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

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.

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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