Threading The Needle

Resilience is often the key to success. In this episode, Andrew is joined by Common Thread Collective executives Orchid Bertelsen, Taylor Holiday, and Aaron Orendorff to discuss the seven characteristics of an “antifragile” ecommerce brand + 21 tactics. - Read the full article on developing an antifragile ecommerce brand: https://commonthreadco.com/blogs/coachs-corner/antifragile-ecommerce - Watch this podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/6BkM1vbTYSM

Transitions are on the horizon. In this episode, Andrew provides his assessment of the aggregator model, the landscape for aggregators as a whole, and how that assessment informs incoming changes at 4x400. “We are now about four years into this journey of running an aggregator, and we have learned a lot.”

Lose, win, and draw. Three brands with three different outcomes. In this episode, Andrew follows up on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the lessons he’s bringing into 2022. “I’ve done Black Friday a lot of times now, and every year there’s more to learn.”

The supply chain, inflation, product volume — a multitude of factors went into ecommerce planning for the holiday season. In this episode, recorded prior to the big weekend, Andrew shares his expectations, offers, and reasoning behind each of his brands’ Black Friday, Cyber Monday strategies. “Like everything related to the time that we live in, it is so hard to forecast.”

In this bonus (dare we say, “emergency”) episode of the Ecommerce Playbook Podcast, Andrew is joined by CTC’s VP of Marketing, Aaron Orendorff, and CEO, Taylor Holiday. Go behind-the-scenes as they share, benchmark, and examine the DTC metrics that matter most. “What we’re hopeful to do with this information is to help add another layer of context to your questions and struggles in a way that provides a richer narrative than an individual anecdote or response.”

How do you create products that generate value over time? In this episode, Andrew shares the what, why, and how of a recent Modern Fuel launch. “When you launch a product, you need to keep the fundamentals in front of you and keep moving forward.” Link to Legends Collection: https://modernfuel.com/pages/legends

It’s not too late! In this week’s episode, Andrew shares his best strategy for a successful ecommerce holiday. “The way you maximize the moment with past customers, new customers, and everyone in between is strategizing for AOV.”

Customer acquisition deep dive — with all the numbers! Andrew explores how to nudge subscribers into becoming customers. “People on my list who have never purchased before are very unlikely to purchase after a certain point without some kind of offer or discount.”

We’re getting tactical. This week, Andrew shares strategies for using email and SMS subscription lists to acquire customers. “How do I turn those lists into dollars?”

In this special episode, Andrew Faris and Taylor Holiday, CEO of Common Thread Collective, talk with Orchid Bertelsen — CTC’s new Chief Operating Officer. With six years of experience at Nestle USA, Orchid explains why operational leadership is no longer a luxury for DTC ecommerce brands. “The problem isn’t that people aren’t willing to take hills. They’re willing to take hills, but sometimes they take the wrong ones.”

Nobody has the Midas Touch. In this episode, Andrew shares four things he would have done differently with the Genuine Canine brand before ultimately selling it. “When you’re losing, you don’t want to keep doing that thing over and over again.” As mentioned in the show ... Kynship Influencer Marketing: https://kynship.co/

Do you feel like you’re running your business based on what others have told you to do? In this episode, Andrew shares how his team at 4x400 is working to develop real points of view, core beliefs, and values. “What I am experiencing right now as a CEO is the things I believed were true before are just starting to be internalized. I wish I would have done that sooner.” Now through Sept. 23, visit youradmission.co and get free access to our exclusive online community with trainings, tools, and support for your ecommerce brand.

The number one way to build your brand is to put products in peoples’ hands. In this episode, Andrew shares how 4x400 thinks about product development. “I’m betting a lot of the future of 4x400 on our ability to develop awesome products for our customers.” BONUS: Visit youradmission.co and get free access to our exclusive online community with trainings, tools, and support for your ecommerce brand. Limited time only, Sept. 14–23

The best influencer marketing starts palms down — giving without asking for anything back. In this week’s episode, Andrew is joined by Cody Wittick, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Kynship, to discuss the ups and downs of 4x400's influencer marketing strategy with 31 Bits. “If you are serious about building influencer relationships that work, it’s going to have to be authentic, and it’s going to have to be real.” Show Notes: The episode where we discussed the original plan: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1cnFSBEukHdaRP4QtRvP1P?si=bddb82ce727d4710 Cody's Twitter Thread (And Account– DM Him!) https://twitter.com/cody_wittick/status/1420046506841710594?s=21 Kynship's Website: http://www.kynship.co/ Andrew's Twitter Account: http://www.twitter.com/andrewjfaris

If you could change one thing about your business, what would it be? In this episode, Andrew shares the number one thing 4x400 is doing to improve as a team. “The most important thing you can do when things are challenging is to solve the next most important problem next.”

Over $100k in one day?! In this week's podcast, Andrew and special guest Dave Rekuc — VP of New Brands at 4x400 — share the secrets to the highest revenue day in 4x400's history. “The 100% locked-in promise from this show: Guaranteed highest revenue day ever.”

Ready to jump in and get some wins? In this episode, Andrew shares five things you can do right now in your business to generate more revenue. “Last week, I talked to you about losing streaks. So today, let’s go from ‘therapy’ to super practical!”

If you’ve ever played sports, you know what it feels like to be on a losing streak. In this episode, Andrew shares his personal experience of pushing through periods of loss with 4x400’s brands. “One thing that I’m doing with losing streaks is reminding myself: This too shall pass.”

Measure what matters! Now more than ever, the 4x400 team is wrapping its heads around every number. In this episode, Andrew shares how they’re attacking KPIs in the ever-changing ecommerce landscape. “At the end of the day, we are trying to create brands that people love and operate efficiently”

Simplistic advice? It’s not. Even the most analytically minded operator can easily make costly mistakes. We did. In this episode, Andrew shares his biggest mistake of 2021: “Even if we’d been ‘successful,’ it would have been far too long for those dollars to turn into more dollars and not more costs.” https://www.youradmission.co/podcast