If you're sending the same email to everyone on your list and wondering why it's not driving the sales you expected, this episode is for you.

I'm Catherine Erdly, and this is Resilient Retail Game Plan — practical product business advice with a healthy dose of reality.

In this episode I'm sitting down with Alli Wood from Mailchimp to get practical about how independent retailers and e-commerce brands can get dramatically more from their email and SMS marketing — using data they already have.

We talk about why fragmented data is costing retailers real money, how segmentation can transform your customer relationships, and why the retailers who win over the next few years won't be the ones with the biggest budgets — they'll be the ones who are smartest with their data.

In this episode you'll hear about:

• Why sending the same message to your whole list is leaving money on the table
• How to use customer lifetime value and buying propensity to automate smarter campaigns
• The power of combining email and SMS — including a 22x ROI stat from SMS alone, and 41x when Shopify data is in the mix
• Creative ways to collect richer customer data through quizzes, pop-ups and behavioural signals
• What clean data + AI + human creativity actually looks like for a lean retail team

Whether you're just starting to think about segmentation or already running email campaigns and want to level up, this conversation will leave you with a genuinely different way of thinking about your marketing.

CHAPTERS

00:00:40 The Gold Mine Independent Retailers Are Sitting On

00:02:10 Meet Alli Wood from Mailchimp

00:04:40 How Mailchimp Evolved from Email Tool to Full Automation Platform

00:08:22 The Segmentation Shift: Stop Sending the Same Email to Everyone

00:11:29 Creative Ways to Collect Better Customer Data

00:14:45 Using SMS to Drive Email Open Rates

00:15:11 How We're Working With Mailchimp

00:16:33 Measuring What's Actually Working Across All Your Channels

00:18:30 Think Strategy, Not Just Open Rates

00:21:17 SMS Best Practices: What's Working for E-Commerce Brands

00:23:24 The Trust Factor: Why Phone Numbers Are Different from Email Addresses

00:23:44 The Numbers: 22x ROI on SMS, 41x with Shopify

00:25:58 AI + Human Creativity: The Future of Small Business Marketing

00:27:45 Clean Data, Automation & Analytics: The Loop That Wins

00:29:07 Catherine's Key Takeaways & Call to Action

Mentioned in this episode: resilientretailclub.com/mailchimp

Note: This episode was produced in partnership with Mailchimp. All views expressed are Catherine's own.

Mentioned in this episode:

This podcast uses chapters

Your shop window isn't just a display — it's a salesperson working for you around the clock.

I'm Catherine Erdly, and this is Resilient Retail Game Plan — practical product business advice with a healthy dose of reality.

In this episode, I'm joined by Sarah Manning, visual merchandising consultant and course leader, for a practical masterclass on how to make your window impossible to walk past.

Sarah shares her four guiding principles — including her signature framework, The Power of the Pyramid — and explains exactly what should (and shouldn't) go in your window. You'll learn why putting your bestsellers on show is usually the wrong move, how to refresh your display every four weeks without a full rebuild, and practical solutions for shallow, narrow, or open-backed windows.

We also explore how post-2020 customer expectations have shifted the balance between product display and brand storytelling, and discuss the concept of 'external theatre' — the tools even small independents can use to draw customers in before they reach the window at all.

Whether you sell from a shop, at markets, or at events, this episode is packed with actionable insight you can put to work immediately.

What You'll Learn:

• The Power of the Pyramid framework and how to apply it to any display
• Why new, seasonal, and promotional products belong in the window — not your top sellers
• How to change your window every four weeks without starting from scratch
• Creative solutions for awkward, shallow, or open-backed windows
• How the hotspot inside your store connects to your window display
• Where to find visual merchandising inspiration on a limited budget

📌 CHAPTERS:

• 00:37 About this episode — how the topic came from Spring Fair
• 01:35 The Power of the Pyramid — Sarah's four guiding principles
• 02:30 Brand story vs. product push: what's changed since 2020
• 04:36 What should actually go in your window?
• 05:53 How often should you change your window display?
• 07:27 The permanent skeleton approach
• 08:33 Working with difficult or shallow windows
• 10:18 Open windows vs. backed windows
• 11:55 External theatre: beyond the glass
• 14:57 The hotspot — your 'third window' inside the store
• 16:45 Where to find visual merchandising inspiration
• 20:00 Outro and where to find Sarah Manning

Connect with me 🔗:

→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherineerdly/

→ Resilient Retail Club: https://www.resilientretailclub.com

→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/resilientretailclub/

🎧 LISTEN ON YOUR FAVOURITE PODCAST APP:

→ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/resilient-retail-game-plan/id1558090069

→ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2EIPFznxQFQHIXmC3QoBFQ

Resources Mentioned:

• Sarah Manning: visualmerchandisingcourses.co.uk | @visualmerchandisingcourses
• The Shop Drop Blog by Tim Nash — free newsletter every Thursday

Have you ever looked at the news and wondered whether it's even appropriate to be selling your products right now?

If you're an independent retailer or product business owner and the state of the world is making you hesitate about showing up and selling, this episode is for you.

I'm Catherine Erdly, and this is Resilient Retail Game Plan — practical product business advice with a healthy dose of reality. This week, one of the most common questions I get from product business owners: should I keep selling when the world feels uncertain?

In this episode:

→ Why big brands never pause their marketing — and what that means for you

→ Why independent retailers are a genuine force for good

→ The lipstick effect and what consumer spending data actually shows right now

→ A practical social media tip to help you show up more consistently

📌 CHAPTERS:

00:00:00 Introduction & the question everyone's asking

00:00:44 When selling feels wrong: the shared experience

00:01:42 Why this feeling is so common in product businesses

00:02:51 The mental noise of running your own business

00:06:04 The self-fulfilling prophecy & the big brand reality check

00:08:25 Why small businesses are a force for good

00:09:55 Your duty to share what you do

00:11:30 The lipstick effect: are people actually spending?

00:12:18 A visit to Columbia Road Flower Market

00:12:57 Products are how people show love

00:13:31 None of this is trivial

00:14:23 Practical tip: separate your social media accounts

00:16:08 How Catherine implemented this herself

00:17:25 A message for every independent retailer

🔗 LINKS MENTIONED:

→ Mean Mail: https://www.meanmail.co.uk

→ Retail Roar 2026: https://retailroar.co.uk

→ Resilient Retail Club: https://www.resilientretailclub.com

🎧 LISTEN ON YOUR FAVOURITE PODCAST APP:

→ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/resilient-retail-game-plan/id1558090069

→ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2EIPFznxQFQHIXmC3QoBFQ

Mentioned in this episode:

Mailchimp

resilientretailclub.com/mailchimp