Ecommerce Playbook: Numbers, Struggles & Growth

“Brand is the bridge between how much your product costs and how much your customer is willing to pay.” But what if you could measure that “bridge” objectively? In this episode, Richard and Taylor talk about Taylor’s controversial new formula for quantifying the value of your brand. Then, Richard has a conversation with Jules Vertrees, CTC client and founder of Verve Culture, a brand that sources beautiful home goods & gourmet foods from artisans around the world. Learn More About SegMetrics (Sponsored): Learn how SegMetrics can help you overcome challenges in your ecommerce marketing at ⁠⁠https://bit.ly/3zjdAph⁠⁠. Instantly connect every marketing tool in your funnel with our library of over 90 integrations at https://bit.ly/3G50gIM. Book a one-on-one demo, get answers to your questions, and learn how SegMetrics can help your business grow by visiting https://bit.ly/3G70LlS⁠. Show Notes: Taylor’s tweet on quantifying brand: https://bit.ly/3nBGQVu 21 Antifragile Tactics Podcast: https://bit.ly/3zht5Om Check out Verve Culture here: https://verveculture.com/ The Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at podcast@commonthreadco.com to ask us any questions you might have about the world of ecomm.

Success on Facebook is as much about what you sell as it is about how you sell it. In this episode, Richard and Taylor talk about an overlooked aspect of paid social success: merchandising your ad account. Then, they dip into the podcast mailbag and give some advice to a listener who runs a high-SKU online retail business. Show Notes: Taylor’s video on ad account merchandising: https://bit.ly/3DxveIC Richard’s article on creative, featuring the product Venn diagram: https://bit.ly/3HNNQ9t CTC Articles on Performance Max: https://bit.ly/3HtTfBg Need help building your marketing calendar? Our strategy team is putting together 12-month audit packages here: https://bit.ly/3ZLKfjw The Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at podcast@commonthreadco.com to ask us any questions you might have about the world of ecomm.

Black Friday/Cyber Monday was bigger than ever this year. Inflation is also at its highest level in four decades. So what does this seeming paradox mean for your ecommerce business moving forward? In this episode, Taylor and Richard break down what went well, what didn’t, and the why you should still be vigilant even after the biggest shopping weekend in history. Show notes: The Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at podcast@commonthreadco.com to ask us any questions you might have about the world of ecomm. Want more data? Subscribe to the DTC Index for weekly updates on 27+ metrics across 5 industry verticals: https://bit.ly/3FwiSBA Grab your tickets to the Ecommerce Marketing Summit from Agorapulse: https://bit.ly/3UGWU3p Get a $200 credit with Insense: https://bit.ly/3THck7S

Choice is sometimes an illusion. In this episode, Richard and Taylor talk about Facebook’s move toward the Advantage+ model, which shifts away from human decision making and toward artificial intelligence. “They will say Advantage+ is a way to build campaigns with fewer inputs. But the secondary implication is Facebook has a performance problem. In order to solve for that, they’re attempting to reduce the variables and take control of the situation.” Show Notes: Get a $200 credit with Insense, the creator content & ads platform trusted by 700+ DTC brands: https://bit.ly/3eHyDLt

The latest Consumer Confidence Index paints a bleak picture of the economy at large. How does that affect DTC, ROAS, and forecasting for Q4? “It’s going to take more marketing resources to sell products. The practical output of that is less efficient advertising. You have to do more to get less action.” Show Notes: - Try Freshmarketer: https://bit.ly/3S5wXcH - Taylor’s tweet on CCI vs. MER: https://bit.ly/3fEosaB - Taylor’s Black Friday strategy article: https://bit.ly/3RDwspU

Using your resources as effectively as possible is essential for growing your business at any pace. In this episode, Andrew talks about two ways to manage people well. “It’s not easy to be a great manager — and it’s not in the realm of tactics for growth — but it is an important part of building a great company.” Show notes: - Follow Andrew on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewjfaris - Try Freshmarketer: https://bit.ly/3S5wXcH

The right tools don’t change the fundamentals of running your business — they allow you to think about your business in a new way. In this episode, Andrew talks with Obvi Founder & CEO Ron Shah about their plans for upcoming growth, and how they plan to finance that growth. “Because we’re bootstrapped, it’s hard to make that fuel last long. When you have opportunities to scale, it actually costs more to do that. When you realize the cost is higher, you need to come up with more solutions to make that happen.” Show Notes: - Parker, the ecommerce financial soultion: https://getparker.com/ - Follow Ron on Twitter: https://twitter.com/obviceo - Ron's thread on how he built Obvi: https://bit.ly/3LdGVH3 - Ron's thread on his BFCM plans: https://bit.ly/3QsvtYX - Ron on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronak06/ - Follow Andrew on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewjfaris

It’s a foundational question for any business: What exactly are you selling, and how is your marketing approach optimized for it? In this episode, Andrew cautions against using one-size-fits-all business advice, particularly for how you market your product. “How your product is sold may be fundamentally different than the way other products are sold.”

There's a lot of information on the internet about how to grow an ecommerce business, but none exists at this caliber of high-level strategy and detailed execution. In this episode, Andrew is joined by Common Thread Collective VP of Marketing Aaron Orendorff where he unveils the most significant piece of public-facing content CTC has ever produced: The Enterprise Scaling Guide. “It's without hyperbole the most I've bled, sweat, poured, shook-my-fists-at-the-heavens-in-certain-moments-thing that I've ever had the great privilege of putting together.” Show Notes: - Visit getparker.com to learn more about the credit card built exclusively for ecommerce. - Get the Enterprise Scaling Guide: https://bit.ly/3zNTALh

Funding growth is incredibly hard, especially for brands that are just starting to scale. In this episode, Andrew is joined by Stephen Duke, head of marketing and growth at Wayflyer. “The thing that determines the health of so many ecommerce businesses is their financial engine: how well they are using the right finance tools and thinking about finance.” Show Notes: Get started with Wayflyer: www.wayflyer.com

First it was supply chain disruptions, and now it’s … warehouse disruptions? In this episode, Andrew talks about brands currently experiencing an abundance of inventory, the problems this is causing, and how businesses should respond. “Our warehouses are now so backfilled that there’s all these containers and nowhere to put the stuff. Even Target has said publicly they’re going to cut prices in order to move product.” Show notes: Fund your ecommerce business with Wayflyer: https://bit.ly/3arbACq

Retention is king right now, so what’s your strategy? In this episode, Andrew is joined by Yotpo Product Marketing Manager Judith Zhu where they discuss how to generate revenue with subscriptions for any type of business. “One of the most powerful levers you can pull is having subscriptions as a meaningful part of your business.” Show Notes: - Connect with Judith: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judithkayzhu/ - Try Yotpo subscriptions: https://apps.shopify.com/yotpo-subscription https://www.yotpo.com/platform/subscriptions/