69 questions I ask to understand the growth opportunities for an eCommerce brand

In my capacity as Head of New York at Business Sweden, I get in touch with many aspiring eCommerce brands considering how to grow their sales in the US.

Some already have significant sales here and are considering how they can optimize customer acquisition, cost structure, logistics, or another area of their business.

For others, it might be the first step to entering the market. Regardless of the stage the company is in. I always try to help out in the best way possible, which might mean a few hours of coaching, a small project where we can sometimes get subsidies for the company, or a more extensive engagement where we support with a complete market analysis and go-to-market strategy.

However, before we move to prescribe a solution, we must always diagnose the company. And I usually like to spend 30 to 60 minutes asking questions, listening, and learning. This allows me to identify if I believe there are any quick fixes and understand the opportunities and challenges the company faces.?

The questions I ask will vary depending on the brand and the counterpart I am talking to. But in this first newsletter, as we get started with 2023, I wanted to outline the long list of questions that is in the back of my mind. Hopefully, the questions can make you reflect on the opportunities ahead and identify some knowledge gaps you might have.

Don't hesitate to DM me if I can support you in any way or you want to have this conversation live. Of course, writing down your answers can be immensely helpful as well.

QUESTIONS ON BRAND AND STORY (THE BEST PART)

• What actually happened when you started the company, and why did you feel compelled to start it?
• What makes you different from competitors?¨
• Is that differentiation something the average consumer can appreciate quickly, or does it require significant education?
• If someone saw your ad and didn't go to your site, would they understand why you exist?
• If someone went to your site, would they quickly understand why you exist?
• What kind of change has your brand been through since you first started?
• Is your founder central to the brand storytelling? Why / why not??
• Is your team aligned with the why of the brand??
• Would your team happily participate in a video ad if it created value for the brand?
• What is the sense of community around your brand? Where do you have the most contact with your customers?

DO YOU UNDERSTAND YOUR BUSINESS?

• What is your Product Margin? (Margin after COGS)
• What is your Gross Margin? (Margin after all variable cost associated with the purchase)
• What is your Contribution Margin? (Margin after marketing costs)

People have different names for these. I think the above definitions make the most sense. But, in the end, the most important thing is that you understand the various components of your margin and that each metric is consistent across time periods. Go here for more on this topic.

• Depending on the above, what does your funding/capital need situation look like?
• What is your average order value (AOV)?
• What share of orders comes from new vs. old customers during a given month?
• What share of customers ever come back for a second purchase?
• How long does it take for customers to return for their second (ATSO)??
• What is the average lifetime (12/24/26 months) orders (ALTO)?
• What is your customer lifetime (or 12/24/36 months) value in gross profit terms?
• What is your 'new' and 'blended' customer acquisition cost (CAC)? So just all marketing spend divided by (1) all new customers and (2) all orders.
• At what CAC do you break even on the first purchase given AOV?
• What is your media efficiency ratio (MER)? And what do you need it to be to run a profitable or breakeven business?
• How do you acquire your customers? From which channels etc.
• Do you think of the acquisition process in terms of a funnel? (while this has less relevance after iOS 14.5, with ASC+ etc., it still matters)
• How important is email/sms to your customer acquisition and/or retention process?
• How large share of revenue touches email in some way?
• Do you have all the essential email flows set up?
• How do you handle fulfillment? What are your plans for the future?
• Do you personally engage with customers through customer service? What are they excited about? What are they complaining about?
• Who are your customers? How do you know?
• Do you already have customers in the US?
• Are your products already adapted for the US market?
• What does your team look like to handle the questions in this section?

TECH STACK (Primarily website, CRM, and reporting)?

• How mature/modern is your website??
• Where is it hosted / what CMS are you using?
• How fast is it? What is your website load time on core customer journey pages?
• How optimized is it for converting customers?
• What is your sales conversion rate? If paid is your primary source of traffic, this gives some direction given AOV: <100 EUR >2.5%, 100-200 EUR >2%, >200 EUR >1.5%?
• How do you currently work with conversion rate optimization?
• Does your website tell your story/WHY well?
• Is it pleasant to look at? (the importance will vary by business/brand)
• Is converting customers short term more important than long-term brand building or the other way around?
• Are you open to getting feedback and implementing changes?
• Do you currently work with category or product landing pages? (If not, this is often an essential way to improve the conversion rate quickly)
• Is your website designed mobile first?
• Do your PDPs give enough information in themselves in case someone gets there from IG shopping or google?
• Do you leverage customer reviews effectively?
• Do you highlight media mentions?
• Do you use other tricks to build trust/credibility?
• Do you ship internationally already? Do you have different currencies on your site??
• Is your site multilingual?
• Is your site adapted to the US market? (E.g. terms and conditions, metric vs. imperial system, FDA, etc.)
• Does your footer follow best practices??
• To what extent are you collecting zero-party data (like email, phone numbers, birthdays, etc)
• What CRM are you using??
• How is your reporting structure set up to understand your own business??

THE CREATIVE STUFF

• Who is your 'creative director'? Of course, every company does not have a person with that title, but who is wearing that hat? And how clear is the vision for the brand?
• What does your product creation process look like?
• Do you have a visual identity? Do you follow it "because reasons" or because it best supports your brand's story?
• What does your ad creative process look like? How proficient are you in using different formats?
• Do the ad creatives feel modern? You can earn or lose trust right away based on the look & feel.
• Does the ad creative feel native to the gestures of the platforms you're advertising in? TikTok swipe left vs. IG swipe up

CUSTOMER SERVICE

• What is your primary channel for incoming customer service tickets?
• Are you responding within 24 hours??
• Do you offer email, SoMe, chat, phone, or anything else?
• What customer service system are you using?
• How do you handle exchanges and returns?
• What is the most common pre-purchase obstacle?
• What is the most common post-purchase issue?

So that's 69...?We wouldn't go through all of them in a single session but navigate through them and be selective in our discussion. And to remind you, if you think a diagnostic session like this could be valuable, don't hesitate to reach out over DM, and we'll see if we can find time to meet up, I would love to help you find opportunities for your business.?

Before you go, here are three quick nuggets:

1. Vendor of the month:?Weglot?offers what you need to translate and display a multilingual website and the machine learning has gotten really impressive.

2. Book I am reading:?Ray Dalio?- Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail. It was the last book I started reading in 2022 but also turned out to be the best one for the year.

3. DTC Brand that inspires me:?Quip?offers dental care products on a subscription basis. I have been a subscriber for 5+ years and their app has gotten my 5-year-old crazy about keeping her toothbrushing routine. That's amazing.?

That's all for now

I hope you found this newsletter valuable and that the questions sparked a few ideas as you head into 2023.?

Make sure you give yourself at least 8 hours of sleep opportunity tonight so you can be your best self tomorrow.

Still reading this? Don't forget to subscribe ??. And I would be grateful if you shared this with your best eCommerce buddy!

Good luck, and stay frosty!