Welcome to Mike It Up! In this new podcast about the mattress industry, Jeff Cassidy and Mike Magnuson from GoodBed.com host a series of light-hearted but in-depth discussions based on key data and trends relating to the rapidly changing consumer shopping journey, as well as other strategic topics. Targeted to mattress industry professionals, with a particular focus on retailers, the objective of this show is to offer actionable insights that can help each listener succeed in growing their business.
Where to Find “Mike It Up”
The first season of the Mike It Up podcast contains 8 episodes, and will be available in its entirety starting February 23rd, 2021. You can find Mike It Up on all major podcast platforms using the links below. If you like what you hear, be sure to subscribe! We’d also welcome you to leave us a review on any of these platforms, which is a great way to help other people discover the podcast.
When searching for Mike It Up on the podcast platforms, here’s the cover art to look for:
In addition, you can also find Mike It Up on these podcast platforms: Pandora, Stitcher, RadioPublic, Pocket Casts, Breaker, and Anchor.
What Kind of Topics Will Be Discussed on “Mike It Up”?
Naturally, in choosing content for the show, we’ll be drawing heavily from hard and soft data collected through the GoodBed platform. One of the unique advantages of our business is that we sit right at the crossroads between consumers, retailers, and manufacturers. We interact directly on a daily basis with representatives from all three of those constituencies, spanning across the full spectrum of online and brick & mortar channels. Having done this for over a decade, we are fortunate to have a truly unique view of this industry and how it’s changing over time. Those who have seen us present at industry conferences and events over the years are well aware of Mike and Jeff’s geeky love of numbers, and zest for analyzing data in order to derive meaningful insights from it.
Here are some more details about the episodes in Season 1 of Mike It Up:
Episode 1. Why We Started a Podcast
In this introductory episode, Mike and Jeff talk about why they started the podcast and what they hope listeners will get out of it.
Episode 2. Key Take-Aways from BSC Research on Mattress Shopping Behavior During COVID
Mike and Jeff dive deep into the numbers from the Better Sleep Council’s recently released consumer survey about mattress shopping behavior during COVID — uncovering some faulty and misleading conclusions in the published results, while also identifying some valuable and credible take-aways from the research.
Episode 3. GoodBed Data on How COVID Has Impacted the Mattress Shopping Journey
Mike and Jeff share proprietary metrics from GoodBed.com data that illustrate how mattress shopper preferences and behavior have shifted since March 2020, providing historical context for these metrics and then translating these changes into direct implications for retailers and manufacturers.
Episode 4. The Future of Brick & Mortar Mattress Retail
In taking on the myth that brick & mortar retail is “walking dead,” Mike & Jeff map out a path that mattress retailers can follow to secure their future in today’s rapidly changing retail landscape. Mike walks through his strategic framework for brick & mortar retailers — The 3 C’s — and adds a 4th C that is particularly pertinent to independent retailers. The critical need for more efficient advertising and marketing, and how to do that, is also explained.
Episode 5. Top Threats to the Mattress Industry (Part 1)
Mike and Jeff highlight three huge existential threats facing the mattress industry today — illuminating the magnitude of risk and uncertainty posed by these threats, and explaining why each one puts the future of the industry in peril. Part 1 of 2.
Episode 6. Top Threats to the Mattress Industry (Part 2)
Mike and Jeff finish breaking down the three key existential threats facing the mattress industry today, exposing the most insidious and least understood threat of all. Part 2 of 2.
Episode 7. Mattress Return Policies: Why Change is Needed
Mike and Jeff start an industry-wide conversation about mattress return policies — making the case for why trouble looms on the horizon, and why a change to current practices will ultimately be needed. Part 1 of 2.
Episode 8. Mattress Return Policies: A Proposed Solution
Mike and Jeff continue their discussion of mattress return policies, proposing a framework for what a sustainable “utopian return policy” solution should look like, and offering a road map for how to navigate the tricky path to get there. Part 2 of 2.
Note: While you can listen to Mike It Up episodes in any order, some episodes do build on content from prior shows, so we recommend listening to them in order if possible. Another reason to listen in order is that there’s a unique story told in short segments at the ends of episodes 3–7 of Season 1 about Mike’s deep personal history with the podcasting industry — this story starts in 2003, even before “podcasting” was invented, and involves a number of the key figures who pioneered this medium.
Please leave us a comment below with any suggestions you have for future topics or otherwise. We look forward to embarking on this journey together!
