JGS What are the key stages of eCommerce Growth? And what does it mean for your business? (episode 366)
Since 2013 Luke’s been helping eCommerce businesses improve their systems, and find their path to growth. With an impressive background in building platforms that fix all those integration headaches, his most recent endeavour is eCommerce Thinking – a business on a mission to help fast-growth DTC brands scale their tech just as easily as they scale their teams, marketing, and sales.
As part of all that Luke’s been diving into the DNA of 100s of DTC brands to work out the stages for growth, and key things to do on that growth path.
As I often say “there’s an awful lot you *could* do to grow an eCommerce brand, the successful companies are the ones who work out what they *should* do at any given point.
Luke shared an AMAZING guide to working this out on LinkedIn recently–and that’s why he’s here as part of our growth series – to share it with all of you!
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About Luke’s Research
Luke has spent the best part of ten years inside eCommerce brands, understanding how technologies and teams work, and the different stages businesses go through.
He has also been working on his business eCommerce Thinking, which creates programs for eCommerce leaders on how to have the world-class operations inside their companies.
He says his research has led him to come up with a framework that acts as a guide for eCommerce brands on where to focus their strategies depending on what stage they are in.
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Coming Up With The Different Stages Of Business Growth
In defining the different stages presented in his table, Luke says he first thought of the typical and logical points businesses go through.
He also went over the things he wanted to define, such as the tools being used, the types of resources, and the basic characteristics of businesses over different phases.
After analyzing and testing, Luke came up with the 5 stages of scaling up, which are defined based on different criteria.
Luke notes that there needs to be another model for subscription-based businesses because there are fundamental differences.
Tipping Points
The five levels outlined in Luke’s table takes into consideration the fact no business will comply with every factor specified in each stage.
For Luke, this table he came up with should serve as a guide for growth that can help you plan your next steps as you scale, and to keep your people aligned on where your focus should be.
The 2 Key Areas For Focus
Based on Luke’s diagram, there are two key areas businesses should focus on:
- KPI: This will vary depending on what stage you’re in. And giving more attention to one area doesn’t mean abandoning others; it only means aligning your teams so that their efforts and activities are geared towards the same target.
- Prevailing Mentality: Again, this varies based on where you are in your business. Let the table serve as a guide for you to know how things will progress and that it will get better over time.
Staying In Alignment
Luke says the advancement in technology has made it possible for the various departments in a company to come together and work in alignment. They have access to and can use data more effectively, and do more work themselves.
If businesses are able to streamline and align their different units, growth and scaling to the next level will come quicker for them.
eCommerce Book Top Tip
- Company of One by Paul Jarvis
eCommerce Traffic Top Tip
- Reach out to an expert to help drive traffic to your business.
Tool Top Tip
- Airtable cloud collaboration service
Growth Top Tip
- Get accurate actual and forecast stock levels to operate confidently.
Interview Links
Related episodes
- 287: Getting the foundations right for exponential growth with Bouq’s John Tabis
- 233: 20-year eCommerce big business expert Jennifer DiMotta shares her 4Ps of successful growth
- 229: “Ultimate Guide to e-Commerce Growth” author Ian Hammersley shares top KPI & optimisation tips
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