Ecommerce Playbook: Numbers, Struggles & Growth

By Common Thread CollectiveBusiness

Ecommerce Playbook: Numbers, Struggles & Growth episodes

November 23, 2022 Lessons Learned from Black Friday 2021
To win this Black Friday, you need to understand what went well last year, and what needs to improve. In this episode, we take a break from our regular content and revisit our post-Black Friday recap from 2021. “We’ll tell you how it went for each of our brands, and the lessons we learned.”
19 min
November 16, 2022 We (Didn’t) Sell Bambu Earth
What kind of business wins despite the volatility that surrounds them? In this episode, Taylor and Richard discuss Taylor and 4x400’s decision to sell skincare brand Bambu Earth, and the macroeconomic factors that caused the deal to fall through. “There are deeper business-level things that you need to be focusing on as an ecommerce business in order to weather the storm — it's not all about marketing.”
Show Notes:
- Unlock growth for your business with Wayflyer: http://bit.ly/3tzufSF
- Find out what makes a business antifragile: http://bit.ly/3EgqPZM
30 min
November 09, 2022 Don’t Hold Back on BFCM
With just 3 weeks until Black Friday, now is not the time to pull back. In this episode, Taylor and Richard debunk common arguments for pulling back spend ahead of Black Friday. “We are here to affirm your commitment of making the most out of this moment, because it’s necessary.”
Show Notes:
Get a $200 credit with Insense when you book by Nov. 18, 2022: https://bit.ly/CTCxInsenseNovember
24 min
November 03, 2022This Guide Will Change Your Business
The solution to $50M+ growth might not be what you think it is. In this episode, Richard and Taylor talk about Part 1 of the Ecommerce Enterprise Scaling Guide, which focuses on building a hierarchy of metrics to provide context around your business targets. “Once you hit the $50M mark, the things you’ve been doing stop working, and yet, there’s still going to be pressure on you to run the business at a profitable margin. So what do you do?”
Show Notes:
Get the Enterprise Scaling Guide: https://bit.ly/3FGL7hz

Try the card made exclusively for ecommerce. Visit https://getparker.com/

Want guided support to implement these learnings in your brand? Try ADmission: https://bit.ly/3WrvsIX
47 min
October 26, 2022 The Unexpected Solution to the Acquisition Problem
How customer-centric are you? In this episode, Richard and Taylor propose an interesting solution to the acquisition problem, and it has almost nothing to do with the quality of your Facebook ads. “If we accept that the cost to acquire the next customer has a certain gravitational element to it — meaning the cost to acquire a customer always will rise — then how do we win this game?”
Show Notes:
Get a $200 credit from Insense, the UGC creator marketplace: https://bit.ly/3THck7S
27 min
October 19, 2022 Facebook’s Move into AI with New Advantage+
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
25 min
October 12, 2022 Predict Customer Value in Real Time with AI
What if you could see future results in the now? In this episode, Richard and Taylor talk about Common Thread’s unique relationship with Retina.ai, an AI platform that allows you to predict the future value of your customers. “You’re getting an instant view into the value of your customer within 96% accuracy.”
Show Notes:
Learn why Retina.ai is ecommerce’s magic 8-ball: https://bit.ly/3CzXGZ4
28 min
October 06, 2022 The Impact of Consumer Confidence on DTC
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
24 min
September 29, 2022 Andrew's Quitting The Pod
In Andrew’s farewell episode, he passes the torch over to CTC’s Taylor Holiday and Richard Gaffin. Andrew reflects on his time hosting the podcast, and what’s next for the show. “Moving forward, what you can expect from us is a conversation about frameworks, about large-scale thinking, and interesting things happening in the DTC space and what they mean for you.”
Show Notes:
- Try Freshmarketer: https://bit.ly/3S5wXcH
- Keep listening to Andrew at “The Andrew Faris Podcast,” head to his new website at www.ajfgrowth.com, or follow him on Twitter @andrewjfaris.
36 min
September 21, 2022 How to Manage People to Grow Your Brand
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
11 min