A SEAT at THE TABLE: Helping business leaders grow their influence

Jane Singer
  • 5.0 (11)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Join the discussion as we unpack what’s working, what’s not and how to stand out and win in a competitive market.

  1. 2h ago

    The Cybersecurity Problem Nobody Is Fixing

    Your Biggest Cybersecurity Problem Isn't Technology Companies are spending more on cybersecurity than ever. Yet cyberattacks, breaches and vulnerabilities continue to increase. What if we're trying to solve the wrong problem? In this episode of A Seat at The Table, Jane Singer talks with cybersecurity expert Greg van der Gaast about why many cybersecurity failures aren't really technology failures at all. They're symptoms of deeper problems in the way an organization operates. Greg has spent more than 25 years in cybersecurity, including working undercover for the U.S. government and advising executives, boards and organizations on cybersecurity risk. But today, he argues that companies need to stop thinking about cybersecurity primarily as a technical problem. Instead, executives should ask a different question: What is happening inside our organization that allowed this vulnerability to exist in the first place? Why More Cybersecurity May Not Make You More Secure When a vulnerability is discovered, the conventional response is usually to add another security tool, process, test or layer of protection. Greg argues that this treats the symptom rather than the cause. An unpatched system, badly configured server, vulnerable application or outdated piece of technology didn't simply appear. Decisions, processes and behaviors inside the organization allowed that problem to develop. The underlying issue could be poor software engineering, inadequate lifecycle planning, unclear ownership, bad incentives, weak governance, inefficient processes or an IT function that isn't operating effectively. Fix those underlying problems and companies can potentially eliminate entire categories of cybersecurity risk rather than paying indefinitely to mitigate them. Greg shares the example of a SaaS company with a large number of software vulnerabilities. Instead of building a bigger application-security function to continually find and fix vulnerabilities, the company addressed weaknesses in its engineering practices. Within 12 months, vulnerabilities fell by 87% — without adding more security work. But the benefits went far beyond cybersecurity. The application became more reliable, customer renewals improved, engineering turnover dropped and the company's AWS bill fell by €2.3 million. The security vulnerabilities were signals of a much bigger business problem. Cybersecurity as a Quality Problem One of Greg's most useful ideas is surprisingly simple: Treat cybersecurity vulnerabilities as quality defects. If a manufacturer repeatedly discovers the same defect, management doesn't simply build a bigger department to repair defective products forever. It asks what is happening earlier in the process that's creating the defect. Greg argues that companies should apply the same thinking to cybersecurity. Why wasn't the software patched?Why was the system misconfigured?Why is unsupported legacy technology still operating?Why was insecure software developed?Why wasn't the technology lifecycle planned?Why did employees have access to systems they didn't need?Keep asking "why" and eventually the conversation moves away from cybersecurity technology and toward management, processes, organizational structure, incentives, accountability and leadership. That's where Greg believes many cybersecurity problems really begin. Why Blaming Employees Misses the Point Companies frequently describe employees as their biggest cybersecurity weakness. Greg challenges that assumption. If a marketing intern clicks a phishing link and that action can bring down a company's critical financial systems, the real question isn't simply why the employee clicked. Why was one employee's mistake capable of causing so much damage? There should have been multiple layers of organizational and technical protection between that phishing email and a critical production environment. Blaming the employee can prevent companies from investigating the systemic failures that made the incident possible. Why Cybersecurity Is a Leadership Issue Many CEOs, CFOs and other senior executives assume cybersecurity belongs to IT because they don't consider themselves technically qualified to make cybersecurity decisions. Greg believes that can be a costly mistake. Executives don't necessarily need deep technical cybersecurity expertise. They already understand many of the skills needed to address the underlying problems: accountability, incentives, governance, organizational structure, quality, investment decisions and operational efficiency. In fact, Greg argues that once executives understand cybersecurity from first principles, they may be better positioned to make the strategic decisions that improve security than people looking at the problem exclusively through a technical lens. Cybersecurity becomes a business management problem — not simply an IT problem. What You'll Learn in This Episode Jane and Greg discuss: • Why cybersecurity spending keeps increasing without eliminating cyber risk • Why cybersecurity vulnerabilities should be treated as quality defects • How poor engineering practices create security vulnerabilities • Why fixing root causes can be cheaper than continually mitigating cyber risk • How organizational health affects cybersecurity • Why IT processes, governance and incentives deserve more attention • Why executives don't need to be cybersecurity experts to improve security • How cybersecurity problems can expose waste elsewhere in the organization • Why blaming employees for phishing attacks can hide larger systemic failures • How IT and business alignment affects cyber risk • Why adding more cybersecurity technology isn't always the answer • How continuous improvement and root-cause analysis can be applied to cybersecurity • Why CEOs and CFOs should take a more active role in cybersecurity strategy • How better technology management can improve security, productivity and profitability at the same time 00:00 Why cybersecurity may not be a technology problem 02:22 What cybersecurity gets wrong 09:13 Fixing the cause instead of the vulnerability 12:13 When cybersecurity is really an organizational problem 16:19 Why CEOs should rethink cybersecurity 23:15 Why blaming employees misses the real problem 24:28 Does more cybersecurity spending make you safer? Questions This Episode Answers Why do companies keep getting hacked despite spending more on cybersecurity? Greg argues that companies frequently spend money mitigating vulnerabilities without addressing the organizational behaviors and processes creating those vulnerabilities. Is cybersecurity really an IT problem? Technology is certainly involved, but many vulnerabilities originate in management decisions, software development practices, lifecycle planning, incentives, governance and organizational structure. Can better business processes improve cybersecurity? Yes. Greg's approach focuses on improving the underlying processes that produce technology, reducing the number of vulnerabilities that need to be managed later. Should CEOs understand cybersecurity? Executives don't necessarily need to understand the technical details of hacking. They do need to understand how organizational decisions create or reduce risk. Are employees really the weakest link in cybersecurity? Greg argues that blaming an employee for clicking a phishing link can miss the bigger issue: the organizational and technical failures that allowed one mistake to cause significant damage. Does spending more money on cybersecurity make a company safer? Not necessarily. Greg discusses why the maturity of IT and business processes — and alignment between IT and the business — can be more important than simply buying more cybersecurity tools. How can companies reduce cybersecurity costs? Instead of continually paying to mitigate recurring vulnerabilities, Greg recommends tracing security problems upstream and addressing the processes, behaviors and organizational structures that create them. The Bigger Takeaway Cybersecurity vulnerabilities aren't just threats that need to be managed. They're clues. They can reveal poor engineering, inefficient IT operations, weak governance, bad incentives, outdated systems and other organizational problems that may already be costing the company money. Rather than asking: "What cybersecurity tool do we need to fix this?" Greg suggests executives start asking: "Why did our organization create this vulnerability in the first place?" Answer that question, and you may not only build a more secure company. You may build a better-run and more profitable one. Get more B2B insights: Subscribe to A Seat at The Table's newsletter for weekly B2B strategy: https://seat.fm/join-our-newsletter/ Learn how to build a B2B marketing system: https://seat.fm/marketing-mentor/ SEND US A MESSAGE Visit A Seat at The Table's website at https://seat.fm

    The Cybersecurity Problem Nobody Is Fixing

  2. 6d ago

    Why More Views Won’t Grow Your B2B Sales

    Key Insights:  “A fan base is not a customer base in B2B.” “It's not about who's going to 'like' me, but who's going to pay me?” Episode Description Getting more views feels like marketing success. But if you're selling a specialized B2B product or service, reaching more people may not get you any closer to a sale. The marketing playbook that works for consumer brands doesn't necessarily work for B2B. Consumer products such as food, toothpaste or detergent have enormous potential audiences. For these companies, reaching more people can increase the pool of potential customers. Most B2B companies face a very different situation. If you're selling industrial equipment, supply chain technology, materials, professional services or another specialized B2B product, your total addressable market may be relatively small. That changes how you should think about marketing. Instead of optimizing for more views, you need to optimize for better views. In this episode of A Seat at the Table, Jane Singer explains why B2B marketers need to stop treating marketing like a popularity contest—and why “fewer but better” can be a much more effective strategy for building brand authority and ultimately generating sales. What You'll Learn In this episode, you'll discover: Why B2B companies shouldn't judge marketing success by the same metrics used by consumer brands and influencers.Why thousands of views from the wrong audience can be less valuable than 20 views from potential customers.How optimizing content for reach can actually dilute its value to the niche audience you're trying to attract.Why a large following or email list isn't necessarily a valuable customer base.The difference between building a fan base and building a customer base.Why targeted marketing often works even when traditional metrics don't make its impact immediately obvious.How consistency and frequency help B2B companies build authority over a longer sales cycle.Why marketers need to ask “Who is likely to pay me?” rather than simply “Who is likely to like me?”The B2B Marketing Metric That Matters One of the biggest traps in B2B marketing is assuming that bigger numbers automatically mean better results. A LinkedIn post might attract thousands of views and dozens of likes. But how many of those people actually work for companies that could buy your product? For B2B marketers, audience quality matters more than audience size. A post seen by 19 relevant decision-makers could potentially be more valuable than one seen by 10,000 people who have no need for what you sell. That means B2B marketers need to rethink what successful marketing looks like. Instead of asking: “How do we reach more people?” Ask: “How do we repeatedly reach the right people?” That shift affects everything from the channels you use to the content you create and the metrics you use to evaluate marketing performance. Why B2B Marketing Takes Time Effective B2B marketing is rarely about one viral post, one email or one campaign. It's about repeatedly providing useful, relevant information to a narrowly defined audience. That can make B2B marketing frustrating because its impact isn't always immediately visible in a dashboard. Someone may read your newsletter or see your content for months—or even years—before becoming a customer. That's why consistency matters. The goal isn't to win the attention game this week. It's to become known and trusted by the relatively small group of people who could eventually buy from you. Fewer people. Better people. Reached consistently. That's a very different marketing strategy from chasing views. Build a B2B Marketing System You Can Actually Maintain If you know your company needs to market more consistently but marketing keeps getting pushed down the to-do list, the Consistent Marketing System is designed to help. It's a one-to-one program for B2B companies that want to turn sporadic marketing into a practical, repeatable system—so marketing gets done consistently without requiring an enterprise-sized marketing department. Learn more about the Consistent Marketing System Questions This Episode Answers Why am I getting views on LinkedIn but no B2B sales? High engagement doesn't necessarily mean you're reaching potential customers. If the people viewing or liking your content aren't part of your addressable market, those numbers may have very little connection to sales. Should B2B marketers focus on reach or audience quality? For specialized B2B companies, audience quality usually matters more. Your potential customer base may be relatively small, so the goal isn't necessarily to reach as many people as possible. It's to repeatedly reach the people most likely to need—and buy—what you sell. Are views and likes good metrics for B2B marketing? They can tell you whether content is attracting attention, but they don't necessarily tell you whether your marketing is reaching potential buyers. A smaller audience made up of relevant decision-makers can be far more valuable than a large audience with little purchasing potential. Why doesn't social media engagement translate into B2B sales? Social media platforms are designed to generate engagement across broad audiences. B2B companies often need to reach a much narrower group of buyers. That's why a post can generate considerable engagement without generating meaningful sales opportunities. Can a B2B company be successful without going viral? Absolutely. B2B marketing doesn't need to go viral to work. Consistently delivering useful, relevant content to a narrowly defined group of potential customers can build authority and trust over time. Why is consistency so important in B2B marketing? B2B buying decisions often happen over long periods of time. Consistent marketing keeps your company visible and gives potential customers repeated opportunities to become familiar with your expertise and value. Quotable Ideas From This Episode (from Jane Singer, host, A Seat at The Table podcast and media founder) “You want to think of it from the point of view of fewer but better.”“ Not who's going to like me, but who's going to pay me?” “A fan base is not a customer base in B2B.” “When you're optimizing to get more views, more clicks, more likes, you dilute the value of what you're providing people.” “This post only got 19 views. Is that a failure? No, not necessarily if it were 19 people who actually would buy your product.” “You have to be able to plant seeds and keep watering and then finally get a harvest.” Learn more about the Consistent Marketing SystemSEND US A MESSAGE Visit A Seat at The Table's website at https://seat.fm

    Why More Views Won’t Grow Your B2B Sales

  3. Aug 23

    Getting Consumers Off the Couch and Into Stores

    After decades of focusing on driving online sales, brands are recognizing the critical importance of human connection. The return to physical retail, driven by Gen Z, mean that brands now have to close the gap  between brand promise and customer experience. How do we now leverage physical retail to build engagement and create an in-store experience that get consumers away from their screens and into the store. I’m Jane Singer and welcome back to A Seat at The Table where we take a look at what’s working, what’s not and best practices so that you can get your seat at the table. Today we are joined by Irma Sandoval, a brand-side marketing leader at Logitech with decades of experience shaping category-defining marketing, especially at retail and in-store experiences And Carolyn Walker, owner of Stay Gold, a specialist in brand strategy, that turns insight, culture, and creativity into real-world results. In this podcast Carolyn and Irma will be discussing • What brands get wrong about human connection. • When physical retail delivers and when it doesn’t. • The gap between brand promise and customer experience. • How culture and emotion actually drive commercial results. If you are looking to leverage your physical stores, this is the podcast for you! USEFUL LINKS: Carolyn Walker:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolynwalker/ Response Agency:  https://stay-gold.co Irma Sandoval at Logitech: https://www.linkedin.com/in/irma-sandoval-55528212/ SEND US A MESSAGE Visit A Seat at The Table's website at https://seat.fm

    Getting Consumers Off the Couch and Into Stores

  4. Aug 19

    Preparing to Survive A Supply Chain Crisis (with minimal damage)

    Episode Summary On this episode of A Seat at the Table, Jane Singer welcomes Susan Kargel founder of Brute Mitigator and a leading expert in freight forwarding, customs clearance, trade compliance, and operational resiliency. Together, they tackle the increasing complexity of global supply chains, rising risks—especially from cyberattacks—and the rapidly evolving landscape of customs regulations. The episode explores best practices for business continuity, building redundancy, leveraging AI (and recognizing its limits), and practical ways logistics and supply chain professionals can prepare for an era of exponential change. Key  Points 1. The New Era of Supply Chain Risk The rise in disruptions: tariffs, cyberattacks, natural disasters, technology outages, and their extensive impact on logistics and customs operations (Jane Singer, Susan Kargel at 00:00:00).Why compliance is now "at the table"—and why it's crucial to integrate customs and trade teams into resilience planning (00:01:37).Common misunderstandings among leadership about supply chain resilience and the oversimplification of business continuity planning (00:02:19).2. Moving Beyond Basic Business Continuity Plans Gaps in standard business continuity planning: lack of detailed processes for operational recovery after technology failures (00:02:50).The essential role of cross-functional planning—engaging leadership, IT, HR, compliance, and operations to identify and prioritize critical functions, define restoration priorities, and establish clear communication channels (00:06:21).Importance of "fire drills" and scenario planning to transform contingency procedures from paper plans into instinctive, actionable responses (00:08:26).3. Building Redundancy in Customs & Logistics Operations Real-world supply chain continuity: using hybrid models of in-house and third-party customs brokerage to avoid single points of failure (00:13:03).How documentation, data sharing, and vendor relationships can serve as insurance policies to minimize business disruption (00:14:08, 00:16:02).The risk of losing "tribal knowledge" of manual processes—why documenting old workarounds is essential as experienced staff retire (00:18:20).4. Dealing with the Surge in Customs Complexity Rapidly changing tariffs and enforcement: impact on U.S. importers and the need for up-to-date, validated documentation (00:19:39).Why accurate classification, valuation, and country-of-origin tracing are more vital than ever in the face of stricter enforcement and whistleblower incentives (00:22:42).The compounding cost of errors, from penalties to demurrage and delayed shipments (00:25:22, 00:26:02).5. AI, Automation & the Human Factor in Customs and Logistics The promise of AI: improving efficiency in customs declaration processing, document handling, and inventory management (00:28:38).Using machine learning to extract data from documents, reduce manual entry, and highlight discrepancies (00:29:40).Risks: overreliance on AI can erode process knowledge and may propagate errors if not audited by subject matter experts (00:31:19, 00:36:17).Security considerations: understanding data privacy, AI data usage, and toggling off default data sharing settings (00:33:09).Legal responsibility for errors: customs will not accept "AI made the mistake"—final accountability remains with the company (00:35:37, 00:36:44).6. Building Team Resilience - Tools & Training The value of structured, practical training for logistics teams—building bench strength, team alignment, and documentation of both digital and manual contingencies (00:41:41).Highlights from Susan Kargel’s online courses: templates, guides, communication plans, business-critical function assessment, crisis workshops (00:41:41–00:43:04).Actionable Takeaways Integrate functional leaders with IT in resilience planning—Business units know operational priorities; IT needs these priorities to restore systems effectively.Develop and test crisis communication plans—Repeated, hands-on scenario drills ("fire drills") prepare teams for actual disruptions.Build redundancy in customs processing—Consider hybrid approaches, ensure data is shareable and workflows are documented, not siloed.Stay current on customs regulations and enforcement—Assign resources to monitor changes, audit classification and valuation, and document every step.Embrace AI with caution—Use it to automate repetitive tasks but maintain human oversight for accuracy, compliance, and documentation.Document manual workarounds—Prevent knowledge loss as experienced staff retire, especially for reverting to manual processes during crises.Invest in training—Equip teams to understand both technical and manual aspects of operations for true resilience.Notable Quotes "[Compliance is] at the table now. That's very exciting." (Susan Kargel 00:01:48)"If your system goes down... there's no online system to process it. You’re going to have to go find another declaration processing system." (Susan Kargel 00:04:36)"Just because you use AI, if there's a mistake, you can't tell customs, 'Oh, I used AI and it told me that.' You're still responsible for the outcome." (Susan Kargel 00:35:37)"You want to kind of control your own destiny and you need your providers too. But both can help each other." (Susan Kargel 00:15:35)"Build knowledge, build strength, build teamwork—just things that companies should have." (Susan Kargel 00:43:40)Resources & Further Learning Brute Mitigator online courses – logistics team resilience, crisis planning, and customs compliance (link in show notes)U.S. Federal Register and Customs Bulletins—stay updated on regulatory changesIndustry trade associations and customs broker webinars for ongoing learningAbout the Speakers Susan Kargel is the founder of Brute Mitigator and brings 40 years of experience in global logistics, customs, and compliance, specializing in preparing supply chains for operational disruptions and cyber threats.Jane Singer is the host of A Seat at the Table, focused on what's working, what's not and best practices in business, supply chain, and leadership.  She is also managing director of 'Inside Fashion', a platform for apparel industry information and 'The Current Situation in Sourcing', a quarterly market intelligence report for C-suite apparel brand leadership.Learn more about BruteMitigator:  https://www.brutemitigator.com SEND US A MESSAGE Visit A Seat at The Table's website at https://seat.fm

    Preparing to Survive A Supply Chain Crisis (with minimal damage)

  5. Aug 17

    From Prestige to Pressure: Luxury Brands' New Reality

    For years, luxury seemed almost immune to economic downturns. Consumers might cut back elsewhere, but luxury remained remarkably resilient. That has changed. Some of the world's most powerful luxury brands are facing slowing sales and weaker results. But the problem may go deeper than economics. Shoppers are more informed, expectations around quality are higher, resale has created new competition, and simply putting a famous logo on a product may no longer be enough. In this episode of A Seat at the Table, host Jane Singer sits down with retail industry veterans Burt Flickinger III, Managing Director of Strategic Retail Group, and Denise Seegal, former President and CEO of Maggiasconi Apparel Group, to discuss what's gone wrong, what today's luxury consumer wants, and where they see new opportunities for retail growth. What You'll Learn Why luxury brands are under pressure around the world.How changing consumer priorities are reshaping luxury spending.Whether luxury has become too accessible and lost some of its exclusivity.Why merchandising, product innovation and emerging designers matter.How ecommerce and resale have changed luxury shopping.Why consumers are questioning luxury product quality.Why South Korea and India could become important luxury markets.What successful retailers are getting right about customer experience.Why Is the Luxury Market Struggling? Mr. Flickinger points to weakening demand across several historically important luxury markets, along with changes in international travel.  Ms. Seegal believes brands need to look beyond economics. "The consumer priorities have shifted," she says. Economic volatility, geopolitics and tariffs have affected spending. Social media, influencers and AI have changed how consumers discover and evaluate products. The lesson for brands: start with the consumer rather than assuming yesterday's definition of luxury still works. Has Luxury Lost Its Exclusivity? Another issue is overexposure. Luxury expanded aggressively, including through department stores and shop-in-shop concepts. But wider distribution can make it harder to maintain the discovery, exclusivity and personal attention consumers expect when paying luxury prices. Luxury consumers aren't simply buying a product. They want specialness, service and an environment that reinforces why the product deserves its premium positioning. What Happened to the Great Merchants? The conversation also raises a bigger problem: the decline of merchandising culture. Ms. Seegal recalls her years as a Bloomingdale's buyer, when part of the job was actively searching for emerging designers. She regularly made time to meet new designers, look at their work and ask: What's next? Today's department-store economics can make that harder. Brands may be expected to finance floor space, fixtures, staffing and other costs. Established brands can afford that investment. Emerging designers often cannot. The result can be stores filled with brands that have the resources to secure space rather than necessarily the most exciting products. Fashion needs newness. Without new designers, products and ideas, retailers give consumers fewer reasons to return. Is Luxury Quality Declining? Consumers increasingly complain that products—even expensive ones—don't feel as well made as products they purchased 10 or 20 years ago. Premium pricing needs to be supported by premium materials, craftsmanship, fit and construction. Brands diversifying their supply chains  face a challenge beyond finding capacity or negotiating price: they have to transfer knowledge and quality standards to their new manufacturing base. Online Shopping and Resale Changed Luxury Luxury shopping has moved far beyond the traditional department store. Platforms such as Net-a-Porter, Matches and Farfetch helped make consumers comfortable buying high-priced fashion online, giving shoppers access to enormous assortments without visiting a physical luxury store. Then came another disruption: resale. Luxury customers aren't simply buying secondhand products. They're also selling items from their own wardrobes and using the proceeds to purchase something different. Vintage has another advantage: some consumers believe older merchandise offers better tailoring, materials or construction. That means resale can compete with new luxury on quality, uniqueness and product discovery—characteristics traditionally associated with luxury itself. Where Are the Next Luxury Growth Markets? The geography of luxury is changing. The conversation highlights South Korea as an important laboratory for luxury, combining fashion with digital communication, entertainment, gaming, social networks, wellness and highly connected consumer communities. India could represent another major frontier as its consumer market develops. The next chapter of luxury therefore may not simply involve waiting for traditional markets to recover. Brands need to rethink where luxury consumers are emerging and what luxury means within those markets. The Luxury Store Experience Still Matters Despite digital commerce, the physical store isn't necessarily obsolete. But mediocre stores may be. Personal service is particularly important at the high end, where relationships between customers and trusted salespeople can generate significant repeat business. Can Luxury Make a Comeback? Ms. Seegal believes it can. Consumers still love beautiful products, exceptional design, craftsmanship and quality. But they're also better informed. They can quickly research a designer, compare products and decide whether a brand fits the identity or community they want to be part of. The next era of luxury may depend less on the logo and more on the things that originally made luxury desirable: exceptional product, innovation, craftsmanship, exclusivity, service and experience. Episode Timestamps 00:00 – Why luxury is suddenly struggling 01:54 – What's happening to global luxury demand? 05:58 – How luxury consumer priorities have changed 08:12 – Has luxury become overexposed? 09:48 – South Korea and the changing luxury experience 15:04 – Why fashion needs merchants and emerging designers 18:48 – How the shop-in-shop model changed luxury retail 20:37 – South Korea and India as future luxury markets 22:13 – How ecommerce changed luxury shopping 25:13 – The impact of luxury resale and vintage 26:36 – Are consumers getting lower-quality products? 31:37 – Why factory training matters to quality 35:04 – When cost cutting starts damaging luxury 37:17 – Does Hermès need a bigger owner? 39:25 – Can luxury retailers successfully expand internationally? 43:25 – What would it take to revive luxury department stores? 48:32 – What Bloomingdale's is getting right 49:51 – Why customer service remains a competitive advantage Frequently Asked Questions Why are luxury brands struggling? The episode identifies weaker spending in important global markets, changing travel patterns, economic uncertainty, changing consumer priorities, ecommerce and resale competition, and concerns around innovation, exclusivity and quality. What do luxury consumers want today? Consumers increasingly expect more than a recognizable brand name. Quality, design, exclusivity, service, experience and cultural relevance all contribute to whether a luxury purchase feels worthwhile. Has luxury become too accessible? Potentially. Expanding distribution can increase sales but also weaken exclusivity. The discussion highlights the importance of controlling the retail environment and creating a distinctive brand experience. Is luxury product quality declining? The conversation highlights consumer concerns about quality across mainstream and luxury fashion. Maintaining quality requires strong materials and craftsmanship, experienced suppliers, factory training and sourcing decisions that aren't driven exclusively by cost. Which markets could drive future luxury growth? South Korea and India emerge as particularly interesting opportunities. South Korea combines luxury consumption with fashion, beauty, wellness, entertainment and digital culture, while India's evolving consumer market could make it an increasingly important luxury frontier. About the Guests Burt Flickinger III is Managing Director of Strategic Retail Group, a global retail and consumer packaged goods consultancy. Denise Seegal is the former President and CEO of Maggiasconi Apparel Group and former Executive Director of M. Magtigu Limited. She now leads her own consulting firm and brings extensive experience in merchandising, product development, manufacturing, fashion and retail. Together with A Seat at the Table host Jane Singer, they explore what's going wrong in luxury retail—and what brands and retailers need to get right to win the next generation of luxury consumers. SEND US A MESSAGE Visit A Seat at The Table's website at https://seat.fm

    From Prestige to Pressure: Luxury Brands' New Reality

  6. Aug 2

    August Outlook: Cautious with Optimistic Signals

    In this podcast we discuss the industry outlook for August - and heading into the critical pre-holiday season. The market continues to operate with a high degree of caution, particularly among brands and retailers who are deliberately keeping inventories low and minimizing risk of overstock.  Despite this caution, industry signals are proving better than expected. Consumer spending in both the US and EU surpassed expectations in Q2, with the US up 3.2% year-on-year and Europe seeing its fastest growth since Q1 2025 [11:46].  Retail spending is steady as markets head into fall, and holiday outlooks remain "cautiously optimistic," with growth projections in the low single digits—better than no growth, though not spectacular [12:18].  The overall takeaway is that, while the industry remains careful and conservative in its approach, consumer resilience and strategic discipline at brands are enabling some to outperform market forecasts [11:37, 15:03]. SEND US A MESSAGE Visit A Seat at The Table's website at https://seat.fm

    August Outlook: Cautious with Optimistic Signals

  7. Jul 28

    Turning Customer Feedback Into B2B Sales

    Discover why authentic customer reviews are the secret weapon in today’s saturated B2B market. In this episode, Jane Singer, host of A Seat at The Table podcast, explores how businesses with great products and strong support often struggle to close deals because buyers face "buyer fatigue" and endless choices that all seem the same  Learn how trusted, real-world feedback cuts through market noise and why leading platforms like Amazon have revolutionized decision-making with reviews [00:01:43]. Jane reveals why traditional testimonials lack authenticity and how companies can leverage compelling, unfiltered customer stories to build trust and credibility [00:02:53].  She introduces a unique marketing strategy—sponsored micro-series podcasts featuring honest client conversations—that deliver real use cases and experiences for listeners who crave reliable, peer-driven insights [00:04:00]. If you’re in B2B marketing or looking to increase sales through authentic content, this episode is a must-listen.  Uncover actionable strategies for winning in a competitive landscape and hear how the 'Success Stories to Sales' podcast micro-series can boost your brand credibility [00:06:37].  Don’t miss this guide to growing your business with the power of customer reviews and real conversations! USEFUL LINKS: Request information about 'Success Stories to Sales' Micro podcast program:  https://seat.fm/contact-us/ SEND US A MESSAGE Visit A Seat at The Table's website at https://seat.fm

    Turning Customer Feedback Into B2B Sales

  8. Jul 8

    Your Customers Sell Better Than You (Put them to work!)

    Every technology company has the same challenge. You’ve built a great product. You’ve got a strong sales team. Your demos are polished. But your prospects are hearing exactly the same thing from your competitors. So the question becomes… Who do they believe? They don’t believe another product demo. They believe another customer. The most powerful sales asset you have isn’t your software. It’s the real-world experience of the people already using it. When an existing customer talks honestly about the problem they faced, why they chose your solution, and what happened next, that’s the kind of proof that builds confidence. There’s another challenge. We’re all drowning in AI-generated content. Every day there’s another LinkedIn post, another email, another white paper, another video that feels like it was written by a machine. People can tell. Trust comes from hearing real people having real conversations. Not a script. Not a sales pitch. Just experienced professionals talking about genuine business challenges and how they solved them. That’s what people want to hear. • To learn more about our Podcast Mini Series, contact us at: https://seat.fm/contact-us/ SEND US A MESSAGE Visit A Seat at The Table's website at https://seat.fm

    Your Customers Sell Better Than You (Put them to work!)
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