The Marketing Impact OS for DTC Brands. The Full Step-by-Step Guide to a Proven Growth Engine
In the order I install it: what a new customer really costs, where checkout and the second order leak, and how to grow on margin instead of ad spend. For founders and operators of brands that sell from their own store.
The book is being written now. The workbook comes with it.
How a DTC brand runs its marketing as one system.
Written from the work my team and I have done with coffee, cosmetics, jewelry and apparel brands.
- Part 01
The math of a first order
What a new customer is worth after the second and third order, what the first order really costs once returns and discounts come out, and how to read both from your store and your books.
- Part 02
One set of numbers
Ads, analytics and the store each report a different result. How to settle on the numbers you run the brand on, and which platform figures to use only for steering.
- Part 03
Checkout and the second order
Where carts are lost between the product page and payment, and how email, offers and timing bring first-time buyers back.
- Part 04
The seven areas, scored for a brand
Each area rated from 1 to 5 with the questions we ask founders before moving budget between channels.
- Part 05
Margin, COGS and order value
Why growth that ignores margin stalls, and the levers that lowered COGS and raised AOV for the brands we have worked with.
- Part 06
Your Roadmap and the weekly rhythm
Fixes ranked by what each is worth in contribution margin, each with an owner and a date, reviewed every week.
The DTC brand workbook.
The same system my team runs with clients, set up for a brand and organized by the seven areas.
Set up for a brand that sells from its own store: the operation map, the tracking audit, the checkout teardown, the vendor scorecard and the weekly meeting.
- Strategy
- Data
- Friction
- Process
- People
- Technology
- Communication
Every template runs the same six parts
- AAccessWhat we need, at what level.
- BQuestionnaireWhat you tell us first.
- CHow toGo here, do this, add it here.
- DDeliverableWhat it looks like, filled in.
- EPresentationThe slides it is shown with.
- FIterateThe meetings and if-then rules.
Who it is for
- Founders of brands that sell through their own online store, from a first product to several lines.
- Brands spending more on Meta and Google each quarter while repeat orders stay flat.
- Marketplace-only sellers will get more from the Marketing Impact Academy.
Frequently asked questions.
When does the DTC book come out?
Zachary is writing it now, and there is no release date yet. The 2027 Marketing Impact Report for DTC Brands is free today, and the free score shows where your brand stands.
Does it cover Amazon and other marketplaces?
It is written for brands selling from their own store. Marketplace sales come up where they affect the whole business, but marketplace-only sellers will get more from the Marketing Impact Academy.
What will the DTC workbook include?
The templates we use with clients, set up for a brand, all feeding your own Roadmap. It ships with the book.
Where to next.
Start with your free Marketing Impact score.
It takes a few minutes. You get a score from 1 to 5 on each of the seven dimensions of your marketing and see where to start. If you’d rather talk first, book a free 30-minute call.