Episode 8 | "Don't Be Short-Term Focused" - Sean Ellis | Statements of Intent Podcast
In this episode of Statements of Intent, host David Mannheim talks to Sean Ellis, author of 'Hacking Growth' and founder of Qualaroo and Growth Hackers, about improving long-term growth in eCommerce. They discuss the importance of customer satisfaction and delivering value to ensure sustainable growth, the necessity of setting the right objectives, and the balance between focusing on revenue and growth. Ellis emphasises the need for cross-functional team alignment and the shift from short-term to long-term focus. The conversation sheds light on strategies for maintaining a strong customer base and the dangers of over-reliance on short-term success metrics.
Topics Covered:
- The problem with prioritising short-term metrics like signups over long-term value
- Balancing quantity and quality - getting the right users to the right experience
- Setting objectives that reflect authentic value to drive impact
- The challenges of cross-functional alignment in action, not just theory
- Focusing the entire organisation on delivering core value
Key Quotes:
- "Anything that doesn't lead to customers being extremely happy and coming back is probably not worth doing."
- "You may end up losing a lot of people who just, 'Oh, well, I'm not interested in that.' And so they, they don't end up converting, but now you're converting the right people."
- "Theory without habits, that doesn't get you anywhere."
Episode Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:55 Guest Introduction: Sean Ellis
03:02 Sean's Statement: Don't Be Short-Term Focused
06:06 Understanding Conversion Rates
09:34 Balancing Quality and Quantity
17:23 The Challenges of Implementing Customer-Centric Growth
21:12 Outro
00:55 Guest Introduction: Sean Ellis
03:02 Sean's Statement: Don't Be Short-Term Focused
06:06 Understanding Conversion Rates
09:34 Balancing Quality and Quantity
17:23 The Challenges of Implementing Customer-Centric Growth
21:12 Outro
Resources
- Hacking Growth by Sean Ellis and Morgan Brown → https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31625067-hacking-growth
Social Media
- Sean’s LinkedIn → **https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanellis/**
- Made With Intent LinkedIn → **https://www.linkedin.com/company/madewithintent/**
- YouTube → **https://www.youtube.com/@madewithintent**
Creators and Guests
Host
David Mannheim
David is a big kid, a big Disney fan and a big geek. He founded User Conversion which was acquired by Brainlabs, is the author of The Person in Personalisation, and now the host of Statements of Intent. His mission is to help retailers care more for their customers by listening, being appropriate, being familiar and creating a relationship. He is doing that through his new start up, Made With Intent, a platform that helps retailers do just this by diligently understanding customer intent.
Guest
Sean Ellis
Author of 'Hacking Growth' and founder of Qualaroo and Growth Hackers, about improving long-term growth in eCommerce.
