Ecommerce Playbook: Numbers, Struggles & Growth

Over the past several weeks, CTC Growth Strategist Luke Austin’s been conducting an experiment across a number of our clients to answer a simple question: are third-party attribution tools like Rockerbox and Triple Whale actually more accurate than native platforms like Facebook and Google?   On this episode, Taylor and Richard talk with Luke about the results of the experiment, why CTC is skeptical about third party attribution tools, and the steps you should take to test your own attribution tools. ⁠Show Notes: The ADmission All-Access Sale is on until the end of the month — go to commonthreadco.com/allaccess to get all of our products free with an ADmission membership. 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

Every brand has a mission statement. Every brand should have a clear business philosophy. But how do you take those ideas and create a framework for your people to actually put them into action? On this episode of the podcast, Taylor and Richard discuss how CTC is taking our core philosophies and turning them into repeatable behaviors across the entire agency. ⁠Show Notes: The ADmission All-Access Sale is on until the end of the month — go to commonthreadco.com/allaccess to get all of our products free with an ADmission membership. 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

On this episode, Taylor talks to CTC’s Senior Ecommerce Data Analyst Steve Rekuc and Kno Commerce CEO Jeremiah Prummer about the launch of the Direct-to-Consumer Confidence Index (DTCCI) — a real-time view of the macroeconomic sentiment of your customers.  Learn about the origins of the DTCCI and how to use it to help grow your ecommerce business. ⁠Show Notes: Want Custom Insights On Your Customers? Sign up for the Direct to Consumer Confidence Index - DTCCI.co 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 Early bird pricing is still available on the Ecommerce Diagnostic Toolkit for podcast listeners only — just use code POD197 at https://bit.ly/3VstFmI to get the lower price.

On this episode, Taylor reports back from his trip to the Second Annual Meta Performance Marketing Summit, revealing new insights on Advantage +, Measurement360, and just how good Meta is at telling a brand narrative. Plus, he shares his thoughts with Richard on the steps you should take to anticipate upcoming changes to Meta ad products. ⁠ 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

In The Art of War, Sun Tzu says: “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”  It’s crucial to focus on the big picture first. But what about the day-to-day? What tactics can you use to accelerate victory? In this episode, Taylor and Richard introduce the 3 P’s — Plot, Pivot and Profit — and break down how this system transforms the way you execute on a daily basis. ⁠ 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

In this episode, Taylor and Richard dive deep into Bambu Earth’s Growth Quotient score — what stories do the numbers tell? How do you interpret your Growth Quotient score? How do you transform the knowledge gained from the Diagnostic tool into action? Join us for the first episode in a three-part series on the Growth Quotient — what it means, how to affect it, and how to use it to form a strategic basis for growth.  ⁠Show Notes: Get the Ecommerce Diagnostic Toolkit for free when you join Admission: https://bit.ly/3WfyP5T 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

With returning customer revenue plateauing, the ecomm world is in for a rough ride — in Taylor’s words, “I thought ecommerce was through its worst period but I was wrong. There are some REALLY hard days upcoming and brands have not made the hard decisions to prepare.” In this episode, Taylor and Richard discuss the upcoming ecommerce drought, the importance of cost management, and the key indicators of success in the next three months. ⁠Show Notes: Get the Ecommerce Diagnostic Toolkit for free when you join Admission: https://bit.ly/3WfyP5T 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

The 2020-21 COVID boom set unrealistic expectations for year-over-year growth. So, when brands saw 2022 YoY revenue figures start to drop, they started “squeezing the sponge” — wringing every last bit of revenue out of their existing customer base without acquiring new customers. Now, that’s coming around to bite most brands: returning customer revenue growth is almost nil, and efficiency is about to take a nosedive.  On this episode, Richard talks with CTC Growth Strategy Manager Luke Austin about what the future holds, and the tactics he’s using to manage the upcoming dip for his clients. ⁠Show Notes: Early bird pricing is still available on the Ecommerce Diagnostic Toolkit for podcast listeners only — just use code POD197 at https://bit.ly/3VstFmI to get the lower price. Check out Luke Austin’s tweet on the state of returning customer revenue: https://twitter.com/itslukeaustin/status/1654622951206166529?s=20 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.

Ever find yourself scrambling to make up a deficit in the last couple weeks of each month? We’ve all been there. Fortunately, there’s a solution — it just requires a major mindset shift. On this episode of the Ecommerce Playbook Podcast, Taylor and Richard discuss the true value of forecasting and the key behavior that can get you to your revenue goals: spending your time, effort, and money at the very beginning of the month, not at the end.  ⁠Show Notes: Early bird pricing is still available on the Ecommerce Diagnostic Toolkit for podcast listeners only — just use code POD197 at https://bit.ly/3VstFmI to get the lower price. Check out Luke Austin’s tweet on CTC’s performance relative to goal here: https://twitter.com/l_ukeAustin/status/1653163136642613249?s=20 Taylor’s tweet on why you should frontload monthly spend: https://twitter.com/TaylorHoliday/status/1653058505476112384?s=20 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.

Early Bird Pricing (one week only) (30% off regular price) Get the Toolkit: https://commonthreadco.com/products/ecommerce-diagnostic “We see too many business owners, marketing managers, and CMOs make the same mistake over and over: Solving problems they don’t actually have. Most often, this looks like attempting to solve poor Facebook ROAS by pumping the account full of new creative or using the latest media buying “hack”. But what if the COGS on your product mix is so high, you’ll never turn a profit on your paid media spend? What if the people you do get to purchase … never return to your store? Or, on the flip side — what if your customer value grows so significantly over 60-180 days that first-order profitability actually doesn’t matter? In each of these cases, poor Facebook ROAS is a small part of a much larger problem, or it isn’t a problem at all. How would it change the way you run your business if you could precisely identify your weak points and expend all your energy running after your biggest opportunities? That’s what this tool aims to help you do.” Ecommerce Diagnostic Toolkit contains: ✔️ A 15-page guide to the principles behind rapid growth ✔️A breakdown of the 10 metrics that go into Growth Quotient ✔️ A 26-question interactive Growth Quotient assessment ✔️ A custom downloadable report breaking down your Growth Quotient score ✔️ Recommendations on next steps based on your results Buy Now: https://commonthreadco.com/products/ecommerce-diagnostic Want an easier way to source the good kind of UGC? Streamline your process with SARAL’s chrome extension: http://getsaral.com/champions/ctc