Episode 8 | "Don't Be Short-Term Focused" - Sean Ellis | Statements of Intent Podcast

Statements of Intent

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

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