We surveyed 540+ DTC operators about how their marketing plans actually hold up once they go live. What we found, in collaboration with Keen, wasn't a planning problem. It was something harder to fix, and most teams don't even realize it's happening.
say the biggest gap is between planning and execution - not anywhere else.
can only forecast revenue with confidence 3 months out, at most.
don’t include scenario modeling - they’re betting on one outcome.
Why teams that review performance too frequently might be making things worse, not better.
The signals DTC teams lean on most and how they trap you in the reactive loop.
How short-term corrections can quietly turn into "marketing debt" that makes growth more expensive over time.
What teams breaking out of the reactive loop are doing differently.
Data cuts by revenue band: how planning behavior changes from $1M to $50M+.