Welcome to this issue of The DTC Insider newsletter. 👋
This week, we’re digging into two blind spots that quietly kill efficiency: how to understand your customers beyond attribution, and how to scale without breaking what’s underneath.
Also, quick personal note: I’m heading to Mexico later today for a short vacation. 🌴
Still bringing my notebook to write next week’s newsletter, so you won’t get rid of me that easily.
Alright, let’s dive in 👇
Topics we'll cover today:
💠 You Can Build Up Without Building Stronger First (But Not Forever)
💠 What Your Customers Know (That You Don’t)
💠 From Homeless to Whole Foods: The Story Behind WhyBars
You Can Build Up Without Building Stronger First (But Not Forever)
If you’ve ever watched a kid build with blocks, you know how this goes.
They start stacking one piece after another, higher and higher, until the tower starts to wobble.
Then it falls.
Not because they ran out of blocks.
But because they ran out of foundation.
And that’s exactly what happens to most brands. They keep stacking ads, new campaigns, and “growth hacks” on top of a weak base.
At first, it works.
Sales climb. ROAS looks great. The tower grows.
But then… things start shaking.
CPAs rise. Repeat purchases drop.
Suddenly, that tower of ads can’t hold the weight anymore.
Because growth doesn’t come from stacking higher, it comes from strengthening what’s underneath.
The same way kids have to stop and rebuild the base before going higher, brands have to stop and strengthen the systems that support scale.
That foundation isn’t just “operations” or “back-end stuff.”
It’s everything that gives your marketing real leverage:
🧱 A clear marketing calendar that connects promos, product launches, and retention strategies.
🧱 Systems that align paid ads, email, and website into one consistent journey.
🧱 A deep understanding of why customers buy, not just where they came from.
🧱 Smart brand-building moves: partnerships, storytelling, community, CX.
🧱 And products that evolve based on real feedback, not assumptions.
Most brands hit a plateau and immediately look inside the ad account.
“Maybe if we tweak the targeting…”
“Maybe if we try TikTok…”
“Maybe if we test UGC…”
But, as Chubbies founder, Preston Rutherford, has recently said on LinkedIn:
If you want sustainable growth, the kind that keeps scaling without collapsing, you have to think foundation first.
Because ads amplify what already exists.
They don’t fix what’s broken underneath.
The strongest brands don’t just build taller towers. They build wider bases. They know every new layer of growth demands a stronger structure to support it.
So if your tower’s starting to wobble, don’t panic.
Just rebuild from the base.
That’s how you scale higher, and stay there.
P.S. Before stacking new campaigns for Q1, make sure your foundation can actually hold the growth. That’s what our Revenue Efficiency Review is designed to do: a 30-day engagement to diagnose inefficiencies and build your 90-day roadmap for profit-driven growth.
The December cohort opens soon. Get on the waitlist to be first in line.
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Follow me on LinkedIn for more growth marketing content in the e-commerce space.
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What Your Customers Know (That You Don’t)
Everyone obsesses over attribution.
Marketers debate tracking models, platforms, and pixels all day long.
“Should we trust Triple Whale or Google Analytics?”
“How much credit does Meta get?”
“Why are the numbers different?”
But almost nobody talks about this...
Zero-party data (aka data your customers give you directly).
And that’s a huge mistake.
Because attribution gives you visibility.
Zero-party data gives you understanding.
Attribution tells you where they came from.
Zero-party data tells you why they came at all.
Let me explain 👇
When you rely only on attribution, you’re looking through a keyhole. You see a click path, not the full story. It tells you someone came from a Meta ad or an email campaign.
But it doesn’t tell you why they clicked, what problem they wanted to solve, or how they felt about it.
That “why” is what separates average brands from the ones that grow faster, spend smarter, and build loyal communities.
And the best part?
You don’t need fancy tools or $10K analytics setups to start collecting it.
Here are 5 simple (but powerful) ways to do it:
✅ Post-purchase surveys
Ask the question that are not related to attribution. Don't ask "how did you hear about us?" only. Add questions like “What made you buy today?”, "What other brands did you consider?".
You’ll uncover motivation drivers that attribution will never show you: urgency, trust, social proof, emotional triggers.
✅ Reviews
Go beyond the stars.
Mine the language people use to describe value: “finally,” “worth it,” “game changer,” “my husband noticed,” “smells like confidence.”
Those phrases are gold for your copywriters and ad hooks.
These days it's easy to export your reviews into a CSV, upload it to ChatGPT, and get insights.
✅ Pop-ups
Most brands stop at a 10% discount offer.
Go deeper: ask why they’re here today by offering a few predefined options.
It’s a simple tweak that transforms a pop-up from a transaction into a conversation.
✅ On-site quizzes
Not just for collecting emails: use them to capture intent.
Ask questions that reveal buying motivations: “What’s your biggest challenge with skincare right now?” or “What kind of workouts do you do most often?”
✅ Customer interviews
This is the most underrated one.
When you talk to your best customers, you’ll realize how differently they perceive your brand compared to how you describe it internally.
You’ll hear new angles for your ads, new pain points for your emails, and new opportunities for your product roadmap.
Now here’s the key part:
Most brands collect this info and let it die in a spreadsheet. ☠
If you want to turn zero-party data into profit, you need to use it across your funnel.
Here’s how:
💡 Build better ad hooks using your customers’ own words.
They already wrote your next 10 winning hooks for you...you just haven’t noticed.
💡 Rework your email segments by motivation, not purchase date.
Stop sending the same content to people who bought for completely different reasons.
Someone buying your product as a gift doesn’t want the same follow-up as someone buying it for themselves.
💡 Adjust your offers to match what people actually want.
If half your customers say “free shipping” made them buy, maybe that’s your next evergreen offer.
💡 Prioritize products that solve the real problems they mention.
If reviews say “I wish it came in a travel size,” that’s not feedback...it’s your next SKU.
The truth?
Attribution is about visibility.
Zero-party data is about understanding.
And the brands that understand their customers better…create offers that convert faster, content that resonates deeper, and systems that scale longer.
Because when you stop guessing and start listening, your customers will literally tell you how to win.
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Follow me on LinkedIn for more growth marketing content in the e-commerce space.
From Homeless to Whole Foods: The Story Behind WhyBars
This founder built his brand on one simple principle: love over fear.
In this week’s episode of The DTC Insider, Jay Kinney - founder of WhyBars - shares how that mindset guided him from homelessness to building a brand now sold in 450+ stores.
He’s proof that optimism isn’t naïve...it’s courage in disguise.
Because the world doesn’t need more people operating from fear.
It needs more founders leading with purpose, kindness, and love.
Check it out 👇️
We discussed:
👉 The origin story of WhyBars and its roots in ancient nutrition
👉 Jay’s journey from culinary school and the Army to entrepreneurship
👉 Early experiments selling homemade bars door-to-door
👉 How local farmers markets helped build awareness and demand
👉 The transition from kitchen production to large-scale retail distribution
👉 Building relationships with stores like Kroger, Whole Foods, and Fresh Thyme
👉 The importance of public speaking and storytelling for founders
👉 Personal growth: overcoming homelessness, trauma, and reclaiming his identity
👉 The difference between building a brand to sell vs. a forever business
👉 Staying positive and resilient in the face of personal and business challenges
More episodes our listeners love:
💎 From Garage to $400 Million: The Portland Leather Goods Story with Curtis Matsko
💎 How Black Rifle Coffee Hit $400M with Donny Jensen
💎 How BRĒZ is Disrupting the Beverage Industry with Aaron Nosbisch
💎 Bootstrapping a $100M E-Commerce Empire with Bear Handlon
💎 The Secret Sauce Behind BattlBox's Success with John Roman
Also Happening in the DTC Space
📰 ChatGPT ads are coming, and they won’t look like Google Ads
📰 Reddit Launches New Interactive Ad Options
📰 Ad-tech companies are looking to standardize agentic AI media buying
What did you think of today's newsletter?
If you found this interesting, please leave us a review. It’d mean the world to me.
About The Writer
Brian Roisentul is the founder & CEO of BSR Digital, a growth marketing agency he started in 2013 to help e-commerce brands unlock hidden revenue by identifying misalignments between their marketing and customer behavior. He is also the host of The DTC Insider podcast, where he interviews thought leaders, founders, and directors in the e-commerce space.
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