Ecom CFO Notebook - strategy vs execution and defining core focus

Welcome to this issue of Ecom CFO Notebook – a weekly letter for 7–9 figure ecommerce founders and CFOs, sharing my perspective and stories for profitable growth.

Sam here.

Last time, I wrote about retention > ROAS. But I left out the most important part that precedes retention.

Strategy.

Focusing on retention without the strategy or the why doesn’t build long term sustainable value.

Strategy is a trigger word, so in this week’s edition, I’m going to walk through a simple exercise (with a template) you can do and share with your team to avoid this trap.

Signs of a strategy problem

We as founders need to be reminded more than we need to be told new stuff. 

So let’s remind ourselves that brands (and you “amazon sellers”) have extremely limited opportunities to capture customer’s attention and showcase whether or not they solve the customer’s problem.

Usually just the homepage with some social media proof.

Some signals you have a strategy problem:

1. Homepage starts with “what we sell” instead of “why we exist”. The homepage leads with a SKU and discounts — not a clear purpose or focus.

2. You say one thing, but the site shows another. You tell me you’re a “wellness” company but you only sell fat loss supplements. 

3. Your copy could belong to anyone. “Premium quality. Great customer service.” If your headline works just as well for a paper towel company, you don’t have positioning

4. Your navigation is a graveyard of priorities. Twelve collections, scattered categories, redundant CTAs.

5. There’s no signal of what you do exceptionally well. Features are listed. Benefits are implied. But your edge — the reason you win — is nowhere to be found.

When it works

One of our clients competes with Apple.

Their Core Focus is world-class, wireless sound quality and everything else flows from that. You can imagine how difficult it is competing with AirPods and other wireless ear buds.

We can see the differences in strategy just from the hero sections of the respective websites.

Status Audio tells me what they do exceptionally well, sound. 

AirPods showcases a lady dancing and talks about the next evolution of sound and comfort. Great if I want that. But less great if my core problem is audio quality.

I love this example because they’re competing against such a strong incumbent and their strategic messaging must be super clear to win.

Core Focus comes first

Lots of our clients use some elements of Traction — the book behind the EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) framework.

I don’t advise clients to follow the whole playbook, just the parts that actually help ecommerce teams move faster: 

• The Vision/Traction Organizer (VTO) — a one-page business plan that creates alignment

• A quarterly planning cadence — so priorities don’t shift every week

• An Issues List — so every distraction doesn’t turn into a fire drill in Slack

But none of it matters if you skip the first section of the VTO: Core Focus.

Because until you’ve defined (or redefined) why your company exists and what it does better than anyone else, none of the other stuff matters.

Core Focus isn’t branding and it’s not a mission statement.

It’s the lens that helps you say “no” to distractions and projects your strategy to customers and your team

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How to find your Core Focus

You don’t need a strategy retreat.
You need one honest conversation.

Block 30 minutes with yourself or your leadership team and answer the 2 questions below.

1. Why do you exist beyond just making money?

2. What do you do better than anyone else?

Use LLMs to help.

Then ask: does that show up in our marketing?
In our roadmap?
In our team meetings?

If not, then you don’t have a Core Focus.
And nothing else you build will feel right until you do.

Here are the 2 basic questions from Traction and I’ve included how I answer them from the perspective of Ecom CFO

If you want the editable version, plus the rest of the VTO framework we use with clients?

Just reply “VTO” and I’ll send it over.

Next week, we’re talking about how to align your people and roles around that Core Focus, so your org chart and team performance actually match the vision.

-Sam

1. Find me on LinkedIn

2. EcomCFO provides CFO and accounting support for 7-9 figure ecommerce brands - book a brainstorming session with me here