Perpetual Traffic Podcast Summary
Episode: We Analyzed Our Biggest Client Failure (And This Is What We Learned)
Release Date: August 12, 2025
Hosts: Ralph Burns and Lauren E. Petrullo
Guest: Ricardo Powells, Growth Strategist at Tier 11

Introduction

In this insightful episode of Perpetual Traffic, hosts Ralph Burns and Lauren E. Petrullo delve into a candid analysis of one of their most significant client setbacks. Joined by Ricardo Powells, a seasoned growth strategist from Tier 11, the conversation unpacks the complexities of a declining business in the competitive gardening niche and explores the multifaceted challenges faced during their attempt to turn the situation around.

Background of the Client

The episode begins with Ralph introducing the client who operates in the highly competitive gardening sector, specifically selling seeds among other products. This client approached Tier 11 at the end of 2024, seeking strategies to achieve substantial year-over-year growth. However, shortly after onboarding, the team discovered that the client had been experiencing a decline in revenue for the past three to four years.

Notable Quote:
Lauren E. Petrullo [00:00-00:13]: "You have to be prepared because it's only going to get worse as we get closer to Q4."

Initial Strategy and Misalignment

Upon realizing the client's declining trajectory, the Tier 11 team pivoted their strategy from growth to stabilization and reversal of the declining trend. The initial approach focused heavily on shifting the advertising budget from Google Ads to Meta (Facebook and Instagram) to enhance new customer acquisition.

Notable Quote:
Ralph Burns [01:25-03:20]: "Traffic is the act of putting your product, service, or message in front of your target audience…it’s the act of acquiring customers online while also building goodwill, and is the lifeline of any business."

Challenges Faced

Several critical challenges emerged during the campaign:

1. Revenue Dynamics: A significant portion (60%) of the client’s revenue was derived from existing customers, which had been declining annually. Efforts to boost new customer revenue were undermined by the loss in existing customer sales.

   Quote:
   Ricardo Powells [07:51-08:13]: "They were a declining business. They had been declining for by three to four years. So the goal wasn't really to grow. The goal was to stop the bleed and help them reverse that trend."

2. Pricing and Competition: The client struggled with pricing competitiveness, especially on Google Shopping, where competitors outbid them significantly. The lack of differentiation in product offerings made it difficult to compete solely on paid media.

   Quote:
   Ralph Burns [12:36-13:49]: "The primary methodology for acquiring or, well, for acquiring customers or for selling their product was through Google Shopping... If you are not price competitive and there's no superior mechanism for your particular product, most people are just going to choose either the cheapest option or the Amazon option."

3. Attribution and Metrics Misalignment: The client was accustomed to last-click attribution models, focusing on overall ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) rather than nuanced metrics like New Customer Acquisition (NCA) and existing customer revenue. This misalignment led to premature budget reallocations that hindered strategic progress.

   Quote:
   Ricardo Powells [16:43-17:59]: "We had to educate the client on the role of these MPIs and explain that we could still grow the new customer revenue efficiently while their existing customer revenue was still going down."

4. Seasonality and Product Lifecycle: The client's products were highly seasonal, complicating year-over-year comparisons and making it difficult to stabilize revenue streams within short timeframes.

   Quote:
   Lauren E. Petrullo [24:02-24:54]: "It's a seasonal forward item... you are not planting new seeds in Chicago in January."

Adjustments and Strategies Implemented

Ricardo Powells outlines the strategic adjustments made in response to the challenges:

1. Shifting Ad Spend: Initially increasing the Meta ad budget to focus on new customer acquisition, followed by reducing the budget when immediate results were not evident.

   Quote:
   Ricardo Powells [19:44-22:50]: "We bumped up our Meta budget... Unfortunately, it didn't make a noticeable impact on the top line metrics."

2. Addressing Attribution Models: Attempting to align the client's focus from last-click ROAS to more comprehensive marketing performance indicators (MPIs), though facing resistance due to ingrained reporting preferences.

   Quote:
   Ricardo Powells [25:48-26:41]: "They had to understand that new customer efficiency and existing customer revenue can both be true at the same time."

3. Email Marketing Efforts: Increasing email outreach to existing customers, which led to list exhaustion without a corresponding increase in revenue, indicating deeper issues beyond paid media.

   Quote:
   Ricardo Powells [44:26-47:38]: "They were sending out maybe like three emails a day... their email revenue was also going down year over year and month over month."

4. Technical and Operational Improvements: Tackling product feed issues on non-Shopify platforms and reintroducing upsells that were previously part of their strategy.

   Quote:
   Ricardo Powells [47:38-52:24]: "Feed issues... they didn't have upsells anymore, which they used to have before when they were on a different website platform."

Outcomes and Reflections

Despite several tactical shifts, the client continued to experience a decline in both new and existing customer revenue. The episode underscores the complexity of reversing a long-term downward trend solely through paid media strategies, especially in highly commoditized markets with aggressive competitors.

Notable Quote:
Ralph Burns [35:19-38:09]: "Paid media will never, ever solve a fundamentally flawed business model... We did everything that we possibly could."

Key Lessons Learned

1. Holistic Business Assessment: Before deploying marketing strategies, it's crucial to conduct a thorough assessment of the business's financial health, revenue trends, and customer dynamics.

   Quote:
   Ricardo Powells [40:38-41:55]: "Setting the right expectations and doing a proper assessment of your business... Are you declining? Are you growing? Are you still profitable?"

2. Alignment on Metrics: Ensuring that both the agency and the client align on the key performance indicators and understand the broader business implications beyond immediate ROAS.

   Quote:
   Ricardo Powells [41:09-43:00]: "We needed to see that new customer revenue was improving even as existing customer revenue was declining."

3. Long-Term Roadmap: Sustainable growth often requires a long-term perspective, with strategies that may take months or years to bear fruit, rather than seeking quick fixes.

   Quote:
   Lauren E. Petrullo [26:41-32:54]: "Short-term focus is two years or less... a longer roadmap and a longer runway are essential."

4. Brand Building and Differentiation: In commoditized markets, building brand equity and differentiating products are critical to competing effectively, especially against well-funded competitors.

   Quote:
   Ralph Burns [39:29-54:48]: "You have to put the brand at the forefront of the consumer's mind to say oh well I will pay 10x more because that brand has higher quality."

5. Avoid Cutting Top-of-Funnel Efforts: Reducing budget on awareness and prospecting campaigns can be detrimental, leading to a narrow focus on remarketing that fails to sustain long-term growth.

   Quote:
   Ricardo Powells [51:22-52:24]: "Avoid removing budget from top of funnel campaigns... Otherwise, you're just slowly killing the business."

Conclusion and Advice

Ralph Burns and Lauren E. Petrullo conclude the episode by emphasizing the importance of transparency and learning from failures. They advocate for comprehensive business assessments, aligned metrics, and long-term strategies to build sustainable growth. The discussion serves as a valuable case study for businesses navigating similar challenges, highlighting the necessity of understanding underlying business dynamics beyond immediate marketing tactics.

Final Quote:
Lauren E. Petrullo [55:05]: "We talk often about challenges and how we overcome them and just like wins... It’s a transparent, brutally honest conversation, business owner to business owner."

Key Takeaways for Listeners:

• Conduct Thorough Business Evaluations: Understand your business's financial health and customer revenue dynamics before implementing marketing strategies.
• Align on Metrics: Ensure that your team and agency are on the same page regarding key performance indicators and their implications.
• Invest in Brand Building: In crowded markets, differentiating your brand is essential for long-term success.
• Plan for Long-Term Growth: Sustainable strategies often require patience and a longer runway to yield significant results.
• Maintain Top-of-Funnel Activities: Avoid overly focusing on remarketing at the expense of awareness and prospecting efforts.

By dissecting this client failure, Perpetual Traffic provides invaluable lessons on the intricacies of digital marketing, the importance of strategic alignment, and the critical need for a holistic approach to business growth.