Commerce Minded

Dave Ritter has always been interested in the intersection between art and tech, and with over 10 years of ecommerce experience and a background in marketing and design, he has valuable insight to offer on the topic of choosing the right content management system for the job.

Working closely with clients throughout the iterative process of developing a successful ecommerce site and strategy, Dave knows the importance of design and brand when it comes to selling online.

Tune in to learn how Craft Commerce works for clients with an established business logic, how the intuitive backend makes it a breeze for clients to work with, and listen as Dave shares some advice for developers who may be working with Commerce for the first time.

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Today we take a sneak peek behind Snipcart developer Matt Stein’s curtain. Matt is a developer with a design background, who has recently developed the Snipcart plugin for Craft CMS. Matt talks about his motivation to create Snipcart when there were already two great ecommerce plugin options on the market currently - Commerce Pro and Commerce Lite, and gives us insight into where Snipcart sits between the two, and who should be using it.

Listen as I chat to Matt not just about his professional life as a developer, but how he achieves his work/life balance. We talk about:

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Twitter: @mattrambles

Ryan Masuga, the founder and Principal of Masuga Design, has more than a decade of experience growing and running his business. He has learned (sometimes the hard way) what it takes to be profitable.

Tune in for an insightful conversation about running your business finances, grading your clients, the three questions you should always ask when making decisions, and why hiring a project manager is a real game changer.

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Fred Carlsen has only been developing plugins since 2015, but in this time he has gone on to become one of the most prolific Craft CMS plugin developers in the business. Since the release of Craft 3, he’s come out with more than 25 plugins, with more on the way, averaging a new plugin every two weeks.

Fred joined Stephen for an open and honest discussion about creativity, time management, and setting priorities. From his desire to help others, how he conquered his fears, and how he is learning to practice self-preservation.

Tune in to hear from one of the true experts in plugin development, and hear about some of the exciting new plugins he is planning to push this year.

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Concierge Commerce is a new service — built on Craft Commerce Pro’s subscription feature — that promises to be a game changer for ecommerce retailers and vendors looking to connect by providing a one-stop platform to shop services and set up sales meetings. Founders Tae FitzSimons and Doug Hollinger have spent years working in the commerce world and discovered a common problem that required a solution: ecommerce retailers don’t know how or where to shop for the tech services they need when they need them. Likewise vendors are often not connecting with the right person at an organization, or even their ideal customer.

A big pain point for many retailers is there is no easy list or search service to find the vendors they need. With Concierge Commerce serving as the “counselor,” they are helping vendors talk about their products and services more articulately, and helping retailers learn to ask the right questions. But, like counselors, they are only facilitating the relationship - not giving advice or opinions.

Unlike most sites that create matrices with weighted arguments for one product or another, the Vendors on Concierge Commerce speak for themselves. Ultimately, Tae and Doug are building a roadmap toward a full service vendor selection platform where users can can search vendors and schedule meetings live on the site.

Tune in to learn how Concierge Commerce is about to become the ultimate matchmaker for vendors and ecommerce sites.

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Having that great relationship between developer and business is something that is often difficult to achieve, but today’s guests are an excellent example of what that looks like.

Eric Marthinsen of Built and Tracey Corbitt of Rochester Electronics discuss the unique challenges of building an ecommerce site selling over 350,000 SKUs and the company’s fascinating business model. They also each give some insightful advice at the end, so be sure to stick around for that.

Tune in to learn why Craft Commerce was the right choice for Rochester’s site build, what it means to look at sales and digital marketing from a technical perspective, and what to watch out for when rebuilding, re-platforming, or building a fresh site.

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Pixel & Tonic’s greatly anticipated release of Craft Commerce 2 — now with Pro and Lite editions — brings several improvements and new features that make it an even more powerful tool for building a customized ecommerce site.

Luke Holder is on the show to discuss some of these new features and give a few sneak peeks at what’s to come in future versions of Craft and Commerce. And if any developers are listening, Pixel & Tonic is hiring a new senior Commerce developer--accepting applications now.

Listen to learn about the differences between Commerce Pro and Lite as well as some of the use cases and additional features now available in both versions.

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How does brand identity inform your ecommerce approach and growth strategy?

For Jim Coudal of Field Notes, it’s about putting the brand first and then figuring out how to “make the ecommerce piece of it work to show the brand in its best light.” Noah Bernsohn of One Design Company joins the conversation as well to help shed some light on why Craft Commerce was the best fit for the Field Notes site.

Listen to learn how Jim’s focus and consistency around knowing the Field Notes brand identity creates a clear sense of who they are and what they’re willing to do (and not do), and how they reconcile those boundaries and limits with growth and sales.

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What are the unique challenges of creating a social enterprise with a subscription box model on an ecommerce platform?

For CAUSEBOX co-founder Brett McCollum it’s about providing the most value to customers while maximizing positive impact and sharing the stories of amazing brands. On the tech side of things, it’s making sure the tech is serving a purpose, which, at the end of the day, is about creating the best product experience possible.

Listen to hear the story of how CAUSEBOX got started and what it means to approach business from a perspective of not assuming anything and asking questions every step of the way.

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Down in the Southern Hemisphere, there’s a web developer with a penchant for building Craft plugins and a keen eye for design. Josh Crawford of Verbb talks about spending his Christmas in Tasmania, how he got into web development, and the future of Verbb and its plugins.

With a number of incredible plugins out there, Josh is not only prolific, but he really sets the bar with his attention to detail and emphasis on user experience. In the world of plugins, when organizations are relying on your work, there’s a big responsibility to the client to produce a reliable, polished product.

Listen to learn about Josh’s plugin development process, how his design background influences his style and approach to user experience, and the importance of working smartly and sustainably.

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