Cracking CPG Retention — Will Nitze, Founder/CEO (IQBAR)

03/29/23 • 51 min

Will Nitze is the Founder/CEO of the CPG brand IQBAR.

Catch a deep dive into the secrets of customer retention in the CPG category. Will shares his insights on how to overcome the unique challenges and seize the opportunities of each channel (Shopify, brick & mortar, wholesale, etc...) to drive growth and loyalty for your brand.

Discover his innovative approach to customer retention, which involves post-purchase surveys and creating multiple touchpoints to build a loyal customer base.

And that's not all - the conversation also covers fundraising, investments, and the power of the “founder-led” brand. Get ready to be inspired and take your CPG brand to the next level!

The TYCA Podcast is brought to you by Wonderment — the #1 platform loved by eCommerce support, operations, and marketing teams alike to deliver the most holistic post-purchase experience imaginable.

Wonderment is the retention iOS used by over 1000 customer-first shopify brands like Jones Road Beauty, Igloo, The Ridge, Simplehuman, and more. Check out www.wonderment.com today.

Follow Blake

Twitter

Get in touch with Will
LinkedIn
Try IQBAR

Timestamps

(0:00) Intro

(0:32) Will's journey and IQ Bar story — how he became interested in brain food, leading to the creation of IQ Bar.

(3:24) Rapid fire questions - Get to know Will better, including his favorite CPG brand and best recent purchase under $100.

(9:05) - How Will thinks about the intersection between brick and mortar retail and DTC in CPG.

(13:00) Wonderment — the CX platform that powers Shopify’s best CPG brands.

(15:00) Why DTC and brick and mortar are vastly different — and why brick & mortar is more profitable.

(16:30) Optimizing for Revenue vs. Gross Margin

The importance of optimizing for revenue in the early days of D2C and how it has shifted to optimizing for gross and net margin. The importance of considering the era and what you are optimizing for when deciding on a channel strategy.

(18:20) Customer Retention Strategies for CPG

Steps taken to grow customer retention at IQ Bar, including post-purchase surveys and focusing on creating a loyal customer base.

(24:15) Subscription offers, limited-time offers (LTOs), etc... and how that helps the DTC channel.

(26:00) Why Will is bullish on distributing to offices & other unconventional wholesale distribution outlets

(29:00) Education and Mass Marketability discussion

(32:15) Approach to DTC Retention

Importance of reducing CAC, increasing AOV, and increasing LTV, and how IQ Bar has leaned into the basics and been more scientific over time.

(35:30) What bad recommendations get made often in CPG/DTC

(37:45) Fundraising and Bootstrapping

Advice on fundraising and bootstrapping in the CPG industry, including the importance of raising money, being capital efficient, and valuing time.

(42:00) Investing in Internal Skills

The importance of investing in internal skill development and building redundancies in the team, rather than outsourcing everything too early.

(46:00)Founder-Led Brand

The impact of sharing your story and being on social media channels like LinkedIn on building a founder-led brand and creating an emotional attachment with the audience over time.

(47:00) Building Relationships and Networking

(48:00) The Ongoing Experiment of Sharing Your Story

(48:59)Where to Find IQ Bar

Will Nitze is the Founder/CEO of the CPG brand IQBAR.

Discover his innovative approach to customer retention, which involves post-purchase surveys and creating multiple touchpoints to build a loyal customer base.

And that's not all - the conversation also covers fundraising, investments, and the power of the “founder-led” brand. Get ready to be inspired and take your CPG brand to the next level!

Wonderment is the retention iOS used by over 1000 customer-first shopify brands like Jones Road Beauty, Igloo, The Ridge, Simplehuman, and more. Check out www.wonderment.com today.

Follow Blake

Twitter

Get in touch with Will
LinkedIn
Try IQBAR

Timestamps

(0:00) Intro

(0:32) Will's journey and IQ Bar story — how he became interested in brain food, leading to the creation of IQ Bar.

(3:24) Rapid fire questions - Get to know Will better, including his favorite CPG brand and best recent purchase under $100.

(9:05) - How Will thinks about the intersection between brick and mortar retail and DTC in CPG.

(13:00) Wonderment — the CX platform that powers Shopify’s best CPG brands.

(15:00) Why DTC and brick and mortar are vastly different — and why brick & mortar is more profitable.

(16:30) Optimizing for Revenue vs. Gross Margin

(18:20) Customer Retention Strategies for CPG

Steps taken to grow customer retention at IQ Bar, including post-purchase surveys and focusing on creating a loyal customer base.

(24:15) Subscription offers, limited-time offers (LTOs), etc... and how that helps the DTC channel.

(26:00) Why Will is bullish on distributing to offices & other unconventional wholesale distribution outlets

(29:00) Education and Mass Marketability discussion

(32:15) Approach to DTC Retention

Importance of reducing CAC, increasing AOV, and increasing LTV, and how IQ Bar has leaned into the basics and been more scientific over time.

(35:30) What bad recommendations get made often in CPG/DTC

(37:45) Fundraising and Bootstrapping

Advice on fundraising and bootstrapping in the CPG industry, including the importance of raising money, being capital efficient, and valuing time.

(42:00) Investing in Internal Skills

The importance of investing in internal skill development and building redundancies in the team, rather than outsourcing everything too early.

(46:00)Founder-Led Brand

The impact of sharing your story and being on social media channels like LinkedIn on building a founder-led brand and creating an emotional attachment with the audience over time.

(47:00) Building Relationships and Networking

(48:00) The Ongoing Experiment of Sharing Your Story

(48:59)Where to Find IQ Bar

Previous Episode

Shopify SMS Retention Playbook: Keeping Customers Coming Back with Postscript CEO Adam Turner

What’s the right way to think about customer retention on SMS? Adam Turner, CEO of the leading Shopify SMS platform, Postscript, shares the playbook that 1000s of Shopify merchants are using to keep their customers coming back to buy again and again.

SMS is a heck of a lot more than a one and done sales channel and in this episode Adam offers a tactical approach to keeping customers engaged for the long haul with real examples. We also discuss other topics like why Transactional SMS with Wonderment is a must-have, the role of conversational SMS, how to prepare for the upcoming iOS inbox changes, and much more. If you are doing any sort of SMS marketing, you NEED to listen to this conversation with Adam.

Wonderment is the retention iOS used by over 1000 customer-first shopify brands like Jones Road Beauty, Igloo, The Ridge, Simplehuman, and more. Check out www.wonderment.com today.

Watch the video format of today's episode here.

Follow Blake

Twitter

Get in touch with Adam and Postscript

Postscript

Timestamps ⏰

(0:00) - intro

(2:00) - Who is Adam Turner and Postscript?

(5:40) - What’s the Postscript way of SMS what is Subscriber Lifetime Value (SLTV)?

(10:18) - What was the evolution of implementing subscriber LTV and ARMR metrics to measure SMS program health?

(12:45) Wonderment + Postscript is a winning combination for your SMS program

(14:50) What are the common retention mistakes brands make with SMS?
(20:00) What are some of Adam’s favorite SMS examples right now? Gunner Kennels, Mr. Beast's Feastables, & more

(24:23) - Is SMS more than a revenue channel? What does it mean to do great CX over SMS?

(27:57) - What is the true value of transactional SMS given that it’s one of the most engaged texts a brand will ever send?

(31:47) - What are the lowest-hanging fruits to improve customer retention and experience on SMS?

(33:10) - Impending iOS SMS inbox changes... should we be worried and what can we do now?

(36:55) - where is the future of SMS headed?

Rapid fire round get to know Adam better!

(40:18) - what’s the best text that Adam has received from a brand?

(41:27) - Adam’s top 3 albums of all time

(42:00) - If Adam could get a message out to everyone about SMS, what would it be?

(43:00) - What’s the best purchase Adam has made of something under $100?

(43:55) - What is the #1 thing Adam is most proud of during his time at Postscript?

Next Episode

The Rainmaker's Playbook: How Mid-Day Squares Became a CPG Game Changer

Jake Karls is the co-founder of Mid-Day Squares, a functional and better-for-you chocolate snacks CPG company.

As you’ll learn, this “Resident Rainmaker” is full of inspiring energy and wisdom for anyone in the CPG or eCommerce industry.

Blake and Jake discuss customer retention strategies, the importance of authenticity, and the challenges of shipping perishable goods.

Jake emphasizes the importance of storytelling and building emotional connections with customers to drive organic growth and word-of-mouth marketing.

He also shares his motto of "get comfortable being uncomfortable" and advises current and aspiring CPG and DTC founders to invest in innovation and be true to themselves.

Wonderment is the retention iOS used by over 1000 customer-first shopify brands like Jones Road Beauty, Igloo, The Ridge, Simplehuman, and more. Check out www.wonderment.com today.

Follow Blake
Follow Jake
Grab some Mid-Day Squares

Watch the video format of today's episode here.

Timestamps and Summary

(0:00) - Intro

(1:20) Who is Mid-Day Squares & Jake Karls

(2:39) Blake tries Mid-Day Squares Live

(4:24) Jake's best purchase under $100, his favorite hype song, and more

(5:31) Jake’s #1 message he wants to share with the world

(7:31) Building a Personal Brand and Community - How Mid-Day Squares Approaches It

(9:49) Mid-Day Squares approach to Creating a Reality Show on Entrepreneurship

(12:06) Wonderment, the #1 CX platform for Shopify

(13:58) The Growth Impact of Building a Personal Brand and Community on a CPG or eCommerce Brand