Review at a glance
September 2026 Release Fri Oct 2, second working day 1 tracking question
What marketing delivered at Larkspur Cycles in September, read from one record against the agreed metric definitions, with one budget recommendation and one tracking question stated. Prepared by Ruth Adeyemi, fractional CMO at Lantern Row Advisory, for Tessa Lund, head of marketing. Marketing operations by Jamie Park. Status as of October 1, 2026.
- Headline
- Web store orders rose 9 percent and dealer orders were flat. Paid social cost per order rose 22 percent, but the month cannot be compared cleanly.
- Budget recommendation
- One: move 15 percent of the paid social budget to dealer co-marketing. It does not rely on the September paid social trend.
- Tracking question
- Paid social conversions are counted differently after the tracking update on Sep 12. Open with Jamie Park.
- Sources
- Web store, dealer orders, paid social and email, read against the metric definitions agreed with Tessa
- Next review
- The November review, due Tuesday, Nov 3, 2026, the second working day of November
Channel results
September against August, one line per channel. Movement badges show direction only; the reading says whether the movement can be trusted.
| Channel | Measure | August | September | Movement | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Web store | Orders | 412 | 449 | Up 9% | Orders are counted at checkout, so the tracking update does not touch them |
| Dealer orders | Orders reported by dealers | 138 | 138 | Flat | Dealer reports arrive on a five-day lag, so late September may be understated |
| Paid social | Cost per order | $164 | $200 | Up 22% Tracking question | Conversions are counted differently from Sep 12, so this is not a performance finding |
| Orders within 7 days of a click | 96 | 101 | Up 5% | Small base; read as steady, not as growth |
Figures are sample values.
How far to trust each channel
Confidence is Ruth's rating of how safely the September reading can be used for a decision, from 1 (do not use) to 5 (use freely).
- Web store: orders counted at checkout: 4 of 5
- Email: small base, stable attribution: 4 of 5
- Dealer orders: five-day reporting lag: 3 of 5
- Paid social: tracking changed Sep 12: 1 of 5
Budget recommendation
- Recommendation
- Move 15 percent of the paid social budget to dealer co-marketing
- Size
- Paid social runs at $40,000 a month (sample), so 15 percent is $6,000 a month, $12,000 across November and December
- Evidence
- Dealer co-marketing produced orders at a lower cost in both spring tests: $118 and $127 per order against $155 and $171 for paid social over the same weeks (sample figures)
- Left out on purpose
- The September paid social trend, because of the tracking question
- Prior decision attached
- The budget split agreed in the August review
- Approvals needed
- Tessa Lund and the Larkspur finance lead
- Decision requested by
- Friday, Oct 9, 2026, so the shift can start on Nov 1
The recommendation covers November and December. Any extension into next year waits for dealer co-marketing results in the January review.
"I would rather see the tracking question stated than a trend I have to defend to finance."
Tessa Lund, Head of marketing, Larkspur Cycles
Actions from earlier reviews
Eight actions were accepted in the August and September reviews, all owned by the Larkspur marketing team. Six are complete with evidence, one is in progress and one has not started. At the September review it was five complete and two in progress; the post-purchase email series finished on Sep 30.
- Move the cart abandonment email to one hour after exitdone
- Add the dealer locator to every e-bike product pagedone
- Publish the commuter fit guidedone
- Start a weekly dealer order reportdone
- Tag the spring test landing pages consistentlydone
- Rebuild the post-purchase email series (completed Sep 30)done
- Collect dealer stock feedback each month (in progress)open
- Send the dealer email sequence (not started after 24 days, waiting on product photos)open
What happens next month
| Stream | Item | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Decisions | Budget shift decision by Tessa and finance lead | Oct 2 to Oct 9 |
| Tracking | Confirm tracking change with the web team | Oct 5 to Oct 16 |
| Actions | Photo request moved to product team | Oct 5 to Oct 8 |
| Actions | Dealer email check and escalation | Oct 8, 1 day |
| Spring launch | Brief handed to the creative partner | Oct 12, 1 day |
| November review | Dealer co-marketing set up if approved | Oct 19 to Oct 30 |
| November review | Month end data close and review assembly | Oct 30 to Nov 3 |
Priorities for October
- Tessa Lund and the Larkspur finance lead decide the budget shift by Oct 9open
- Jamie Park confirms the tracking change with the web team by Oct 16open
- Tessa Lund supplies the approved dealer terms for the spring brief by Oct 9open
- Ruth Adeyemi checks the dealer email sequence on Oct 8 and escalates if neededopen
- Deliver this review to Tessa Lund on the second working dayopen
Prepared and reviewed by
- Ruth AdeyemiFractional CMO, Lantern Row Advisory, prepared this review
- Jamie ParkMarketing operations lead, Lantern Row Advisory, assembled the record
- Tessa LundHead of marketing, Larkspur Cycles, client reader
Metric definitions used in this review
| Measure | Definition |
|---|---|
| Web store orders | Completed checkouts in the calendar month |
| Dealer orders | Orders reported by independent dealers in the weekly report, by order date |
| Paid social cost per order | Paid social spend divided by orders in the paid social conversion count; the count changed on Sep 12 |
| Email orders | Orders placed within 7 days of an email click |
If a definition changes mid-month, the review says so beside the number and does not draw a trend from it.