Common pitfalls

The things that slow growth systems down are the same in almost every account we inherit, and none of them are platform problems. They sit on the human side, they’re all avoidable, and they’re worth knowing about before month one so we can catch them together early.

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5 common pitfalls

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Slow approvals

The number one system-slower. Every batch that waits a week for sign-off is a week the loop isn’t learning. The fix is structural: one named approver, a two day turnaround, and guardrails agreed up front so approvals become quick checks instead of debates.

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Calling tests early

Three days of data is noise. Kill a test on day two because the numbers look scary and you’ve paid for the spend but thrown away the learning. We size tests so the results are readable, and we’ll always tell you when a result is real. Until then, it pays to hold your nerve. If a test is making you nervous, say so and we’ll walk you through where it’s at.

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Polishing performance creative like brand campaigns

The ad that wins is often the one that looks least like an ad. Guardrails protect the brand and we take them seriously. Inside them, though, creative needs room to work. Breakthroughs live near the edges: the hook that feels slightly too bold in a review doc is often the one that stops the scroll. When every hook gets sanded down until it sounds like the About page, nothing stands out. So we’ll sometimes ask to test something that pushes a limit, always inside the guardrails and always with a reason attached.

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Fixating on one platform’s number

Meta’s ROAS and Google’s conversions both flatter themselves, and chasing either leads to decisions that look great in the platform and wrong for the business. The growth sheet is the number we steer by, because it’s the one that matches your bank account.

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Cutting spend reactively

A soft fortnight happens every quarter. Slashing budget mid-learning resets the algorithms and turns a dip into a hole, which is the expensive way to feel in control. If the economics say cut, we’ll cut fast and tell you first. If it’s noise, we’ll show you why.

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When it works

Fast approvals, tests left to finish, hooks given room to breathe, one shared number, and steady budgets. Every engagement that compounds looks like this, because the flywheel accelerates when nothing is dragging on it. That’s the point of documenting how we work. None of this is rules for their own sake. It’s the shortest path we know to growth that stacks month on month.