Issue #16
In this issue: The rumour & gossip from the front line | Beware Shopify in the 'Enterprise' | A return to first principles (thanks Tony) | Does Brand matter in high growth SaaS
Accustomed as we are to being read through to the end, we ask you to downshift first to the end of this email, chortle benignly at the insult of the week, then return to read this missive in a better humour than when you start it.
Vile Rumour & Gossip
For many years paid media customers of social platforms have struggled for any sort of access to account management. We hear there are a series of shady “back-doors” being opened within the key players (and “back-handers”), I bet Meta is delighted. More soon.
SI’s do better - the CF community is rife with stories of overcharging for retainers, coupled with weekly calls where clients spend their time telling the agency off. This is the busiest time of year of course, new “go-lives” bedding in and a race to be ready for peak, but the overcharging is a very poor show.
Farfetch & YOOX - Who are they kidding? Many saw this get-together coming a long way off, but let’s be clear, these are poor technology platforms overcharging customers for a weak front end and the rest held together by string. We can think of other “merchant stacks” that are similar, but only a few (Next for example) where the platform is really robust.
Composable success - I had a call last week claiming a total replatform completed on time and on budget with a UK shoe brand retailer who has a turnover of £900m+. We have verified this story and want to pass on our heartfelt congratulations to all concerned. A client managing their scope creep, quality engineering from the SI and no dramas. We haven’t named them only because the client wants to see commercial success before going public. Nice.
Praise Shopify in the 'Enterprise'
We did some analysis for an eCommerce platform last year of a few very large FMCG brands., We found that within a single FMCG business, there were approximately 38 budget holders for digital within EMEA, and more than 65 Shopify+ instances within the business.
Whilst this might appear as a single exception, even smaller 'Enterprise' accounts need to be looked at as if they were at least 10 clients - and of course ABM programs need to respond accordingly. Two examples:
1. Chanel (yes, those guys) have 11 'children' called 'Maison D’Art' brands - each with their own eCommerce platform and ambition. Chanel is not a single account and Shopify is helping most of the kids.
2. Nestle acquired a number of brands recently in EMEA (Tails, Lily’s Kitchen etc). Many are not yet D2C, or have tons of room for growth in new markets, and Shopify is in pole position to pick up these opportunities. Those suffering will be Adobe, Salesforce and those incumbent platforms who do not see the complexity and shift within Nestle to prioritise these acquisitions and do something about them.
In challenging times, return to first principles
We had an advisory board meeting for Commerce Futures last week, where we explained our 2024 calendar and strategy. We welcomed two new members and enjoyed a very sweary gossip (as always).
One piece of advice stood out for all of us. Tony Drockton (CEO Hammitt) said that when times get tricky “go back to your first reason for starting”. For CF that’s “Peer-Learning”. We always believed that those running digital businesses were better placed to solve one another’s problems than vendors and agencies. No disrespect intended, the ecosystem comprises all of us who need one another to succeed, but given what we know about 2024 those leaders will need each other’s support.
So - alongside our own calendar we’ll be investing heavily in communities for retail leaders and digital leaders - ensuring that they have a safe place to help one another. First Principles - thanks Tony!
Does Brand matter in high growth SaaS?
This writer has seen high-growth SaaS firms succeed for many reasons. It’s not all about the tech (although currently Sanity / Cloudinary would argue it is). It’s also not all about the sales team (although get yourself a great CRO and 4 great AE’s and you’ll do well).
Partnerships? Yep - more important than ever, an expert partnership lead with great tech knowledge and a focused strategy is critical.
Marketing? Yes. Nowadays we speak to three groups of marketing leaders privately - and they’re hyper focused as a group on lead flow…and lead nurture…and opps generated - in fact some would say they’re a little too deep in the sales process.
So - what about brand? In a world where most SaaS business have a “public” lifespan of 6-7 years, can brand really deliver? Does it matter?
That first paragraph about the people you hire… that’s where brand starts. If we all agree that the ecosystem is more important than ever now that an API-model is mainstream, then customers’ perception of your team is vital. There are teams who are loved, where leaders lead well, and teams who are not loved… this (in our view) will be critical in 2024.
Here endeth “thought for the day”
Insult of the week:
“Seagull” - Flies in, craps everywhere, flies away.