Bringing Business to Retail

Salena Knight | Retail & Ecommerce Growth Strategist
  • 4.6 (8)
  • Marketing
  • Updated Weekly

Bringing Business to Retail is the podcast for established retail and ecommerce store owners who want more profit, more repeat customers and a business that depends on them less. Your store is growing. You want the profit to grow with it. But with stock to buy, customers to bring back and a team to lead, what deserves your attention first? I'm Sal, a retail and ecommerce growth strategist who founded, built and sold a chain of retail stores. I help you look at what's happening in your business and decide what to change next. Expect practical conversations about cash flow, inventory, pricing, promotions, retail marketing, customer retention and leading your team. Decisions you can take back to your shop floor or online store. Follow Bringing Business to Retail, then choose an episode about the part of your business you want to improve. Episodes and resources: https://salenaknight.com/podcast-2/

  1. 14h ago ·  Video

    How Much Should You Give Away to Your Best Customers?

    Your best customers have spent thousands with you this year. So what does your thank you gift say about what they're worth? A store owner in a country town has run her VIP night for ten years. Fifty to sixty regulars come in for three hours and spend what she'd usually take in three to five days. This year she wants to drop the discount, hit $10,000, and give a free $80 sweater to anyone who spends $150. She's costed it, and it comes out the same as her usual 20% off. Sal runs her numbers live, and finds a problem before a single customer walks in the door. You'll hear: - What happened when Mecca's top spenders opened this year's thank you gift - The cost almost every store owner leaves out when they price an event night - Three ways Sal would get the night to $10,000 Show notes and transcript: https://salenaknight.com/reward-loyal-customers/ My Black Friday Formula interviews you about your store and builds your Black Friday offers, products, emails and socials: https://salenaknight.com/bff

    How Much Should You Give Away to Your Best Customers?

  2. Oct 21 ·  Video

    Should You Discount End-of-Season Stock This Black Friday?

    Should you do 25% off everything this Black Friday? That's what Stacey, who owns two children's shoe stores, asked inside My Million Dollar Store. Stacey's shoes are made for her stores, she gets a couple of deliveries a year, and she'd rather have the cash than the boxes. In this episode, Sal explains why the discount percentage is the last thing to decide, and builds Stacey's Black Friday offer back from the outcome she needs: selling more pairs. You'll hear: - Why a flat 25% off everything brings in bargain hunters who buy one pair - The multi-buy Sal would run instead, and the wording mistake to avoid - Why new-season stock and full-price VIPs should stay out of the sale Show notes and transcript: https://salenaknight.com/black-friday-offer/ My Black Friday Formula interviews you about your store and builds your Black Friday offers, products, emails and socials: https://salenaknight.com/bff

    Should You Discount End-of-Season Stock This Black Friday?

  3. Oct 1

    3 Simple Marketing Tips For When You're Busy

    Q4 has a way of filling every available minute. Stock is arriving. Orders need to be packed. Staff need to be rostered. Customers need help. Christmas ranges need organizing. And somewhere in the middle of all of that, you're still supposed to send your weekly email and keep showing up on social media. The problem isn't that retailers don't know marketing matters. The problem is that when the business gets busy, marketing is often the thing that gets pushed to "later." And later rarely comes. In this episode, Salena Knight shares three simple strategies to keep your marketing moving when you're already at capacity. 1. Set a sales target and check it every Monday When Q4 gets busy, it's easy to stop looking at the numbers and simply hope sales come in. Instead, Salena recommends setting your target now and checking in on it every Monday. Knowing where you are versus where you need to be gives you a much clearer idea of what action needs to happen that week. 2. Prioritize what actually makes money Not everything on your to-do list is equally important. Salena shares the example of a boutique owner who was overwhelmed with everything she needed to do. When they stripped the list back, it came down to two priorities: find staff and make money. When time is limited, the tasks that directly contribute to revenue need to get a place in the calendar rather than waiting for a gap that may never come. 3. Double dip your marketing You don't need to create brand-new content for every channel. Take the newsletter you've already written and turn it into several social posts. Use the same promotion on your website, in-store signage, text messages, and email. The content you've already created can work harder for you. The bigger takeaway is that busy season isn't the time to try to do everything. It's the time to prioritize the marketing that actually moves the business forward. And if you need help knowing what marketing needs to happen and when, Salena's free 12-week holiday marketing calendar maps out the key marketing activities from October 1 through Christmas.

    3 Simple Marketing Tips For When You're Busy

  4. Sep 15

    Don't Build a Bigger Black Friday List. Build More Black Friday Customers.

    Bringing Business to Retail

    Don't Build a Bigger Black Friday List. Build More Black Friday Customers.

  5. Sep 11

    Why The Products That You Regret Buying Are More Important Than You Think

    In this episode, Salena Knight explains why the products you regret buying can be some of the most valuable data in your retail or ecommerce business. It is easy to focus on best sellers, products that sold out, and suppliers that performed well. But your clearance section, old stock, and products that have been sitting in the warehouse can tell you just as much - and sometimes more - about your buying decisions. Salena walks through how to look beyond "it didn't sell" and identify what actually went wrong. Was the product itself the problem? Did you buy too much? Was the colour selection wrong? Was the price too high? Did demand only appear after a significant discount? She also explains why clearing old stock isn't enough. If you don't understand the buying decision that created the excess inventory, you risk making the same decision again with a different product. You'll learn how to: Use old stock as buying data Distinguish between a product problem and an overbuying problem Look at sales performance alongside discounts and timing Identify patterns across seasons and product ranges Recognise assumptions that influence your buying decisions Turn disappointing inventory into a lesson for future buying Ask better questions before repeating a buying decision The key takeaway: You've already paid for the stock. Make sure you get the lesson from it, too.

    Why The Products That You Regret Buying Are More Important Than You Think

  6. Aug 27

    How To Buy Products That Make More Money

    You found the perfect product. You know your customers will love it. So you buy it. But what if that isn't enough to make it a good buying decision? In this episode, Salena challenges the way retailers think about inventory and explains why buying isn't just about finding products that fit your brand or that you believe will sell. Every dollar you put into stock is a dollar that can't be used somewhere else in your business, which means every product needs to earn its place. Salena walks through how to think about inventory as an investment, why your revenue and profit goals should influence your buying decisions, and why the speed at which a product turns back into cash matters just as much as whether it eventually sells. You'll also hear how one retailer discovered that the brand they thought was performing well wasn't the whole story. Once they looked more closely at the individual products, they found that bright prints were selling much faster than the plains and neutrals. That kind of insight can completely change what you choose to buy next. If you're heading into a major buying season and want to make decisions based on more than instinct, this episode will help you look at your inventory through a much more commercial lens. Register for the free Q3 Masterclass Series here.

    How To Buy Products That Make More Money

  7. Aug 18

    How to Get More Sales Without Spending More on Marketing

    In this episode, we're talking about a problem a lot of retailers are feeling right now: getting customers to your website is costing more, so how do you make more money from the traffic you already have? Krisztian Kiraly, International Partnership Manager at OptiMonk, joins us to unpack the idea of "conversion before acquisition" - improving the customer experience and conversion rate before simply spending more to acquire additional traffic. We talk about why independent retailers and ecommerce businesses can't win by trying to outspend massive marketplaces like Amazon, Temu and SHEIN, and what they can do instead. A big focus of the conversation is the changing role of the product page. As customers increasingly discover products through Google, Google Shopping and AI tools, they may arrive directly on a product page without ever visiting the retailer's homepage. That means your product page needs to do much more than list a product. It needs to sell it. Krisztian shares five areas retailers should focus on to improve their product pages, including better imagery, benefit-led headlines and stronger trust signals. We also get into AI-powered personalisation and how retailers can make the experience more relevant based on where customers came from, what they've viewed and what they're likely looking for. In this episode, we discuss: Why rising acquisition costs are putting pressure on ecommerce profitability The "conversion before acquisition" mindset Why your product page is becoming your new landing page and salesperson The role of reviews, testimonials, customer photos and videos in building trust How AI is changing the customer journey What hyper-personalisation can look like in ecommerce How to get more revenue from the traffic you're already paying for Free audit and consultation: ConversionLift AI consultation

    How to Get More Sales Without Spending More on Marketing

  8. Aug 11

    How This Fabric Store Increased Profits by 40%

    What does it take to build a retail business that is profitable, deeply connected to its community, and still growing years after opening? In this episode, Salena chats with Jill Schuler, CEO of The Stitchery Studio, a fabric shop and studio that has grown from one person's dream into a thriving creative community. Since opening in 2017, Jill has taken a considered approach to modern textiles, combining retail with education, creativity and connection. The result is a business that gives customers a reason to keep coming back, while continuing to evolve and grow. And the numbers are worth paying attention to. Jill shares how The Stitchery Studio has grown sales by 30% and increased profit by 40%. But this episode isn't simply about the numbers. Jill shares what sits behind that growth, including the importance of building the right team, creating experiences customers value, expanding into new areas such as leather work, and staying committed to a vision that is genuinely her own. Jill also talks openly about why she started the business in the first place. For her, retail is about bringing together her passion for craft and community with a need she saw around her: creating connection and countering isolation and loneliness. If you're a retailer looking to grow without losing sight of what makes your business different, this conversation is full of practical ideas to take away. If you're building a retail business that you want to be both profitable and meaningful, this episode is worth a listen. Register for the free Q3 Masterclass Series here.

    How This Fabric Store Increased Profits by 40%
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4.6
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About

Bringing Business to Retail is the podcast for established retail and ecommerce store owners who want more profit, more repeat customers and a business that depends on them less. Your store is growing. You want the profit to grow with it. But with stock to buy, customers to bring back and a team to lead, what deserves your attention first? I'm Sal, a retail and ecommerce growth strategist who founded, built and sold a chain of retail stores. I help you look at what's happening in your business and decide what to change next. Expect practical conversations about cash flow, inventory, pricing, promotions, retail marketing, customer retention and leading your team. Decisions you can take back to your shop floor or online store. Follow Bringing Business to Retail, then choose an episode about the part of your business you want to improve. Episodes and resources: https://salenaknight.com/podcast-2/

Information

  • Creator
    Salena Knight | Retail & Ecommerce Growth Strategist
  • Years Active
    2016 - 2026
  • Episodes
    636
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © The Retail Strategists
  • Show Website
    Bringing Business to Retail

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