com/Netherworld - https://www.fearworld.com/Erebus - https://hauntedpontiac.com/The Dent Schoolhouse - https://dentschoolhouse.com/Sir Henry's Haunted Trail - https://www.sirhenryshauntedtrail.com/Wonder House - https://www.wonderhousebartow.com/Mortem Manor - https://www.mortemmanor.com/Sponsors:History Press - ”Eerie Appalachia” Now on Audible - https://amzn.to/3QgWpNmEmail Mark@EerieTravels.com for sponsorship options.#EerieTravels #MarkMuncy #ErikaLance #BeauLake #GreetingsTravelers #AugustAntiquities #HauntScene #Paranormal #HauntedAtrractions #Halloween #JohnnyBronto #Netherworld #Erebus #MortemManor #Gatorland #RoadTrips #HousesOctoberBuilt #BlueSkeleton #HellHouse #Ghosts #Haunting #Pennhurst #WonderHouse