Jesse Meighan

If you're not looking at product-market fit in the context of being "default alive", you're not seeing the full picture. The holy grail of ecommerce, or any business really, is finding product-market fit. Specifically, that means developing a product or service and selling it at a price that the consumer is willing to pay for. But that's only part of the story. That price also needs to be high enough to support not only your marginal costs, but your overhead costs as well. Sounds simple, but so many people overlook it. Should we rename product-market fit to product-market-profit fit?

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Simple ≠ Easy This is the one thing I’m realizing after talking to multiple DTC experts over the last few weeks. The fundamental problems most businesses face already count on answers.  And they’re usually very simple. Q: How can my brand stand out from the crowd?  → Be authentic. Q: How do I know what my customers need? → Talk to them! And so on…. Except these aren’t always easy. The question of figuring out your brand voice especially, such that it’s authentic AND unique AND it resonates with your customers? I got to chat with Jameela G. to try to answer that question. We discussed the ‘simple’ answers.  Along with frameworks and tactics so it's also a bit easy for you to do it. The full episode releases in just few days – yay! ps.: get ready for some good vibes! One can't just spend a whole hour with Jameela without feeling optimistic about life 🍀 #marketingpodcast #dtcmarketing

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After years of no paid spend on social media, We’re back. Butt driving ZERO clicks to our website 😱 Instead we’ve chosen to pump traffic to key retailers Because we believe this is where our DUDES want to buy While the attribution isn’t an exact science like DTC You’d have a hard time convincing me the ROI isn’t better ✅Everyone prefers to buy at retailers - so conversion rate is higher 💰 ✅Customers can also stock their cart with other products - driving net new revenue to our retailers, they like that 😃 ✅ We’re pumping the flywheel at the largest marketplaces in the world. Where organic rank is worth much more than a customer’s “1st party data” 🚀 ✅ This strategy requires infinitely less costs than DTC - where you’re constantly draining cash flow into creative iteration, customer service, Ad specialists, web design, etc While this might not be for everyone, make you’re not blindly chasing a Shopify model Often times there is goldmine right under your nose. ✌️

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Should an unprofitable DTC brand take on debt? There's a ton of nuance to consider here but one thing you always need to remember is... All debt must eventually be paid back with profit. If you don't have profit available to pay back your debt, then you must pay it back with equity dollars. And if you're raising equity to pay back debt, then you're getting double-tagged with a hefty cost of capital... Once for the cost of debt (interest)... And once for the cost of raising equity (getting your ownership diluted)... Which makes me think - Should you have just raised equity (and not taken on debt) in the first place? -- Find this post helpful? Consider reposting or giving me a follow

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Last yr, I went to Joshua Tree and saw a 70-year-old grandma driving a Harley-Davidson. Why does this matter to DTC?   Most DTC brands blindly focus on the demographics and lifestyle profiles of their customers.   (Grandmas, young, male, household income.)   . . . When what is more predictive is their behavior.   "Who are our customers?" Think actions: ➝ Acquired through Google. ➝ Visited our site 3 times before purchasing. ➝ Haven’t been back in 4 days. The more you focus on behavioral segments first, the easier it will be to grow your business. Three reasons why behavioral profiling gives you an edge:   1️⃣ More predictive. Who is more likely to buy from you in the future: The person who last visited your website yesterday or the person who last visited two years ago?   Recency matters.   Who is more likely to buy from you in the future, the customer who bought from you once before or the customer who bought from you ten times before?   Frequency matters. This is why at PostPilot, we build most retention campaigns on a Recency Frequency (RF) basis.   2️⃣ More helpful in selling to your existing customers. Two guys: Steve (household income of 20K) and Joe (household income of 200K).    Poor Steve’s bought from you before. Rich Joe hasn’t.   In Steve’s case, he bought a jump rope from you before. You want to sell more stuff to your customers. Based on what you’ve seen from your customer base, people who buy jump ropes ultimately buy kettlebells.   So your next offer to Steve is a kettlebell. And maybe a warm-up band.    Like many of your customers before, Steve buys the kettlebell as the natural second purchase.   And Joe still hasn’t made a purchase yet.   The behavioral record will help us increase our CLV from Steve, where demographic information won’t do that. 3️⃣ Behavioral segmentation is WAY more actionable. It doesn’t help me to know that the typical customers on my website might read Time magazine or live in New Jersey or are an average age of 51.   But if I know... ➝ Products they’ve purchased before ➝ Last time they opened an email ➝ How they were acquired . . . And all kinds of behavioral factors, I can act.   I can set up rules in tools like Klaviyo and PostPilot, and I can market to them differently and sell to them differently. It’s much more actionable. And automate-able.   BTW. . .    I’m not arguing that demographic segmentation is useless.    Certainly, it’s helpful.    (Really, the Holy Grail is when you can combine behavioral with demographic segmentation.)   But RF(M) behavior should be your first and consistent focus.    And direct mail can help there. We build all the following campaign types around RF: ➝ Winbacks/VIP winbacks ➝ Second-purchase campaigns ➝ Cross-sells & upsells ➝ Subscriber reactivation ➝ Replenishment reminders   Set yourself up and drive repurchases from your own Harley Grannies. 

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Here's one of the ways brand teams fail. It happens more often than not. Invest too much budget in one idea. Believe it's sure to succeed from surrounding yourself with like-minded people or a culture that punishes diversity. Run the single big production cost creative that has about the same chances of success as each of several smaller production creatives. Why? Because it's less work. Because leadership doesn't understand statistics. Because it's more likely to win some award on production quality. Because brand isn't measured by results. None of these are good reasons to blow the budget on one creative. Next time you see the brand team do this, gold spray paint a bunch of eggs and leave a basket on their desk on Bring Your Kids to Work Day. #brandmarketing #tv #marketing #performancemarketing

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Healthy profitability isn’t what makes a DTC brand valuable. Healthy positive cash flow is... Just because your brand is profitable doesn’t mean it’s creating positive cash flow. Unless you know how to manage your balance sheet efficiently, your profitable DTC brand’s cash flow may be locked up - 1. On warehouse shelves (inefficient inventory management) 2. Your customers’ bank accounts (inefficient receivables management) 3. Your vendors bank accounts’ (inefficient payables management) Need help managing your balance sheet so you can improve cash flow and increase your brand’s valuation on the open market? Shoot me a DM. My team of Ecommerce CFOs can help. — If you found this post helpful, consider resharing and follow me Jon Blair for more content like this.

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Not long ago Sequoia published the brilliant The Arc Product-Market Fit Framework* I mentioned that most #DTC brands thought of themselves as operating in the "Hair on Fire" space - solving a problem that’s a clear, urgent need for customers. While in reality at best they are in the "Hard Fact" space - the customers have resigned themselves to just living with the problem. They’re not urgently engaged with trying to solve it. That means 👉 Trying to go to market with direct response ads ONLY makes sense if the problem you are solving is availability and/or affordability. And your solution is cheaper and faster than a competitor or a substitute product. 👉 As they pointed out you fail when your solution is unconvincing. Aka customers don't trust your #brand. Launching into a community is a way to overcome it. 👉 The key challenges to overcome are habits and status quo. So any other friction points must go - i.e. free delivery, best UX, customer care access in 1 click, guaranteed returns 🔥 #growthstrategy *link is in the comment

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ISO: CPG Marketing Advice Without Social Media and VC/Angel Backing Hey everyone! I’m seeing a major decline in engagement for both my personal IG (author life) and my drink’s IG (parentheses). Is anyone else seeing this engagement decline, too? I’m honestly just so burned out on “content creation,” so I’d love to learn more about non-social media marketing strategies that anyone’s using right now. I write a weekly Substack, which I love for my writing career, but I’d love any tips on promoting CPG without social media. Thanks so much! P.S. We’re a super scrappy startup with *no money* to hire PR or consultants. Just looking for peer support here.

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Snag grew their DTC from $0 - Over $30m+ in 3 years. Here’s how they did it: ➤ Problem-Focused Conception While out shopping, Brie realized her tights were slipping down. Growing frustrated, she asked some friends of hers if they experienced something similar. Turns out every single one of her friends had the same issue. This was natural fuel for her to look into things further. ➤ Data = Unfair Advantage Brie didn't have a background in marketing. Instead, her data-oriented mind gave her an advantage by looking at things a little differently. She ran a Google Survey of 3000 women to find out who else struggled to find a pair of tights that fit. The answer? 90% of 3000 people. Bingo. Opportunity validated. The data also showed how: → The market was commoditized → Men made most of the product purchases (Crazy right?) → Most women accepted poor fitting tights as the norm This inspired her to really look into solving this problem, and her search for suppliers began. ➤ Knew the numbers Before launch, Brie’s focus to really get a grip on her numbers really paid off. Since the sales were through DTC, she knew she needed: → 25% of revenue back into marketing → First-order profit → Small seed round to fund initial stock order Armed with the validation from the survey and some strong number-crunching, Snag launched. They cleared £300k/mo in under a year. The emphasis of being profitable from the first order was key to allow her to scale forward and further invest in marketing. ➤ Applied Zero-Party Data & Customer Service This is where Brie’s data-oriented approach really shone a light on how Snag scaled rapidly. The pandemic caused havoc for many brands, including Snag. Over 60% of the business disappeared overnight, and they went into negative. They had Facebook debt that had to be paid. Fast. Or Snag would die. That’s when Brie turned to her customers for answers. Her customers suggested a brilliant offer: 2 tights for the price of one, but the second pair gets sent in 6 months. The offer worked - Snag survived. And eventually thrived. This was a genius idea to help relate to her customers. ➤  Applied the ‘3-Piece’ DTC Law Finally, Brie understood the fundamental law of DTC. → Commitment to customer service → Great product experience → Solve a big problem Since all 3 were checked, the rest was down to semantics, unit economics, and following marketing fundamentals. ➤  Final Thoughts As a data analyst, Brie’s final words of advice were super impactful and really hit home. Yes, data is important, but it’s even more important that each data point is an actual human being, not just a number on a spreadsheet. Combining the importance of data with the understanding that each data point is a human is a brilliant formula for growth. What else would you add?

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Some products just don’t work for scaling DTC profitably. Why? The unit economics needed to scale profitably aren’t there. One example that comes to mind is the vast majority of food and bev products. If your product mix has low AOV and high (shipping + fulfillment cost)/AOV, chances are you won’t have enough room in your contribution margin before marketing to afford the CAC you need scale through DTC advertising channels. There are some exceptions to this rule, but generally speaking, the products that crush DTC have higher AOVs and higher margins before marketing, allowing sufficient CAC budget to scale. Do you agree?

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Ever wonder why some brands seem to read your mind? It's RFM. Let me show you how. Recency, Frequency, Monetary value - the trifecta behind the curtain. By analyzing how recently and how often you engage with a brand, plus how much you spend, companies can predict your next move. Or try to persuade you to do something they want. 1️⃣𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲? Imagine a customer who just purchased last week. They’re still excited about their new find. Capitalize on this enthusiasm with timely communications that thank them for their purchase or offer a complementary product as a follow-up. For instance, an online fashion retailer noticed a 30% higher email open rate from customers who had made purchases within the last month. ➟ Armed with this insight, they launched tailored email campaigns offering a "Welcome Back" discount to recent buyers and a "We Miss You" campaign to reactivate dormant shoppers. 2️⃣ 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘆? Considered your regulars, the lifeblood of your business. A subscription-based meal delivery service found that customers who ordered more than twice a month were prime candidates for an upsell to a premium plan with more choices and exclusives. ➟ By targeting these frequent diners with personalized offers to enhance their plan, they not only boosted the average LTV but also reinforced customer loyalty. 3️⃣ 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱? High spenders are your VIPs. They expect—and deserve—a level of service commensurate with their expenditure. An online goods retailer used their data to identify customers spending over $500 per transaction. ➟ These high rollers were then offered access to an exclusive VIP program that included personal stylist consultations and early access to new products, enhancing their buying experience and encouraging even higher spends. By breaking down your customer base using these three metrics, you can tailor your marketing strategies to target specific groups more effectively. *************** I am Alvin Huang I'm an e-commerce veteran with over $189 million in sales, specializing in scalable growth and resilient leadership. I deliver no-nonsense, actionable insights for serious business growth. Follow me for real-world strategies and case studies that drive success. #RFMStrategies #customercentric #alwaysbeselling

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🔥📈 Do you know what’s better than a one-time customer or client? A repeat buyer. Customer retention isn’t just important for #cannabis brands. It’s vital. Why? Because repeat customers spend more and cost less. They know your products or services. They trust your brand. And they tell their friends. That's free marketing. Don’t just satisfy customers. Delight them Make them fans. Your brand isn’t just what you sell. It’s the experience you deliver. #cannabismarketing #cannabisbusiness #hemp #cannabisindustry #cannabiz #cannabisbranding

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I just spent 48 hours in NYC with one of the most successful DTC brands in history 🤯 Obvi are a supplements brand famous for getting to $60m of revenue in just 4 years 😮 Here's the BIGGEST lessons I learnt: 1. Stay lean at all costs They're a $60m brand, I was expecting a snazzy office, what I got was a basic space and broken chairs. It's tempting as you grow, to think you need bigger and better, you don't. STAY LEAN 2. Do the basics really well Founders are obsessed with paid ads, email, product, brand and operations. They focus on doing the basics exceptionally well 3. Hire a core team, outsource everything else They have 12 FT ppl and everything else is outsourced. Their POV, it's more efficient to outsource than hire and you get a wider range of expertise looking at the problem 4. Community doesn't have to be complicated They created a fbk group, scheduled the first 20 posts and then let the most engaged members become admins and run it. Now 100k members and the bedrock of their innovation and launch strategy 5. Creative diversity is key to scale Running paid ads? You need to be running low-fi statics/video AND hi-fi statics/video. Different target customers resonate with different styles of content and if you're not creating them all you are leaving money on the table 6. Organic content and visibility have to be part of your strategy If you're running paid, organic content (PR, founder posts, podcasts) will boost trust and make your paid perform SO much better 7. You need to spend time with ppl further ahead than you Learning from these guys has been transformative for me and MyoMaster. Spend time with people out of your league doing things you can only dream of Gorgias - THANK YOU for sending me on this trip Ashvin Melwani and Ankit Patel thanks for the incredible insights

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The next 100 people who comment ‘list’ on this post… will get full access to my curated prospecting list of 2,629 DTC brands and founders. So check this out: If I launched an agency today (or sold anything to consumer brands) this would be invaluable. And so I’m doing this for founders, agency owners, freelancers, media and production companies. You'll want this if you sell or market stuff to direct-to-consumer brands … … especially if you struggle with prospecting. Or just juggle too many things to have time to do this yourself. 2,629 DTC brands. Across 48 different categories. Soap.  Wellness. Drinks.  Fashion. Supplements. Eyewear. You name it. It's actually two lists: One with all the companies. A second with details to all founders. I’m doing this to practice what I preach. Outgive the competition. Lead with goodwill. Walk the walk. And yes… to drive interest and demand for Vendi :-) 𝗧𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁: 1. Like this post. Maybe even LOVE the post? 2. Drop a comment below. Write “list” or something similar. 3. Make sure we’re 1st-degree connections (otherwise I can’t send the list). 4. I’ll DM you the list. Might take me a day or so.  #b2b #dtc

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🌱 #Cannabis and Ancillary Brands: If you've recently redesigned your website (or are in the process) ➡ When did you pull in your copy person? Here's the thing: - UX is important - The design needs to evoke emotion - High-quality images are critical ^^ All of these things help to attract your ideal buyer. ... But *no one* is going to convert without the right messaging. It's the words that ultimately make people click. When you bring your copy person in late, instead of from the get-go... They'll inevitably be working *around* your dev team instead of alongside them. And that'll result in sub-par messaging. It's sort of the same as when people are eager to design their logo. I'd argue that before you begin that process, you need messaging, brand values, value prop, etc., solidified first. (It'll also give those creatives so much more to go off of to really capture the essence of your brand.) Do you agree? #cannabisbrands #cannabismarketing #websitedesign #copywriting

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We doubled our CPG brand’s email revenue to $243,581/m in 4 months. Here’s the exact blueprint we followed to earn this result: Before working with us, our client was already generating $120,000/m via email. A respectable number, but we knew there was room for improvement. Like with all clients, our team started with a deliverability audit. We always start here because deliverability is the most common problem DTC brands suffer from. After the audit, we went in & made the necessary changes to bring their deliverability back on track. Furthermore, we cleaned his list of all inactive subscribers. This was an extensive process, as our client didn't clean their list regularly. Once we solved their deliverability issues, we started building campaigns & emailing their list consistently. We raised the email frequency to 2 emails per week & created content that resonated with the audience. This raised the list’s overall open rate, which meant more eyes on our sales emails. Next, we started creating flows. Our client was too busy to create optimized flows that would skyrocket their revenue. Some of these included: • Welcome flow • Abandoned series flows • Post purchase series flows We created different variations for each flow to tailor with each relevant audience segment, and didn’t cut corners on the number of follow-up emails in each sequence. To top everything off, we followed a cadence of 80% value & 20% sales emails. Thanks to our efforts, we doubled their already respectable email revenue in 4 months. Is your brand not leveraging email marketing to the fullest? Send me a connection request & we’ll have a chat.

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I'm closing in on $50k/month with my agency that’s doing email marketing for DTC Ecom stores. I got here by overdelivering like crazy. And that means clients don't leave. I got here because I understood: Sustainability > Profitability. If you are serious about your business message me "SCALE" if you want me to add $30,000-$50,000 to your existing Ecom store which is generating $20k-$200k/month. #ecommerce #emailmarketing #DTC

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