51. Performance Marketing Must-Knows with Simon Akers, Founder of Archmon

Simon Akers, the founder of Archmon, joins this episode of E-Commerce with Coffee?! to talk with host Nate Svoboda about the role of performance marketing in all kinds of commerce and across industries. Early in the interview, listeners learn how Simon has evolved just as much as performance marketing has. Do you know how to define today’s performance marketing? Do you know how it's best used in your industry? For those answers and more, listen to the full interview or get started with the show notes.

0:00-0:27 Intro

0:28-0:58 Introducing Simon

0:59-2:23 Simon's relationship with caffeine

2:24-3:39 Simon's backstory

4:00-5:38 Some favorite companies that Simon has worked with

5:39-8:34 How performance marketing differs from other marketing

8:35-11:44 Simon’s favorite principles in performance marketing

11:45-15:28 The sales funnel and lifetime customer value in performance marketing

15:29-17:36 Most common problems companies experience in performance marketing

17:37-19:23 How long should campaigns and tests run?

19:24-21:19 Some of the decision-making KPIs to choose performance channels

21:20-23:56 The critical skills in performance marketing

23:57-28:29 Key changes in the last two years of marketing

28:30-29:00 Where to reach Simon

29:01-29.18 Outro

What to listen for:

• The interview starts with a look at Simon’s own journey. He describes how he started in digital marketing lead generation and how he identified his own “tenets” of performance marketing early on.
• As performance marketing (and Simon, himself) evolved, Simon’s newest focus has been on performance marketing and good (engaging and on-target) media. “You need to breed the fish you want to catch,” he remarks.
• Nate then asks about the kinds of clients Simon works with now at Archmon. Simon describes how his favorite clients have been those with an “interesting call to action.” He gives examples, including a GreenPeace petition he worked on. Even with the “less altruistic stuff,” he jests, “the fundamental principles [of performance marketing] remain. There’s always a need for diligent thinking behind converting the customer.”
• The interview digs into the differences between performance marketing and other kinds of marketing, too. “With the advent of digital channels,” he explains, “digital has become inherently associated with performance because those channels are measurable, trackable…” Listen to the interview for Simon’s full answer comparing performance marketing, digital marketing, and growth marketing.
• After a look at those buzzwords and types of marketing, Nate asks Simon about KPIs. Simon displays extraordinary savvy talking about CPA (cost per acquisition), ROAS (return on advertising spend) and other performance metrics—and how they relate differently to brands in disparate industries.
• Simon also talks about the evolution of ROAS over the course of a brand’s life. (As it turns out, Simon will be speaking about this topic at a conference soon, so he was abundantly prepared for the topic.) As you grow, he explains, you can’t expect the same ROAS. Listen to the full interview to hear why.
• “Marketing’s duty across channels,” Simon says, “is to bring more fish into the pond for you to fish for.” He explains how CLV (customer lifetime value) plays into that in performance marketing, too. Listen to the interview to hear his theory on discount codes and what they really do to acquire and keep customers.
• Nate then asks Simon about the most common problems (or mistakes) he sees brands make in performance marketing. Simon’s answer is resolute: “mismanaged expectations due to bad players.” There’s a lot of snake oil in the industry, he laments, that will pitch ROAS of 8X or something equally appealing, but it’s a dangerous slope to slip down.
• The interview wraps with an even more detailed look at the ebb and flow of CPA and ROAS on different platforms—especially as digital platform roles have changed.