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Hello and welcome to the DTC Podcast! Today, we’re talking with Taylor Holiday, Managing Partner at Common Thread Collective (CTC)—one of the leading agencies in e-commerce growth.

CTC rode the wave of e-commerce’s explosive growth, scaling from 60 to nearly 200 employees during COVID. But as market conditions changed, so did their approach. Taylor shares how e-commerce brands must pivot from chasing revenue to focusing on profitability and sustainable growth.

Key Takeaways:

✅ Why Service Businesses Are Underrated: Agencies can be more profitable than SaaS and DTC brands with the right model.

✅ The Secret to Scaling Agencies: Focus on fewer employees, higher salaries, and keeping the best people doing the most valuable work.

✅ The Right Way to Spend on Ads: Many brands are overspending inefficiently—start by cutting waste, then rebuild smarter.

✅ Why Product Expansion Is Key: Growth isn’t about selling more of the same product; it’s about launching new ones to unlock fresh demand.

✅ Meta Ads in 2025: Advantage Plus is the future—let Meta’s AI do the work but control the outcome through bid caps.

✅ AI in Agencies: CTC uses AI for internal knowledge sharing, customer service automation, and creative strategy.

💡 If you’re an e-commerce brand or agency owner, this is a must-listen episode. Tune in now!

Timestamps:

0:00 - The challenge of post-COVID growth for eCommerce brands

2:30 - The shift from revenue growth to profitability in DTC

5:10 - Why agency models need to evolve for efficiency

8:00 - The role of AI in agency operations and creative production

11:45 - Product expansion as a key growth driver in 2025

15:20 - The truth about top-of-funnel marketing strategies

18:50 - The future of performance marketing with Meta’s Advantage+

22:30 - Should brands invest in TV and YouTube ads?

25:00 - The role of financial planning in marketing success

Hashtags:

#ecommerce #dtcpodcast #digitalmarketing #growthstrategy #facebookads #metaads #aiinmarketing #advertisingstrategy #marketingtrends #businessgrowth #scaleyourbrand #profitability #directtoconsumer #contentmarketing #onlinemarketing #performanceads

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Ep 487: The Future of E-Commerce Growth: Profitability, Product Expansion & Smarter Ad Spend with Taylor Holiday

DTC Podcast