Welcome to Market Movers: Building Brands & Links with Linkifi! Your go-to podcast for transforming your business into an unforgettable brand where branding meets SEO and link-building. I’m Chris Panteli, Co-Founder & CEO of Linkifi, and I’m joined by my co-host and Co-Founder, Nick Biggs. In this episode we welcome Thomas Gleeson — StoreHero co-founder and former Shopify Merchant Success lead — who helps e-commerce brands grow profitably by prioritizing contribution margin, LTV, and cashflow over vanity metrics like ROAS.   Key Talking Points ✅ Why ROAS Misleads — Ad costs up, attribution messy, ops + COGS + returns rising; profit ≠ revenue, and ROAS ignores VAT, discounts, shipping, fees ✅ Contribution Margin First — Net revenue (ex-tax) minus COGS minus marketing = the North Star for budget and channel decisions ✅ The “Allowable CAC” Mindset — Winners engineer higher CAC ceilings via pricing, bundles, and offer structure—so they outbid competitors ✅ Offer Structure > Blanket Discounts — Use bundles, threshold free shipping, GWP (free gift with purchase), selective promos to protect margin ✅ Black Friday Playbook — Pull last year’s SKU-level data: target higher-AOV, high-margin items; test tiered offers; don’t copy “site-wide 30%” by default ✅ Reality of Margin Compression — Discounts, free shipping/returns, BNPL, transaction fees can halve gross margin if you’re not tracking the math ✅ Small Catalogs Can Win — Build a simple break-even ROAS calculator per offer; know fees, returns, shipping, taxes, and COGS before scaling spend ✅ Cohorts & Retention — Nov/Dec buyers often gift-led and less loyal; use Shopify cohort charts to set realistic LTV expectations ✅ LLMs as a Channel — Early signals that ChatGPT/Gemini can drive discovery; solid SEO + authority increases likelihood of being cited   Quotes from Thomas Gleeson 📢 “There’s an industry-wide obsession with ROAS. It’s flawed. Your P&L pays the bills, not ROAS.” 📢 “If gross margin drops, your marketing must overperform just to stand still.” 📢 “The game isn’t ‘lowest CAC’—it’s highest allowable CAC. Engineer offers that let you spend more than rivals.” 📢 “In Black Friday planning, increased revenue doesn’t automatically mean increased profit.” 📢 “Be honest about COGS and fees. That ‘80% margin’ often becomes 40–50% once reality is added back.”   Actionable Insights   🧮 Know Your Numbers (Before BFCM) Build a per-offer break-even ROAS: RRP → discount → COGS → VAT/tax → shipping/returns → payment fees → expected return rate. Track contribution margin weekly; tie ad budget increases to profit deltas, not revenue. 🧰 Offer Engineering Prefer bundles, GWP, and free-shipping threshold tweaks over blunt site-wide cuts. Surface SKUs with above-average AOV and margin; push with creative + merchandising, not just discount. 💸 Budgeting by Margin Improve gross margin (trim “conversion candy” that erodes it) to unlock 2–3× more ad budget at the same profit target. Separate goals: one motion for profit, another for top-line—don’t let revenue targets force margin-killing promos.   📈 Cohorts & Segmentation Expect lower LTV from Nov/Dec new customers; design tailored post-purchase flows and realistic payback windows. Reward loyal segments; avoid penalizing them while testing new-customer carrots. 🔎 LLM Visibility Solid SEO foundations, authoritative mentions, and clear USP language increase odds of LLM citations (early but growing opportunity).   About Thomas Gleeson Thomas Gleeson is the co-founder of StoreHero and former Shopify Merchant Success lead. He helps brands centralize e-com, marketing, and finance data to make profit-first decisions—shifting teams from ROAS worship to unit economics and contribution margin. 📬 Connect with Thomas:  LinkedIn: Thomas Gleeson · storehero.ai   🚀 Build Your Brand with Real Links   At Linkifi, we help ambitious brands scale organic visibility through digital PR, brand storytelling, and SEO strategy. Book your