2018 was a great year for The Commerce Marketer Podcast. Over 26 episodes, we covered a variety of digital marketing topics like SEO, paid search, email marketing and segmentation, marketplaces, customer experience, IP infringement, and retail and marketing trends — to name a few.

In this “best of” episode, I take a look back at some of my favorite moments — both serious and fun — from 2018. The episode is styled like a mullet, with business in the front and a party in the back. In the front portion of the program, we’ll highlight the business end of digital marketing and the retail space, while in the back end we’ll focus on the fun and unexpected guest moments.

During the first half you’ll hear about:

Key insights and advice into digital marketing strategies (1:55 )
** Rethinking customer lifetime value
** Email marketing and segmentation
** Paid search and marketplaces
** Retailer content creation strategies

RETAIL TRENDS (20:52 )
** What millennials want and what makes them loyal
** Amazon buying Google Ads
** Evolution in the supply chain
** Website content and UX design
** Consumer expectations around shipping

IMPROVING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE (26:48 )
** Connecting with millennials and other generational cohorts
** How Sweet Pete’s and the Durham Bulls create fun customer experiences
** Lessons learned from the on-demand economy failures
** The secrets behind creating memorable pop-up experiences
** How to make your employees your biggest brand differentiator

ENTREPRENEURSHIP: STORIES, LESSONS LEARNED, AND GROWING YOUR BUSINESS (36:08 )
** Starting a brewery by watching YouTube
** How to identify an opportunity in the market
** How luck can play a role in entrepreneurial success

HOW RETAILERS VIEW AND USE SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING (40:47 )
** How brands utilize social media to engage customers and humanize your brand
** Ways different social channels are used
** The changing landscape of social media influencers
** Video marketing strategies and how things have changed

During the back half of this episode you’ll hear some of the funniest moments of the year, including:
** Funny moments and out-of-context audio (46:50 )
** Best technical interruptions and tangents (51:05 )
** “Is a hot dog a sandwich” debate (55:14 )
** The most thought-out hot dog-sandwich answer (59:30 )
** Which one meal would people eat for the rest of their lives (1:04:37 )?
** The best guilty pleasures of 2018 (1:07:11 )
** Go-to karaoke songs (1:10:22 )
** Most unique and intriguing 15-second lightning round answers (1:12:44 )

I hope you’ve enjoyed The Commerce Marketer Podcast to this point. Keep listening for even more great episodes coming in 2019, and if you’re interested in sharing your story, be sure to let me know.

Keep listening, give us a 5-star rating, and be sure to share us with friends and colleagues.

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