Threading The Needle

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

Brands that are trying to grow really fast often try the next most tempting “shiny object” to get there. In this episode, Andrew talks about the importance of taking time to align your behaviors to your goals. “Where are you trying to go, how clear can you get on that goal as quickly as possible, and how much can you put your focus toward it?” Show notes: 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

Not all customers are alike. In this episode, Andrew talks about the importance of meeting customers at different points in their customer journey. “It’s really what your whole business comes down to, in terms of your marketing, customer acquisition, and reacquistion.” Show Notes: - Get net 60 terms on every transaction. Visit getparker.com to learn more about the credit card built exclusively for ecommerce.

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.”

Is your business set up to withstand hardship? In this episode, we revisit a conversation with Common Thread Collective CEO Taylor Holiday about how businesses can remain resilient amid uncertainty. “Who are the businesses that will thrive even if the current situation does become a net negative?” Show Notes: - Visit getparker.com to learn more about the credit card built exclusively for ecommerce.

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

Email is an 80/20 game: 80% of the value comes from 20% of what you put into it. In this episode, Andrew shares his thoughts on the current state of email marketing. “The number one thing that generates more value out of email is to send more email. It’s almost annoying how simple that advice is, but it’s true.” Show Notes: - Subscribe to the Data Newsletter: https://bit.ly/3btYXqM - Get a free email marketing audit: https://bit.ly/3zttqxe

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

What’s the secret behind massive wins on Facebook? In this episode, Andrew goes back to Facebook ad basics: what works, and what doesn’t. “There are times when the thing that really moves the needle is the product. Or, put more simply, the offer.”

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

How do you determine the percentage of revenue that goes toward your ad spend? In this episode, Andrew answers this question he received recently on Twitter. “This is a crucial question for any business. For ecommerce in particular, advertising is the key way you’re driving traffic to your site.” Show Notes: - Get started with Wayflyer ecommerce financing: https://bit.ly/3arbACq - Use the Unit Economics calculator: https://bit.ly/3P2DPWI

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/

What’s your greatest challenge right now? In this episode, Andrew talks through a problem he’s having trouble solving, and what he’s doing about it. (Spoiler: the key is breaking the problem down into smaller problems). “Despite the current macroeconomic moment, I still have to figure out how to help this client grow.”