Tideway Growth

Every channel is winning. The total isn't moving.

I help DTC brands figure out which numbers to trust and where the next dollar should go, especially when customers take a while to decide.

Get in touch

Added up, your channels claim more than your store made.

What the channels reported against what the store booked, in one illustrative quarter The five channel reports add up to $1.04M: paid social $380K, search $270K, email $190K, creators $110K and affiliate $90K. The store booked $800K. The $240K difference is orders counted by more than one channel. What the channels reported Paid social$380K Search$270K Email$190K Creators$110K Affiliate$90K $1.04M What the store booked $800K $240K Orders counted by more than one channel What the channels reported against what the store booked, in one illustrative quarter The five channel reports add up to $1.04M: paid social $380K, search $270K, email $190K, creators $110K and affiliate $90K. The store booked $800K. The $240K difference is orders counted by more than one channel. $1.04M Affiliate $90K Creators $110K Email $190K Search $270K Paid social $380K $800K $240K Orders counted by more than one channel Channels reported Store booked
Example numbers.

Nobody's doing anything wrong here. Each platform takes credit for every sale it touched, so a customer who saw an ad, opened an email and then searched for you gets counted three times. Your agencies each report on their own channel, and no one owns the total.

  1. Sees a paid social ad
  2. Opens an email
  3. Searches for you
  4. Buys: order #1042, $200

Each report takes credit for the whole order.

ReportOrderCredit
Paid social#1042$200
Email#1042$200
Search#1042$200
Reports, added up3 sales$600
What the store booked1 sale$200
Counted more than once2 sales$400

Two ways to work together

  1. 01

    Growth Diagnostic

    Three weeks · Fixed fee

    I line up what every channel says it drove against what your store booked and work out where the difference is coming from. You get a list of what to fix first, in order.

  2. 02

    Fractional Growth Lead

    About a day a week · Three months to start

    I own the overall number and work with your agencies on it, usually on a weekly call. We decide together where the next dollar goes, and I give you a straight read on what it bought. If you start with the Diagnostic, part of that fee goes toward the first month.

If you're earlier stage and the number that won't move is pipeline, I can help with that too, from who to go after to getting outbound running.

How the Diagnostic works

  1. Week 1

    Access and data

    You give me read-only access to the ad accounts, analytics, your store and the reports you get each week, and I pull the last 90 days. I also talk with your team and each agency about how their numbers get put together.

  2. Week 2

    Lining up the numbers

    I compare what each channel claims against what the store booked, day by day, and check the tracking for things like purchases being counted twice or events that never fire. Then I write down the attribution window behind each report, since that explains a lot of the gap.

  3. Week 3

    Readout

    We go through everything together in one working session. Your agencies are welcome to join, and it usually goes better when they do. They'll be the ones making most of the fixes.

What you'll have at the end

  • One set of numbers your team and agencies all report from.
  • How big the gap is and what's causing it.
  • A prioritized list of fixes, and who owns each one.
  • A straight answer on whether you need ongoing help or can run with it from here.

Weekly scorecardWeek 42

Orders
309 +4%
New customers
181 +6%
Store revenue
$61.8K +3%
Channels claim
$80.3K
Counted more than once
$18.5K
Spend vs plan
97%
Open agency items
3
The weekly scorecard, with example numbers.
Nelson Hudspeth

Nelson Hudspeth

I've spent my career in paid growth, in-house at One Kings Lane, then at an agency managing spend for DTC, retail and CPG brands, then six years on the platform side at Pinterest.

A lot of that time went into settling exactly these arguments, with incrementality and lift tests, and moving brands off last-click so the budget could follow what was working.

I take on a few clients at a time and work alongside the agencies you already have.

Want to see how far apart your numbers are?

Tell me a little about your business and what your reports are showing. If it looks like something I can help with, I'll get back to you and we can find a time to talk.

Prefer email? nelson@tideway.io