From Spreadsheets to AI Agents: The Ecommerce Data Playbook
OPERATORS
· with Connor Rolain, Connor MacDonald, Cody Plofker
· March 11, 2026
· 60 min
Summary
This episode is a must-listen for ecommerce marketers looking to move beyond simple correlation and build a truly incrementality-first organization. Learn how industry leaders approach testing, measure complex channels like CTV, and foster a data-driven culture to maximize their marketing spend.
Key takeaways
Implement a 'holdouts crash course' to educate your team on incrementality testing and its importance in proving causality, not just correlation.
Develop a clear metrics hierarchy to guide your testing strategy, ensuring each test builds upon previous results to refine hypotheses.
Experiment with budget shifts to high-performing channels like brand video; a 20% shift can yield a 40% incremental lift, as demonstrated by real-world examples.
Utilize new platforms like TikTok Shop to reach untapped audiences, expanding your customer base and diversifying acquisition channels.
Rebuild underperforming ad accounts (e.g., Meta) from first principles, focusing on incremental gains rather than isolated optimizations.
Are you running your ecommerce brand on gut instinct while your competitors build AI-powered data machines? Sean Frank (CEO of Ridge) and Jason Panzer (President of HexClad) sit down with Krishna Poda, the CEO of Saras Analytics, to unpack why a clean data foundation isn’t optional. And what you can build on top of it with AI right now. They cover the rise of agentic workflows and what it means to replace repetitive human tasks with agents that work around the clock, why every stakeholder in a business should be able to query their own data without waiting on an analyst, how Saras IQ is built as a vertically specialized layer on top of Claude to deliver consistent and governed answers, and what the near future looks like when your brand’s central agent is negotiating with Meta’s agent, Northbeam’s agent, and every other platform fighting for your budget. Powered By Fulfil https://bit.ly/3pAp2vuSaras Analytics https://bit.ly/9OP-YtdescAftersell https://9ops.co/4i3bb5Postscript https://9ops.co/postscriptRichpanel https://9ops.co/richpanelNorthbeam <a href="https://www.northbeam.io
What does this episode say about data-driven marketing?
Implement a 'holdouts crash course' to educate your team on incrementality testing and its importance in proving causality, not just correlation.
What does this episode say about experimentation & testing?
Develop a clear metrics hierarchy to guide your testing strategy, ensuring each test builds upon previous results to refine hypotheses.
What does this episode say about growth strategy?
Experiment with budget shifts to high-performing channels like brand video; a 20% shift can yield a 40% incremental lift, as demonstrated by real-world examples.
What does this episode say about marketing attribution?
Utilize new platforms like TikTok Shop to reach untapped audiences, expanding your customer base and diversifying acquisition channels.
What does this episode say about data-driven marketing?
Rebuild underperforming ad accounts (e.g., Meta) from first principles, focusing on incremental gains rather than isolated optimizations.
