The Problem Isn't Your Ads, It's Your Data

Every brand says they’re “data-driven.” But most are just “dashboard-driven.” Here’s what I mean: They’ll tell you their ROAS, CTR, CVR, AOV...instantly. But ask, “Why do your best customers buy again?” And the room goes silent. The truth is, most 8–9 figure brands are drowning in analytics, and starving for insight. Numbers tell you what happened. They don’t tell you why. That’s why the best teams I’ve spoken with don’t start with dashboards. They start with conversations: customer calls, qualitative feedback, zero-party data. Because once you understand why people buy, the “what” takes care of itself. PS: If you'd like to get more growth marketing insights every Wednesday in your inbox, subscribe to The DTC Insider newsletter.

Everyone’s chasing the perfect strategy. The perfect data. The perfect timing. The perfect attribution model. Spoiler: it doesn’t exist. Every “perfect plan” gets punched in the face by reality: data delays, shifting budgets, and the good old approval maze. The best teams? They plan, test, learn, and move. Fast. Because momentum beats perfection every single time. Retail media isn’t about getting it right the first time. It’s about building a system that gets smarter every time. #RetailMedia #Marketing #AdTech #Ecommerce

Every DTC marketing team says they’re data-driven. But I’ve seen too many making decisions based on dashboards that are quietly wrong…or not using them at all because no one really understands the data. A few years ago, I worked with a team that had been using an expensive reporting tool for months. The CEO was confident their data was in great shape. Except it wasn’t. The tool was consistently off by about 20% - sometimes high, sometimes low - and the marketing team hadn’t noticed. They weren’t confident using the tool, so they weren’t looking closely enough to see the problem. When data lives in a black box, even a small error compounds fast: budgets get misallocated, campaigns mistakenly paused, confidence lost. Here’s how I fixed it: → Worked with the reporting vendor and engineering team to identify and close the gap → Negotiated a make-good with the vendor → Trained the team so they could confidently interpret and apply the data Once the numbers were accurate, everything changed. We could make faster, smarter decisions - and lowered CAC by 36% within six weeks. Having data isn’t the same as having clarity. If you can’t explain where your numbers come from - or why they move - your data isn’t helping you grow. It’s holding you back.

If you’re only learning what went wrong after the month closes, you’re already too late. By the time the P&L lands in your inbox, ad costs have spiked, inventory’s low, and margins quietly vanished. That’s the problem with lagging reports — they tell you what happened, not what’s happening. That’s why I’m a huge fan of Flash Reporting. A solid flash report gives you near real-time visibility into: • Sales trends mid-month • Ad performance shifts • Gross margin changes • Cash position and burn It’s not about having perfect data — it’s about catching early signals. Because when you can see ROAS dip on week two instead of day thirty, you can course-correct before the damage compounds. Ecommerce doesn’t reward the busiest founders. It rewards the ones who catch issues fastest. Flash reporting keeps you ahead of the curve — not buried under it.

💡 “Yield management isn’t about selling all the inventory - it’s about selling it smart.” One thing I’ve learned working in yield and inventory management: it’s not just about hitting 100% sell-thru. It’s about understanding the story behind the numbers - how supply, demand, and strategy all play together. ✨ Here’s the fun part - two placements can look identical on paper but perform completely differently depending on how they’re priced, capped, or targeted. One might “look” sold out, but without the right pacing logic or category setup, you could be leaving serious revenue on the table. That’s where real yield management comes in - spotting value gaps before they show up in your reports. Some sneaky levers that make a big difference 👇 ➡️ Caps that throttle performance during peak hours ➡️ Overly tight targeting that blocks Run-of-Site or cross-category delivery ➡️ Forecasts that don’t account for elasticity between placements ➡️ Pricing that rewards volume instead of value 🪴 When you start viewing yield as a living, moving ecosystem - instead of just a dashboard metric - everything changes. I’m curious how other yield and ad ops teams define a healthy inventory. 🤔 Is it Sell-Thru? Render Rate? Forecast Accuracy? 👉 Or is it the ability to pivot fast when performance shifts? Let’s talk yield - not just as a number, but as a mindset. #YieldManagement #AdOps #RetailMedia #InventoryOptimization #DigitalAdvertising

We see this with every brand we work with. Doesn’t matter if they’re backed by institutional funding or bootstrapping out of their garage. Balancing cash flow, sales, and production is a tightrope. And without a forecast, it feels like you’re walking the tightrope with a blindfold. Inventory planning for an emerging CPG brand is basically the Goldilocks problem: >>Too little = stockouts and frustrated customers. >>Too much = cash tied up and, in food & bev, sometimes wasted product. The goal is always just enough so you can grow without guessing. I’ve worked with Founders at every stage, and I know most shy away from forecasting because they think it’s too expensive, too complex, or something only nerdy MBAs care about. Truth is, forecasting can be lightweight and powerful. And here’s what it could give you: - Clarity on when to reorder - Visibility into cash flow needs - Fewer stockout/overstock headaches - Confidence to expand at the right pace You don’t need fancy software to start. A spreadsheet, your sales data, and a regular rhythm with your sales, ops, and finance leads is enough. Start with the basics: 1. Meet as a team and review data regularly 2. Set reorder points based on actual lead times 3. Track sell-through and ordering patterns 4. Use recent trends instead of old guesses If you want to build a process that your team actually uses (instead of ignoring), let’s talk.

When it comes to making business decisions — don’t guess. Make decisions based on data. 🤝   We recently scaled a client we scaled $0 to $10,000/month in ad spend. A few months in, they came to us and said: “We aren’t generating more net profit — and we’re seeing more returns. We think it’s because of the ads.” So, we looked at the numbers. Their highest net months were all while ads were running — ranging from $2,000 to $40,000 higher than their previous peaks without ads. Ads are an expense — yes. But they’re also the engine driving the return. Too many business owners see ads on a credit card statement and assume cutting spend will “save” them money. But often, it’s their biggest cost because it’s their biggest profit driver. Now, about those returns… The business was processing more returns, which they thought was due to the places ads were appearing... But when we ran the numbers: - 2024 return rate: 3.08% - 2025 return rate: 2.84% The reason they felt like they were getting more returns is because when you're generating more volume, more returns naturally follow. However, if you applied the 2025 return rate to their 2024 sales, they actually would’ve had $3,000 fewer returns. Overall, it's a case study on not making emotional business decisions. And the need to make data-driven decisions. Your intuition can tell you what to look at — but the data should decide what to do. Feelings lose money. Data compounds it. 🚀 #Amazon #ecommerce #digitalmarketing #digitaladvertising #PPC

Stop guessing and start measuring everything. Track every click, every view, and every visitor—both internal and external. You need more data than you think, because that data is your best competitive advantage. ➡️ What's the story hidden in those numbers? ➡️ What strategic changes should you make next? ➡️ How can you empower your Sales team, your manager, and your senior leaders with that insight? Great campaigns may start with great creative, but they only grow because of great tracking. #TrackingNotSlacking #DOTTMarketing

Everyone in CPG wants to measure shopper ROI. Few do it well. Why? Because it’s not as easy as plugging numbers into a formula. Costs are fragmented across budgets. Trade overlaps with shopper. Agencies spin positive stories. And many marketers don’t have access to the profitability data 💰 needed to make the math real. Sound familiar? The truth is, ROI is valuable precisely because it cuts through storytelling. But only if the inputs are solid. Start with a simple, shared formula. Capture spend with rigor. Be clear on what’s in or out of scope. Then iterate. 📄 Read the full breakdown: https://bit.ly/46AxbTw #Shopperations #CPGMarketing #FinanceAlignment #MarketingOps

📉 Your dashboard isn’t a trophy case — it’s a decision tool. The more you strip away unnecessary metrics, the clearer your growth path becomes. You don’t win by showing off numbers. You win by understanding them. I’ve seen big brands track 12+ KPIs… and still struggle to answer one simple question: 👉 “What’s actually driving profit?” More numbers ≠ more clarity. It usually means: ❌ More noise ❌ Slower decisions ❌ Endless analysis paralysis Here’s the truth: 💎 Simplicity scales. 💎 Smart marketers focus on fewer metrics that move the needle — not dozens that make them look busy. Start with the metrics that truly define performance: ✅ Cost per result (CPR) — performability metric ✅ Return on ad spend (ROAS) — profitability metric ✅ Customer acquisition cost (CAC) — scalability metric If your dashboard doesn’t make it instantly clear where profit is coming from, it’s time to simplify. 💡 Data is powerful only when it drives decisions — not when it decorates dashboards. 👉 Which metrics are you tracking right now? #PerformanceMarketing #MarketingAnalytics #DataDrivenMarketing #PaidMedia #BusinessGrowth