Good morning,
According to Adobe Analytics, Black Friday is not the most important online sales day of the year, it’s actually Cyber Monday.
This is due to the fact that CM is made of exclusively online deals and customers taking advantage of BNPL services.
So expect to see an uptick in traffic and sales on this day and remind customers about your promotions to get them excited!
Here’s what you’ll find in today’s DTC:
👀 Brands are being fully transparent about their Cyber 5 playbook to appeal to budget planning customers.
🛍️ Live streaming = more impulse buys. Discover how TikTok Shop’s live streaming feature can unlock major revenue even for smaller brands.
🏃 Quick and easy Meta Ad iterations you can make in Q4.
💰 And…learn how this BFCM refund tactic can generate top social engagement numbers.
You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: Drinkwize, Blue Lotus Chai, and Triple Whale. 👋
❓ Tired of Excuses for Poor Results?
“The market is tough.” “It’s an election year.” Has your current agency fed you these excuses?
Pilothouse, DTC’s sister company, takes a no-excuses approach. Their philosophy is simple: markets are always evolving, and their job is to deliver measurable results, no matter the challenges.
Here’s what Pilothouse accomplished in October, even as costs rose:
✅ Achieved, on average, 11%+ higher ROAS across all Meta accounts, despite a 22.7% YoY increase in CPMs.
✅ Improved cost-per-conversion and ATC efficiency, even with steady CPCs.
✅ Delivered YoY sales growth for 81% of Google clients in October.
✅ Helped a Meta homeware brand grow new customer acquisition by 115% YoY—its most profitable October since 2021.
✅ Drove 419% YoY revenue growth for a spirits brand.
Why Pilothouse?
While others point fingers, Pilothouse adapts. They focus on driving consistent growth by leveraging expertise, innovation, and a relentless commitment to performance.
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✍️ Forget The Wait And See Approach
While in years past, customers never knew if they would see steeper discounts on Cyber Monday, this year’s trend is brands being transparent about what will transpire on BFCM so customers can plan their purchases ahead of time.
Here’s what brands like Blume and Gymshark did to win over customer’s trust.
Blume
Instead of keeping customers guessing with the wait-and-see approach, the supplement brand lets customers know exactly what to expect from their email subscribers and social media followers.
Why this tactic works:
Their brand is all about wellness and being mindful of what you consume. So, this messaging works well with their branding as they don’t want customers stressing out about snagging a good deal.
Gymshark also was transparent with customers about what to expect from BFCM.
Their comprehensive BFCM blog post and Gymshark Support hub both do a great job of communicating to customers about what to expect to avoid disappointment.
They also use this space to inspire urgency by letting their audience know that they won’t be restocking during the sale.
💡 This is a clever way to get customers to act quickly to nab those quick conversions.
The takeaway?
Customers appreciate when brands set expectations so they can plan out their purchases ahead of time. Clear communication also builds trust and increases customer loyalty.
What do you think of this transparency trend?
📺 How To Livestream Like a QVC Queen
Welcome to our Part 3 of 4 series on TikTok Shops! We will be sharing tips, tricks, and data over the next few weeks on how to get the most out of this growing platform.
Last week, we talked about the power of using creators to drive TikTok Shop sales, and this week’s part 3 TikTok Shop Success series is all about livestreaming.
While live commerce has been popular overseas for years now, it’s really starting to take off in the U.S. as more brands start to participate in these live online events.
This is reminiscent of those QVC infomercials back in the day, except now it’s happening on TikTok Shop and people are tuning in to watch their favorite creators and brands go live.
Holding live streams is a great way to get more TikTok Shop sales and encourage impulse buys.
‘As Seen on TV’ style live streams brought in $313 million sales or 26% of sales.
Just ask Canvas Beauty.
The U.S. beauty brand achieved a record-breaking $1 million in sales through their six-hour live stream over the summer.
Here’s how they did it:
The result?
Over 20,000 people purchased during the livestream, leading Canvas Beauty to set a livestream record for TikTok Shop.
👉 Businesses of all sizes have the potential to achieve rapid growth when they use tools like live streaming to connect with audiences.
Next week we’ll talk about common TikTok Shop violations and what sellers need to do to avoid getting booted off the platform.
Can’t wait for the final part of the series? Click to read the full RightMetric report here.
⚡ Split Testing Ideas: Speedy Ad Iterations
Ad creative, promo copy, inventory, offer planning - so many things to think about with Q4 here, but one thing that sometimes gets overlooked is post-click testing and CRO improvements.
No stress, the Pilothouse Meta team has you covered with quick page iterations that nearly anyone can make this quarter.
Here’s an example of a couple of quick page iterations that Oura could try:
The Pilothouse Meta team uses Warpdrive, a proprietary internal platform, to split test landing pages and make post-click optimizations.Reach out today to learn more about how the team can help accelerate your business this quarter!
🌐 IN THE SOCIAL SPHERE
Skincare brand Cocokind is surprising customers by refunding five orders if they comment below with which products they ordered.
This is a great engagement tactic to test. Not only will it increase your reach but it will also give followers inspo on what to buy from real customers.
💸 MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
📅 EVENTS
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B2B Marketing Exchange - This event features leading brands and innovative startups who are committed to driving engagement and conversions through effective marketing practices. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from expert speakers on crucial topics such as account-based marketing, digital transformation, and content strategy.
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📥 Got a B2B Biz?
Join dozens of B2B companies finding demand-gen success through our niche community of 160k brand leaders and founders this year. Talk to our team to learn more.
Have you heard our latest podcasts?
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DTC Newsletter is written by Rebecca Knight and Frances Du. Edited by Eric Dyck.
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