This week, we’re talking AI creative, product page testing, and Shopify updates - plus, we’re joined by Steve Rekuc from Common Thread Collective who walks us through how he built the Spending Power metric at CTC, what it tells us about shifting consumer demand, and how brands can use it to adjust spend and planning month to month. We also dig into seasonality vs macro-driven variability, and why awareness of your environment is key to making smarter decisions.

We also discuss the viral Kalshi ad and discuss how we’re approaching AI tools for creative development, from visual quality to concept support. We also talk about recent PDP testing wins, what changed, and how to think about the structure of your product pages going into peak season.

Want to submit your own DTC or ecommerce marketing question? ⁠Click here⁠.

00:00 Introduction

02:57 Analytics Reporting and Year-Over-Year Comparisons

07:12 Data Warehousing and Shopify Analytics

10:54 AI in Marketing and Creative Strategies

16:53 Consumer Confidence and E-commerce Predictions

23:00 Insights from Common Thread Collective

34:20 Understanding Spending Power

37:14 Incrementality Testing for Marketing Efficiency

40:01 Seasonality and Brand Performance

43:41 Predicting Future Spending Power

46:59 Consumer Confidence and Spending Trends

49:47 Insights from Data for Brand Strategy

52:27 Iterating on Product Design and User Experience

Kalshi Ad: https://x.com/PJaccetturo/status/1932893260399456513

Steve's X Thread: https://x.com/RSteveData/status/1931107166792159711

Episode 64 with Dylan Anders:

YouTube: https://youtu.be/QJvj3z68rbE

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3iwer8FNwuwzDDnAV5X7JV?si=ab23e70a86404639

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Prescient AI.⁠⁠⁠

https://www.prescientai.com/operators

Richpanel.⁠⁠⁠

https://www.richpanel.com/?utm_source=MO&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ytdesc

Aftersell.

https://www.aftersell.com/operators

Haus.

http://Haus.io/operators

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Today we’re joined by Dylan Ander, founder of heatmap.com, to talk attribution, LTV, CAC, creative testing, and what actually moves the needle in media buying performance.

We unpack why conversion rate alone isn’t the best indicator of success and what to look at instead, from holdout testing and CAC payback windows to 60-day LTV. Dylan shares his approach to attribution when platform data (especially from Meta) falls short, and how to build creative testing frameworks that truly help scale spend.

We also dive into the nuances of media buying across channels, how to interpret noisy performance data, and the signals that actually matter. Dylan breaks down how to use on-site surveys to gather clearer attribution insights - what to ask, how to ask it, and how to use the data. Plus, we get into pricing strategy: why many brands hesitate to raise prices, and how pricing impacts both conversion and LTV.

Finally, Dylan walks through an audit of Cody’s website using heatmap and revenue data, offering tactical, high-leverage feedback on what’s working, what’s not, and what to test next.

If you have a question for the MOperators Hotline, click the link to be in with a chance of it being discussed on the show: https://forms.gle/1W7nKoNK5Zakm1Xv6

00:00 Meta Summit Takeaways

02:47 AI in Marketing Strategies

06:08 Introduction to Dylan Ender

09:04 Core Web Analytics Insights

11:55 Customer Feedback and CRO

15:13 The Importance of AOV and Conversion Rate

17:58 Revenue Per Session vs. Conversion Rate

20:50 Price Testing Strategies

39:41 Revenue Testing and Feedback

42:08 The Importance of Price Testing

43:36 Challenges in SaaS Pricing

44:57 Understanding Heat Maps and Analytics

52:58 Live Testing vs. Split Testing

56:20 The Role of Customer Feedback in Marketing

01:01:12 Understanding Funnel Metrics

01:08:53 Optimizing Navigation for Better User Experience

Episodes discussed in the show:Episode 1 - A Deep Dive into Attribution and Measurement Episode 27 - How We Set Goals, Attribution Limitations and KPIs for Growth?

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Prescient AI.⁠⁠⁠

https://www.prescientai.com/operators

Richpanel.⁠⁠⁠

https://www.richpanel.com/?utm_source=MO&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ytdesc

Aftersell.

https://www.aftersell.com/operators

Rivo.

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In this episode, we dive into Meta ad performance, Shopify’s latest AI features (including Sidekick), and we answer your DTC marketing questions from our MOps Hotline.

We start with unpacking how Meta is performing for us right now - why it’s still the most powerful channel in the stack, but also less forgiving than it used to be. Cody shares the thinking behind his recent tweet on Meta volatility and how we’re adapting creative and media buying to respond.

Next, we discuss to Shopify’s latest AI announcements and tools - from Sidekick to generative features inside the Shopify platform. We discuss whether these updates are useful for ecommerce operators, or just more hype.

Ad finally, we get into a round of your questions from our MOps Hotline, covering email vs SMS strategy, SKU-level segmentation, channel prioritization, and more.

Want to submit your own DTC or ecommerce marketing question? Click here.

00:00 Introduction

04:34 Leveraging AI in Marketing

07:05 The New Metric: Cost Per 1000 Accounts Reached

19:26 Optimizing Meta Advertising Strategies

27:38 AI Innovations in Shopify

37:34 The Future of E-commerce with AI

44:12 Incrementality Testing for Ad Spend

51:41 Effective Marketing Measurement and Reporting

01:02:54 Pricing Strategies and Conversion Rates

Mehtab's X Thread:https://x.com/mehtabkarta/status/1924547703373189179?s=46

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⁠⁠⁠https://motionapp.com/pricing?utm_source=marketing-operators-podcast&utm_medium=paidsponsor&utm_campaign=march-2024-ad-reads⁠⁠⁠https://motionapp.com/creative-trends

Prescient AI.⁠⁠⁠

https://www.prescientai.com/operators

Richpanel.⁠⁠⁠

https://www.richpanel.com/?utm_source=MO&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ytdesc

Aftersell.

https://www.aftersell.com/operators

Haus.

http://Haus.io/operators

Subscribe to the 9 Operators Podcast here:https://www.youtube.com/@Operators9

Subscribe to the Finance Operators Podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@FinanceOperatorsFOPS

Sign up to the 9 Operators newsletter here: https://9operators.com/