Advertise on podcast: Customers Who Click: How DTC Leaders Turn Traffic into Revenue

Connor Swegle is CMO of Priority Bicycles, a direct-to-consumer brand known for low maintenance, belt drive bikes that ship 95% assembled. He explains why Priority builds its top of funnel around "why wouldn't they buy" rather than market size, and shares the story behind its best ever ad, a rainy day puddle shoot that beat every paid campaign it has run. He also breaks down why the brand dropped a free lock offer for relevant accessory bundles, and why he ignores platform ROAS for on-site data. Listen to hear how a mature category keeps finding new ways to grow.

Emily Byrne is founder of Rise Centered, which makes a sunrise alarm clock from Himalayan salt and wood with no app, no wifi and no subscription. After a career in art, design and wine, she built it because every alarm clock she tried made her use her phone to set it up. She talks about why Meta ads comparing her clock to a subscription based competitor convert so well, how founder led communication and customer photos build trust, and the cash flow challenges of a hand made hardware business. Listen to hear how simplicity became her strongest sales pitch.

Jennifer Villalba is CX director at 32 Degrees, the apparel brand, after almost four years there and five years before that at Apple's retail stores. She talks about bringing in AI to handle low effort tickets ahead of Q4, why her team wants to be seen as a revenue driver, not a cost centre, and how ParcelLab's tracking page became the most visited page on their site with 200,000 sessions in a month. She also explains how return data caught a real manufacturing fault. Listen to hear how a lean CX team preps for peak season.

Manuel Fernández is head of conversion and consumer activation for Electrolux's D2C e-commerce business. Originally from Spain and now based back in Spain after a decade in Sweden, he moved into e-commerce via the Nordic eyewear brand Lensway before joining Electrolux in 2017. He talks about running Black November across 24 European markets, why traffic is getting more expensive as shoppers start searching on marketplaces and AI tools instead of Google, and how Electrolux personalises the on-site journey by intent instead of distracting shoppers with pop-ups. Listen to hear how a B2B led appliance giant is building its D2C playbook.

Marianna Satanas is president of North America for HANRO USA, the Swiss loungewear brand now based in Austria. After years at Net-a-Porter and DKNY, she has spent three years leading HANRO’s US business through a full site replatform, its first paid social strategy, and a clienteling programme built on one to one relationships. She talks about the lifestyle image that has outsold product shots since May, why return rates have stayed flat through rapid growth, and why new customers are spending more than loyal ones. Listen to hear how she's planning for HANRO’s next generation of customers.

Aaron Argueta has spent 10 years building Bailey's CBD for Pets in a category where paid media barely functions, and last month 75% of his website customers were returning buyers. He explains how a vendor booth at a dog show became his most reliable acquisition channel, why naming the problem turned two product lines into the best sellers, and how stacked subscription incentives now do the work an ad budget would. A useful listen if you're building growth on channels you actually own.

Darcy Laceby co-founded Absolute Collagen with her mum in 2017, building it into one of the UK's fastest growing companies. She joins Will Laurenson to explain how the brand uses traceability, naming the exact 27 farms its fish come from and running a 130-person clinical trial with 30,000 data points, to stand out in a market full of unverified claims. They cover why most brands run on 80% marketing and 20% science, how a 15,000-member Facebook group builds more trust than any published stat, and why a skipped month is never penalised. Press play to hear how she balances rigour with trust.

Scott Sorensen is CMO at Toor Knives, a 100% American-made knife brand that is completely locked out of paid advertising. Tactical knives sit alongside firearms in the eyes of the ad platforms, so Scott has built growth without them. He explains how ambassador and affiliate programmes with genuine users drive most of Toor's new traffic, why "knives made in the USA" is one of the brand's top search terms, and how the average customer goes on to buy three more knives within 12 months. A useful listen for anyone building demand without paid media.

Greg Shugar owns Beau Ties of Vermont, a made-in-America neckwear brand that manufactures everything itself. After 2 flat years, the business is up over 40% year over year, and the reason is not what most people expect. Greg breaks down the SEO work behind the lift, the merchandising decision that pinned 8 formal ties permanently to the top of the collection page, why he shows every new product inside the email rather than teasing it, and why a low click-through rate is not a problem if sales rise. A grounded conversation about niche ecommerce.

Sean Wendt, founder of D2C MVP, spent years selling ecommerce software at PostScript and Taito before building a community that connects brands with vendors through direct feedback instead of sales pitches. He and Will discuss why consolidation has replaced tool acquisition as most brands' priority, why signing up for a vendor's team matters as much as the software, and how reframing a pitch around lifetime value took Sean's numbers from one interested brand in ten to nine in ten. They also cover a wishlist tactic worth stealing from John Lewis. Good listening for anyone tired of demo calls going nowhere.

Brandon Horoho, co-founder and CMO of Montana Knife Company, returns to share what's changed since their last chat: a move into a 51,000 square foot facility, a grand opening that drew over 8,000 people, and the launch of MKC's first pocket knife after 5.5 years of demand. He breaks down how the brand markets hunting knives despite constant ad restrictions, why MKC ran 4 separate Black Friday sales instead of one, and the numbers behind a customer base that owns an average of 3 knives each. Worth a listen for anyone selling into a heavily regulated category.

Rob Kenny joins Will Laurenson to explain how New Yorker Bagels turned a wholesale bakery into a national fresh food ecommerce business. He shares how the company ships bagels baked to order, why 2-day delivery beat unreliable overnight shipping, and what it takes to build a brand from a business that never needed one. The episode covers Meta and Google acquisition, repeat purchases, subscriptions, wholesale direct, customer messaging, TikTok content pressure, and the operational strain of keeping fresh food genuinely fresh across the US. It also shows how small UX decisions can protect margins and keep loyal customers ordering again.

Janie Brooks Heuck, Managing Director of Brooks Winery, joins Will Laurenson to discuss how AI, customer experience, and hospitality are shaping the future of wine marketing. From personalised wine recommendation quizzes and dynamic ecommerce tools to loyalty programmes and collaborative wine clubs, Janie shares practical insights into acquiring and retaining customers in a highly competitive market. She also explains how Brooks Winery has built a loyal following through storytelling, sustainability, and creating experiences that go far beyond wine tasting. A valuable conversation for anyone interested in ecommerce, customer retention, and brand building.

Alan Dowell, Digital Director at Escentual, joins Will Laurenson to discuss 18 years of ecommerce lessons, Shopify migration challenges, AI adoption, and customer retention. Alan shares how Escentual moved away from a complex custom platform, the mistakes made during the transition, and why testing, governance and simplicity matter more than ever. The conversation covers Google Shopping, conversion optimisation, app overload, replenishment marketing, and the future impact of AI on ecommerce. If you're navigating platform changes, managing a lean team, or looking to improve acquisition and retention performance, this episode offers practical insights.

Percival's Global Marketing Director Ian Mackey joins Will Laurenson to discuss what is driving growth in fashion ecommerce today. They explore creative-first advertising strategies, Meta's evolving algorithms, conversion optimisation, retention tactics and the realities of scaling a premium menswear brand. Ian shares how Percival approaches creative diversity, product page optimisation, loyalty programmes and customer lifetime value, while also revealing the biggest challenges facing modern fashion brands. If you're interested in performance marketing, ecommerce growth and balancing acquisition with retention, this episode offers practical insights from a fast-growing DTC brand.