Topic

Observations

A collection of 13 issues

The paradox of increasingly “powerful” ecommerce tools and realizing ultimate potential

As tools become more powerful, they also become more complex, which means less users are able to take advantage of that power. True power comes from leveraging simpler, more elegant, more pragmatic systems that combined enable outcomes that are greater than the sum of the parts.

“Kablooie!”

It feels like, almost overnight, the social web has fragmented into an infinite number of pieces. Is there hope for our preciouse, time, energy, and headspace?

What is the best Shopify agency—based purely on their positioning statement?

A roundup of the positioning statements of many of the top Shopify agencies. Who would you choose to work with based on positioning alone?

Beware of GPT3’s Overconfidence: It May Not Always Be Right

No matter how wrong or off-base they are, GPT3 has a strong tendency to generate responses as though they’re the absolute authority on the subject. But, are they?

DTC has replaced “the middle-man” with numerous other costs—and it’s arguably more expensive and less effective than traditional distribution channels

Most new (and many well-established) direct-to-consumer brands grossly underestimate how challenging and expensive it is to find and acquire good customers.

Connecting marketing initiatives between the physical and virtual worlds

I am often surprised that so many brands send out direct mailers with no easy link between the physical and virtual experience—and no clear call-to-action or incentive to make a purchase.

The journey isn’t just lonely at the top

In our effort to build lean teams, we tend to underinvest in team-building. We overload our teams with too much complexity and too many areas of responsibility without the frameworks or systems to support them or enable them to have sounding boards and forums for healthy discussion.

Are you wearing too many hats in your organization?

How many of you wear the hat of “ecommerce manager” on top of your official title—such as COO, CMO, CTO, Marketing Manager, Designer, Founder, CEO…? You are not alone.

Are you striving to be a master of your digital craft? Where is your community?

I often reflect on the loneliness of the journey for founders but I am curious to understand if this is an issue for those of you working in teams as well?

“Before we begin, is there anything on your mind?”

It’s easy to forget that the people we are interacting with each day have their own stresses and anxieties and challenges that they bring to the table (or the Zoom call!).