Choosing a marketing agency for a D2C brand
What to ask a marketing agency before hiring them for a D2C brand, and the signals that suggest they understand margin, not just top-line growth.
4 min read
A D2C brand looking only at revenue by channel can be misled into scaling a channel that is actually unprofitable once ad spend, returns and discounting are accounted for. Connecting ad platforms, email tools and order data into one view is what makes that visible.
The minimum connected setup
- GA4 or equivalent connected to the storefront, tracking purchases as the key event, not just page views.
- UTM parameters used consistently across every paid, email and social link.
- Order data tagged by first-touch channel, so contribution margin can be calculated by channel, not just by campaign click.
Where attribution gets messy, and what to do about it
A customer may see an Instagram ad, later click an email, then buy after a direct visit — no single attribution model captures this perfectly. Use a consistent model across your own reporting so trends are at least comparable over time, rather than chasing perfect attribution.
Revenue by channel without contribution margin by channel is not a growth report — it is a spending report that hides its own costs.
A reporting cadence that drives decisions
A monthly view of contribution margin by channel, repeat rate and CAC trend gives a founder enough to make real budget decisions — see our note on measuring cost per enquiry for the same principle applied more broadly.
The takeaway
Track contribution margin by channel, not just revenue by channel — a channel can drive real revenue while quietly losing money after ad spend and returns.
Written by Fibvo — Bengaluru and Erode, India — working with clients in other time zones. Questions, or think we have it wrong? Tell us.
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