ShopifyStart with the numbers
- Show the headline numbers first: MER, revenue, orders and spend, against the comparison the client agreed on.
- Say which numbers were flat and which moved. A flat total can hide a rise in one channel and a fall in another.
- Mark any number that is not measured yet as not measured. Never show it as zero.
Separate known from guessed
- Known: changes made in the account that week, with their dates and the change log reference.
- Known: calendar and store events, such as a holiday, a stock gap or a price change.
- Guessed: anything about why shoppers behaved as they did. Label it as a guess and say how you would test it.
Show what happens next
- Name one or two checks for the coming week, each with an owner and a date. Use the weekly client update guide for the format.
- If a test is running, say when its read-out is due and what result would change the plan.
- Say what you will not change yet, and why. Waiting can be the right decision, if you say so.
- Avoid 'a blip', 'market conditions' or 'the algorithm' as the whole explanation. They sound like an answer and leave the client with nothing to check.
Made-up scenario: a made-up store had a flat week in revenue. The note showed new-customer orders up and repeat orders down, and a two-day discount in the middle of the week. The discount's effect was marked not measured, and a holdout check was planned for the next promotion.
