The temptation in a new role is to start with the most interesting problem. Resist it. Start with what’s losing money every day it stays broken, because those fixes pay for the patience the rest needs.
Days 1 to 30: stop the bleeding
- Score The Machine Audit and share it.
- Get CM2 by first product from finance, and a payback ceiling from whoever manages cash.
- Turn on anything that should be running. A welcome series in draft, a popup switched off, a cart flow with a personal sender address. These are the highest-return hours you’ll spend all year.
- Fix the cart flow’s timing and sender, and launch a two-step sign-up form that asks for email, then phone.
- Check SPF, DKIM and DMARC, set up Postmaster Tools, and stop mailing the least engaged segment if complaints are high.
- Exclude existing customers from prospecting campaigns and acquisition offers.
- Start the Monday page and the changelog.
Days 31 to 60: build the floor
- Rebuild cart recovery as a short sequence of two or three messages, with SMS carrying the urgent one.
- Build post-purchase, winback and sunset if they don’t exist, with post-purchase branched on the first product and winback timed from the reorder curve.
- Build the cohort table and the concentration numbers from chapter 20.
- Plan four weeks of campaigns ahead, with the promotional mix written down, sent to engagement segments rather than the whole list.
- Fix the top checkout surprise you found buying from your own site.
- Rewrite creative briefs with offer, angle, audience and format.
Days 61 to 90: build what compounds
- Launch RFM segments, a top-customer series built on recognition instead of discounts, and a loyalty program that starts people with progress.
- Launch the one-time-buyer program sized with the step-up tool, with a holdout from day one.
- Run the first holdout on paid media, starting with retargeting or brand search.
- Start the test log at one new test every two weeks.
- Re-score the audit and write the next quarter’s plan from the lowest checks.
Stop the bleeding, build the floor, then build what compounds. In that order, every time.
What to stop doing
- Reporting ROAS as the headline number.
- Sending every campaign to the whole list.
- Reaching for a sale when a month looks soft.
- Launching tests without a written hypothesis.
- Adding a new channel before the existing ones pass the health check.
Do this
- Put the three lists above in a shared doc with an owner and a date beside every line. Review it on the first Monday of each month.