Threading The Needle

Q4 success starts in Q3. And the most successful brands on Black Friday have one thing in common: They plan their entire marketing effort around four distinct revenue “mini-peaks” within the holiday season. On this episode, Richard talks with CTC Director of Growth Strategy Luke Austin and Senior Ecommerce Data Analyst Steve Rekuc, breaking down our comprehensive four-part plan to tackle BFCM for our clients in 2023.  ⁠Show Notes: The Edge Summit, hosted by Bloomreach, is a one-of-a-kind collective conversation on the future of marketing and AI. Learn more at theedgesummit.com. If you’re a 130+ GQ brand between $10-$100M, we’re so confident that we can win for you that we’re willing to give you a free month. Just click here to start the application process. 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

Leadership is a combination of two major skills: Knowing when the organization is heading in the wrong direction, and knowing which direction to go instead. On this episode, Taylor reflects on a recent 180 we’ve made as a business and why he thinks it’s the right time to make that change. Then, Taylor and Richard discuss the incredible power of saying “no” and how it forms the basis of strategic decision making. ⁠Show Notes: If you’re a 130+ GQ brand between $10-$100M, we’re so confident that we can win for you that we’re willing to give you a free month. Just click here to start the application process. 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

For ecommerce entrepreneurs and agency owners alike, creative continues to be the most important variable — and the trickiest to operationalize. On this episode, Taylor and Richard talk about a recent breakthrough at CTC: A new framework, courtesy of CTC Director of Creative Strategy Aileen McKenna, that reliably generates good creative ideas — quickly.  ⁠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 an easier way to source UGC? Streamline your process with SARAL’s chrome extension: ⁠http://getsaral.com/champions/ctc

What makes a great brand? What businesses are most likely to grow quickly? Why not ask the leader of the brand with the highest Growth Quotient score we’ve ever seen? In this episode, Taylor and Richard chat with Heart & Soil CEO Dean Brennan about the brand strategy that’s led to massive first-order profitability, dirt-cheap CAC, and 200%+ 1-year LTV growth.  ⁠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 If you’re a 130+ GQ brand between $10-$100M, we’re so confident that we can win for you that we’re willing to give you a free month

Once you have your ecommerce tactics down and you’re successfully turning a profit, you’re confronted with a deceptively complicated question: what do I do with all this money? In this episode, Taylor talks to Dave Rekuc, president of Bambu Earth, and Mike Beckham, co-founder and CEO of Simple Modern, about the smart way to put money back into your business. ⁠ 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 many ways, $1M to $20M is the most exciting growth stage for any ecommerce business — you know you have a business that works, but you’re small enough that you have the freedom to innovate without being held back by bureaucracy. On this episode, Richard talks with ecommerce growth expert (and former Ecommerce Playbook host!) Andrew Faris about the keys to success for brands at this crucial growth stage. ⁠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 an easier way to source UGC? Streamline your process with SARAL’s chrome extension: ⁠http://getsaral.com/champions/ctc Get in touch with Andrew at ⁠ajfgrowth.com⁠, and check out his podcast ⁠here⁠.

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

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 a

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 afte

It’s an age-old dilemma — do I focus on what’s right in front of me, or do I step back and look at the larger picture? On this episode, Taylor and Richard make the argument that establishing the “why” is much more important than the “how” — especially in a world where AI is making operational excellence less and less of an important differentiator. Show Notes: Explore how SegMetrics can help you tackle ecommerce marketing challenges at https://bit.ly/3AdTrl2. Effortlessly connect all your marketing tools with our library of over 90 integrations at https://bit.ly/3AiayC0. Check out “On Strategy” from the Harvard Business Review here: https://bit.ly/40jEE2J. 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.

How do two guys who have never worked together before come together to build a successful influencer agency? On this episode, Taylor sits down with Kynship co-founder Taylor Lagace to discuss building a business around your values, how to find authenticity in your influencer content, and key tactics to build an ROI-focused micro-influencer network. Show Notes: Explore how SegMetrics can help you tackle ecommerce marketing challenges at https://segmetrics.io/solutions/ecommerce Effortlessly connect all your marketing tools with our library of over 90 integrations at https://segmetrics.io/integration/. Schedule your personalized demo, ask questions, and discover how SegMetrics can help your e-commerce business grow at https://segmetrics.io/book-a-demo/. 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.

Inventory management is the bane of many ecommerce brands’ existence — balancing lead times and cash outlay with demand can feel like an unsolvable issue. But with the right data, it can become much easier. In this episode, Taylor sits down with Braden Larsen, Head of Marketing at CTC client Sparkle in Pink, to discuss the tool he uses to keep ahead of per-SKU sales velocity, how he manages Sparkle in Pink’s massive number of SKUs, and how to use data to streamline your inventory management. Show Notes: Check out Sparkle in Pink here: https://sparkleinpink.com/ Download the Inventory Planner app here: https://apps.shopify.com/inventory-planner 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.

“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/3zht5