Tracking e-commerce performance trends (for CMOs)

Hi everyone! I’m Brittany, and I’m excited to share how I use Violet to kick off my week as a chief marketing officer (CMO) in the e-commerce space. Monday mornings can be a whirlwind, but with Violet, I can quickly assess how our business is trending and decide on the best actions for the week ahead. Let’s jump in!

Getting started with key performance indicators

When I log into Violet, the first place I go is the KPI Trendlines section. This is where all the essential metrics are laid out for me, including:

• Investment: How much we’re spending
• First-time buyers (FTBs): The number of new customers we’re acquiring
• Revenue: Our income for the week
• Margin: Profitability insights
• Return on ad spend (ROAS): The effectiveness of our advertising
• Average order value (AOV): What customers are spending on average
• Cost per acquisition (CPA): The cost of gaining a new customer
• Lifetime value (LTV): Expected revenue from a customer over time

Pro Tip: Familiarize yourself with these KPIs. A quick glance can help you make faster, more informed decisions!

Digging deeper into the data

With my KPIs in front of me, it’s time to dig deeper. Violet allows me to break down these metrics by various factors, which is super handy. For example, I can analyze:

• Business unit performance to compare our consumer and B2B operations.
• Channel performance to evaluate results from channels like brand paid digital, CRM, non-paid digital, and offline media.

If I want to focus on paid digital marketing, I can see how our CPA and FTBs are performing in that area specifically. This level of detail helps me identify what’s working and what might need adjustments.

Analyzing platform-specific performance

Next up is analyzing platform performance. If Google is where most of our budget goes, I can check its performance week over week. This includes looking at different campaign types like Performance Max versus Search or Shopping ads.

Pro Tip: Keep an eye on your top-performing platforms. If one channel is underperforming, consider reallocating budget or adjusting your strategy.

I also love that I can adjust the timeline to view historical data. Whether it’s daily, weekly, or monthly trends, this feature helps me spot seasonal patterns—like that big spike we see every December during holiday shopping.

Focusing on retention metrics

Retention is just as important as acquisition! With Violet, I can easily check repeat orders and see how they trend over time. This insight helps me understand which channels drive repeat purchases.

Pro Tip: When discussing retention with your team, highlight the channels performing best for repeat orders. This alignment can enhance your marketing efforts focused on customer loyalty!

Wrapping it up

In just 15 minutes on a Monday morning, Violet gives me a clear picture of how our business is performing and what adjustments we might need for the upcoming week. Quickly assessing trends and making informed decisions is crucial in today’s fast-paced e-commerce environment.