In episode 413 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Cathy Miller, executive vice president of sales and marketing at West Music Company, a family-owned, Iowa-based music instrument and education retailer. Listen in as Miller discusses the business and her role (0:40), as well as how the company tells the story of its over 80-year-old history combined with today's offerings (1:45). She shares how West Music markets to its niche direct-to-consumer and business-to-business segments (3:20), and the various consumers that the brand targets (6:30).

Furthermore, Miller discusses how West Music works with HubSpot to ensure a consistent customer experience across multiple touchpoints (8:30) and how technology factors into its personalized marketing road map (10:25). Lastly, she touches on the retailer's efforts to turn young students into lifelong customers (13:33) and the industry trends she's closely following, including influencer marketing (14:15).

This episode was recorded live at CRMC 2023 in Chicago. The podcast series is sponsored by PRIMO.

Cathy Miller is responsible for sales growth, strategic planning and implementation, branding, customer service, and team management at West Music Company. Miller develops advertising campaigns, marketing collateral, company websites and social media presence. She manages and expands the company's dealer network, coordinates national and regional trade show exhibits, and identifies new market opportunities. Miller manages relationships, strategic partnerships and international branding/marketing vision with overseas manufacturers, as well as continually provides market-based feedback for quality improvements and product enhancements.