StrategyCast

Daniel Alarik is founder and CEO of Grunt Style, a highly motivated group of veterans and patriots who love three things: “PT, freedom, and bacon.” For Daniel, what you wear is more than just a necessity to be clothed. It's about attitude! Daniel and his team have taken the American fighting spirit and instilled it in everything they do. His mission is to deliver the highest quality, most patriotic apparel on the planet, straight to your front door.

Listen And Learn:

• How his love of patriotism guides his vision.
• His definition of leadership.
• His strategies for positioning, differentiating, and growing top-of-mind awareness for the brand.
• How a social media strategy is “the fastest, most inexpensive way of reaching people.”
• How he reaches 4-to-6 million people every day through the company’s social media platforms.
• Why he would “rather have ten raging fans than 100 associates.”

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT GRUNT STYLE CLICK HERE.

TO FIND DANIEL ALARIK ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.

As CEO of Brightpearl, Derek O’Carroll is responsible for the overall company strategy and for delivering on Brightpearl’s mission to automate retail. Brightpearl is a scalable cloud platform designed especially for high-growth multi-channel retailers wishing to automate and integrate their e-Commerce and accounting operations. He has spent his career developing a highly successful track record of creating value to IT companies in EMEA Specialties including building exceptional teams and creating winning environments, simple messaging, zero ambiguity, and a train for excellence. In 1994 he founded Adnet, Ireland’s first online advertising agency building database driven websites and offering SEO services. In 1999 he founded Vordel, which became a leading provider of XML security solutions and was sold to Axway in 2012.

Listen And Learn: 

• Why 91% of retailers have an omnichannel strategy but only 8% feel they have mastered it.
• Ways to create personalized experiences across all channels for your customers.
• The number one characteristic of a company that is nailing omnichannel.
• The importance of understanding and merging data to drive sales.
• How to learn from Amazon to change your internal game.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BRIGHTPEARL, CLICK HERE.

TO FIND DEREK O'CARROLL ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.

Ryan DeWard is president and CEO of Unique Truck Equipment, a Michigan-based company that serves the Heavy Duty Trucking industry by providing safety products and tools to help drivers and mechanics work more safely and efficiently. As the company’s leader, Ryan’s responsibilities include strategic planning, sales and marketing, human resources, budgeting, accounting, contract negotiations, and vendor relations. Over the years Unique has grown into a multi-million dollar company and has become proficient in multiple channels including e-Commerce, catalog sales, government sales, and manufacturing/distribution. Under Ryan’s leadership, Unique has positioned itself as a market leader in diagnostics, product knowledge, vendor relations, customer service, pre-sale consultation, and personalized custom solutions.

 Listen And Learn:

• The communications tips that connect his sales-driven vision with the creative components of the company’s marketing strategies.
• The importance of online customer reviews.
• How he integrates “old school” marketing strategies with online, e-Commerce solutions.
• How he monitors the competition to better engage with his customers.
• Creating powerful customer service interactions.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT UNIQUE TRUCK EQUIPMENT CLICK HERE.

TO FIND RYAN DEWARD ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.

Erin Dwyer, vice president of digital at the skincare brand, Drunk Elephant, is a dynamic marketing executive with a 15-year progressive career and unique blend of experience that bridges gaps at the intersections of digital marketing, strategy, product, and technology. She is a confident strategist with a contagious passion for harnessing online landscapes, web platforms, social sites, and emerging apps and technologies to reach and engage audiences. Her industry experience includes entertainment, CPG, sports, software, gaming, and technology.

Listen And Learn:

• How to use your social community to test and confirm messaging.
• Why she recommends starting with an owned approach, followed by earned, paid, and shared.
• Why all marketing “starts with who you are.”
• How to execute quality and a brand’s aesthetic.
• The need to prioritize lower funnels vs. upper funnels when implementing a marketing strategy.

TO LEARN MORE DRUNK ELEPHANT CLICK HERE.

TO FIND ERIN DWYER ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.

Justin Sessink is director of digital shopping and e-Commerce at Meijer, a regional American supercenter chain with its corporate headquarters in Walker, Michigan. He is responsible for leading cross-functional teams to develop and execute Meijer’s overall digital shopping strategy, including technology, operations, fulfillment, and other key aspects of omnichannel offerings. Justin also leads the site merchandising and product teams that support digital shopping. His team crafts the customer experience for Meijer.com as it relates to curbside pickup and home delivery. Justin also served as product manager for e-Commerce technology advancements developed through the Scaled Agile Framework.

Listen And Learn: 

• About building customer loyalty by focusing on the customer experience.
• How he educates his consumers about the company’s innovative digital offerings.
• The importance of price and value, assortments, and service and experience in the supermarket industry.
• Why it’s important to not spend too much time trying to perfect something.
• His strategies for encouraging customer adoption and understanding of the learning curve when it comes to digital shopping.

TO LEARN MORE MEIJER CLICK HERE.

TO FIND JUSTIN SESSINK ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.

Kevin T. Payne is founder of kevintpayne.com and a growth and content marketing consultant. He helps early-stage startups implement growth marketing campaigns to increase their inbound leads, increase website traffic, and speed up their sales cycles by using marketing automation software. He is the creator of Growth Driven Marketing For SaaS Startups, a 12-week online intensive course for SaaS founders that teaches them how to double their leads, become influencers, and gain their investors’ trust. He also writes for several online publications including HubSpot, BlackEnterprise, Blavity, and Creativelive.

 Listen And Learn:

• How the power of digital marketing comes from integrating many different strategies.
• The importance of creating buyer personas in order to understand your audience.
• How to become an influencer in your industry.
• How to gain valuable insight into your customers by simply listening.
• How not to be overwhelmed by all the amount of information and social media channels to choose from.

TO LEARN MORE CONTENT MARKETING CONSULTANT CLICK HERE.

TO FIND KEVIN PAYNE ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.

 Marshall Rule is president of SCOTTeVEST, a company that designs innovative apparel for people who need quick and convenient access to all of their belongings at any time. Marshall’s primary responsibilities in the company are to manage the operations of every department, oversee general brand strategy as well as leverage opportunities to increase market share, and steadily drive monthly and yearly growth.

Listen And Learn:

• Why it’s so important to find the right media type to push out a product that has visual appeal.
• How to increase the lifetime value of a customer.
• How to create an experience for customers that makes them want to come back and become loyal, “platinum-level customers.”
• How eCommerce businesses are adding in brick and mortar locations, and vice versa.
• Why it’s about more than building trust; it’s about trusting your gut.

TO LEARN MORE SCOTTEVEST CLICK HERE.

TO FIND MARSHALL RULE ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.

Dr. Gustavo Grodnitzky is a speaker, author, consultant, and psychologist whose diverse background brings a unique and multidimensional perspective to his global clients. After obtaining his Ph.D. in clinical and school psychology, he completed post-docs in both cognitive therapy and forensic psychology. He has previously run an inpatient drug rehabilitation unit in a correctional institution and an outpatient mental health center. For the past 15 years, Gustavo has focused his attention on engagements with corporate clients, and he has worked with Global 1000 companies around the world, as well as with smaller, often family-run, businesses. As a consultant and professional speaker, he has delivered more than 1,000 presentations on a variety of topics, including corporate culture, emotional intelligence, anger management, and integrating multigenerational workforces.

Listen And Learn:

• Why companies that focus on culture first make more profit, and why companies that focus on profit first make less profit.
• The importance of CEOs leading by example.
• How to get rid of “the weeds in your garden,” those behaviors that undermine a healthy and productive workplace culture.
• Behavioral norms in the workplace.
• How to build a culture that ensures longevity.

TO FIND GUSTAVO GRODNITZKY ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.

Connor Wood Bicycles, LLC was founded by Chris Connor in 2012 to build wood bicycles that beautifully combine form and function. Chris, now the worldwide expert on building wood bicycles, is a longtime Denver woodworker and cycling enthusiast. After years of experience building classical guitars and designing and building modern furniture, Chris took his love and respect for the beauty, strength, and durability of wood into the realm of bicycles. Connor Wood Bicycles uses a unique combination of sustainably harvested American White Ash, Black Walnut and Kevlar in curved composite laminations throughout its bikes.

Listen And Learn:

• How he targets his audiences and creates touch points.
• Finding your strengths, finding the arena you belong, and “knowing the difference between apples and orangutans.”
• The importance of testing and scaling.
• About the unexpected places, he has found his audiences.
• How he has used earned media and third-party endorsement to grow his brand.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT CONNOR WOOD BICYCLES CLICK HERE.

TO FIND CHRIS CONNOR ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.

Liam is the founder and CEO of TimeDoctor.com, one of the world’s leading time-tracking software for remote teams. He is also the founder and CEO of Staff.com, an outsourcing company that concentrates on providing companies with long-term outsourced labor relationships. Both of these companies are focused on companies getting the best results from their employees, even if they’re working with people who live on the other side of the globe. Liam is a speaker, a writer, a metrics-based marketer, and a consultant for many online businesses concentrating on process design and scaling companies through outsourcing.

Listen And Learn:

• The complexities of time tracking for remote employees.
• Why the biggest challenge with remote employees is trust.
• How to improve and manage efficiency and productivity with remote employees.
• The importance and value in taking social media breaks.
• How to “empty your brain” and “get in the butter zone.”
• How he creates collaboration and culture with his remote team.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT TIMEDOCTOR.COM CLICK HERE.

TO FIND LIAM MARTIN ON LINKEDIN, CLICK HERE.