Ecommerce: The Hammersley Brothers Ecommerce Podcast

The Hammersley Brothers

The Hammersley Brothers Ecommerce Podcast By Mark & Ian Hammersley

  1. Thinking About Buying an Ecommerce Business? Watch This First

    23 APR

    Thinking About Buying an Ecommerce Business? Watch This First

    Buying an ecommerce business can look straightforward on the surface. The revenue looks good. The brand looks decent. The seller talks about “huge potential”. But this is where people get caught out. What matters is not what the business looks like from the outside. It’s what is really going on underneath. The numbers. The margins. The customer behaviour. The cash flow. The operational risks you inherit the moment the deal is done.   In this podcast episode, Mark and Ian break down the biggest mistakes people make when buying an ecommerce business, the red flags that are easy to miss, and what you should actually be looking at before you hand over any money.   Because if you get this wrong, you’re not buying an opportunity. You’re buying a pile of problems. In this podcast episode:   Why the stated profit is often not the real profit The hidden costs that only show up once you take over How supplier risk can destroy your margins overnight Why are there no repeat customers? It is a massive warning sign The difference between having customers and just having orders How to tell whether a business is under-optimised or just weak Why margin and lifetime customer value matter far more than top-line revenue What actually creates a moat in ecommerce Why reselling other people’s products is often riskier than it looks The danger of trend-driven and fad products How stock, lead times, and cash flow quietly kill ecommerce businesses The key questions you should be asking before you buy If you’re even considering buying an ecommerce business, watch this first.   P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:       1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/scheduleuk-ant       2. Grab a copy of our book - https://gohigh.hammersleybrothers.com/get-the-book     3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

    46 min
  2. 5 Things Ecommerce Owners Need To Get Right Now

    16 APR

    5 Things Ecommerce Owners Need To Get Right Now

    In our latest podcast episode, we unpack five distinct areas that ecommerce brands should focus on right now. Why now? Because market conditions are shifting quickly, demand is less predictable, and AI is changing both the cost and complexity of execution. Pre-developing weather-related campaigns Brands can no longer afford to wait and react. The businesses winning right now are planning weather-led campaigns in advance so they can move as conditions change. Planning for the impact of major events on demand Big events this year, such as the World Cup or elections, can significantly skew consumer demand. We talk about why those moments need to be factored into planning early, not treated as an afterthought. Understanding whether performance is brand-led or market-led Categories are moving unevenly at the moment. Some are growing, some are flat, and some are down. It is critical to understand whether your performance is a reflection of your strategy or the broader market. Reviewing AI for front-end work to lower costs AI is now creating real opportunities to reduce costs in front-end marketing and production work. We look at where it can genuinely improve efficiency right now. Why taking ads in-house is easier now than it was a year ago AI has simplified campaign management to the point where bringing ads in-house is now far more realistic for many brands than it was even 12 months ago. This is a timely episode for marketers thinking about how to respond to changing demand, improve efficiency, and build a more adaptable marketing model for the year ahead.   P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:     1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/scheduleuk-ant   2. Grab a copy of our book - https://gohigh.hammersleybrothers.com/get-the-book 3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

    33 min
  3. The Ecommerce Businesses Worth Millions

    2 APR

    The Ecommerce Businesses Worth Millions

    Most ecommerce businesses are not worth investing in.   Not because they are bad businesses.   But because they are structurally broken.   In this episode, Mark and Ian break down what actually makes an ecommerce business investable and why only a small percentage truly stands out.   They cover: Why do only 1 in 10 ecommerce businesses have real scale potential? The difference between a lifestyle business and a scalable asset What “structurally broken” actually means in ecommerce The three key levers every serious investor looks at How to spot an unoptimised business with huge upside Why high margins and repeat purchases change everything The role of conversion rate, average order value, and lifetime value Why boring problem-solving products often outperform trendy brands How to think about market size and long-term growth potential This is not a theory. These are the exact lenses used to evaluate real ecommerce businesses doing millions. If you are building a brand, this episode will show you what makes it valuable and what holds most businesses back.   P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:     1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/scheduleuk-ant   2. Grab a copy of our book - https://gohigh.hammersleybrothers.com/get-the-book 3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

    28 min
  4. Ecommerce: The Stock Mistake Killing Your ROAS

    26 MAR

    Ecommerce: The Stock Mistake Killing Your ROAS

    If your best products are out of stock, your ads are going to struggle. It does not matter how much product you have sitting in the warehouse. If the products that actually drive new customer sales are missing, performance gets hit hard. In this episode, Mark and Ian continue their 80:20 conversation and dive into one of the most overlooked parts of ecommerce growth: Stock. They break down: Why do some products matter far more than others How a few key SKUs often drive the majority of revenue Why stock depth beats endless product range How being out of stock on the wrong products can wreck your conversion rate and ROAS Why are first-time customer products especially important How Google and Meta behave when the core products are missing Why do many brands spread budgets across far too many SKUs What happens when businesses try to use weaker products to make up for missing bestsellers Why adding more categories often creates more problems, not more growth How to think more clearly about stock rotation, product focus, and scaling profitably The truth is simple: Most ecommerce brands are not short of products. They are short of the right stock in the right lines at the right time. If you want to scale without wasting money, this episode is worth watching.   P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:     1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/scheduleuk-ant   2. Grab a copy of our book - https://gohigh.hammersleybrothers.com/get-the-book 3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

    31 min
  5. Ecommerce:  The 80:20 Product Rule

    19 MAR

    Ecommerce: The 80:20 Product Rule

    Most ecommerce brands think that more products mean more sales.   Usually, it means more complexity, more stock problems, more cash tied up, and worse performance.   In this episode, Mark and Ian unpack one of the biggest truths in ecommerce growth:   A small number of products usually drive the vast majority of the revenue.   They break down:   Why 20 percent of your SKUs often drive 80 percent of your sales? Why adding more products can actually slow down growth How too much range creates stock headaches, ad inefficiency, and wasted cash What Bedding Envy taught them about white sheets, bestsellers, and running out of the products that matter most Why narrower ranges with deeper stock often scale better than huge catalogues How Google and Meta behave when your revenue is spread too thinly across too many products Why “more choice” online does not work the same way it does in retail stores The difference between recruitment products, add-on products, and dead-weight SKUs   This is a big one.   Because a lot of ecommerce owners are not short of products.   They are short of focus.   If your range is getting bigger, but your growth is getting harder, this episode will explain why.   P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:     1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/scheduleuk-ant   2. Grab a copy of our book - https://gohigh.hammersleybrothers.com/get-the-book 3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

    35 min
  6. Ecommerce: Stop Killing Your Ads

    12 MAR

    Ecommerce: Stop Killing Your Ads

    This is Episode 5 in our series on why your ads are not scaling, and this one is about something most ecommerce owners do without even realising. They panic. One bad day. One bad week. ROAS dips. Sales wobble. And suddenly, they are changing budgets, fiddling with campaigns, second-guessing the platforms, and essentially resetting the machine before it has had a chance to work. In this episode, Mark and Ian break down: Why emotional decision-making wrecks ad performance Why do most people change things far too quickly? How Google and Meta actually need time to optimise Why looking at single-day performance is a trap The power of using moving averages instead of reacting to noise Why the best ecommerce operators know when to hold their nerve How stock, seasonality, and demand create lumpy growth Why are some months naturally stronger than others, and that does not mean anything is broken? How to keep Google and Meta in sync instead of pulling one lever too hard The reason teams fail is that everyone is looking at different numbers. This is really about maturity. The brands that scale are not the ones constantly panicking and changing direction.  They are the ones who understand the model, know their numbers, and only make changes when the data actually indicates it. If you are forever tweaking ads, budgets, and campaigns because of a bad day or two, this episode is for you. P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business: 1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/scheduleuk-ant   2. Grab a copy of our book - https://book.hammersleybrothers.com/ 3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

    39 min
  7. Ecommerce: Your Follow Up Game Is Limp And It’s Killing Your ROAS

    5 MAR

    Ecommerce: Your Follow Up Game Is Limp And It’s Killing Your ROAS

    Episode 4 of our 5-part series on why your ads aren’t scaling.   Most ecommerce brands obsess over ads, creatives, targeting, and campaign structure. But the leak usually happens after the click. If your follow-up is weak, your ad account will always feel capped because you are paying to create interest and then doing nothing to convert most of the buyers   In this episode, we cover:    • What we actually mean by follow-up is the time between the first click and the sale.  • Why the biggest lever is not fancy flows, it’s capturing more emails first  • The fastest way to boost conversion rate without touching your ads  • Why weekend email promos can generate massive revenue even from first-time buyers  • The simple rule: stop building flows if your email capture is 1 percent  • How follow-up turbocharges ad performance by lifting conversion rate and ROAS  • When remarketing matters and when it doesn’t, short window problem-solving purchases  • The overlooked power of SMS abandoned cart, and when to save SMS for big promos  • Timing strategy for email and SMS so your message lands when people are actually on their phone  • Why making checkout easier often beats trying to solve every objection   If you feel like your ads should work, but they don’t scale, fix your follow-up and watch what happens.   Next episode: you are freaking out and changing things too often.     P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:     1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/scheduleuk-ant   2. Grab a copy of our book - https://book.hammersleybrothers.com/ 3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

    36 min
4.7
out of 5
31 Ratings

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The Hammersley Brothers Ecommerce Podcast By Mark & Ian Hammersley

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