Choosing the Next Piece of Work

Find the constraint

Revenue is traffic multiplied by conversion multiplied by order value, plus repeat purchases. One of those is usually the thing holding you back, and working on the others is wasted effort.

• Low traffic, decent conversion: distribution is the constraint
• Decent traffic, low conversion: the store is the constraint
• Good conversion, no repeat purchases: retention is the constraint

If the store is the constraint

1. Show delivery cost early
2. Make it fast on mobile
3. Improve the product pages that get the most traffic
4. Get reviews onto the product pages
5. Simplify the checkout

In that order. The first two are usually days of work with immediate effect.

If distribution is the constraint

• Add content to collection pages
• Write the buying guides your support inbox implies
• Get the product feed working properly on the channels you use
• Build the email list and use it
• Consider advertising, once the store converts

If retention is the constraint

Ask twenty one-time customers why they did not come back. The answers are more useful than any analysis, and most owners have never asked.

Then build the post-purchase and replenishment sequences, which is usually where the fix is.

Then repeat

Make one change, wait four weeks, measure, and re-run the diagnosis. The constraint moves as you fix things, and following it is what produces steady improvement.

That loop, done four times a year, is worth more than any single large project.

Frequently asked questions