Retail Market Analysis

There's been a shift in what consumers want from physical store experiences. In apparel, the percentage wanting a wide range has declined; wanting an edited range with relevant products has increased. Many reasons behind this. Online offers endless choice, so physical stores don’t need to fulfil this function. We have shorter attention spans and less tolerance for scouring stores. Messier stores make it harder to shop. And so on. Now, editing and curation are risky. They require retailers to have a strong understanding of what customers want and to place bets on fewer products. So, many prefer to throw lots of things out there and see what sticks. But increasingly, that doesn’t drive customer loyalty. It’s also inefficient as profit ends up being driven by a small percentage of products. Interestingly, retailers that serve a wide and diverse cross-section of consumers (think department stores, mass merchants) can still cater to many under a more curated model. The solution here is good in-store segmentation and sub-branding. #retail #retailnews #apprel #ranges #editing #brands #consumers

Segmentation beats personalization. Personalization is terribly inefficient... (and oftentimes unnecessary outside of highly strategic enterprise selling). Think about the ads that really grab your attention. None of them have your name in them. Or mention podcasts you were interviewed in or posts that you wrote. These ads work because they're segmented based on patterns amongst small-ish groups of people. Outbound should be treated similarly. Pro tip: this approach works WAY better over the phone than via email. The expectation for personalization and quality is much higher in emails than over the phone. Here are a few ideas for segmenting your lists so you don't have to personalize so much: ✅ By region/location If you sell anything brick & mortar, SLED, etc—segment your accounts by geographic region. You really don't have to personalize much when you can: - Name-drop local businesses/organizations - Drop the location This sounds like: "Hi David, we work with Fit & Fashion right down the road in SLU. It's Jason with ________. Ring a bell?" ✅ By tech stack Let's say you sell a tool that enhances Salesforce. Or Jira. Or some other specific tool. Segment your accounts by tech stack. This sounds like: "Hi Katie, we're partnering with engineering teams who wish sandboxes were way easier to set up and use in Zendesk. It's Jason with ________. Got a min?" ✅ By persona Let's say you sell to ecomm solutions to SMB retail business owners. This sounds like: "Hi Tom, we're working with several retailers in the Seattle area. It's Jason with ________. Heard our name tossed around?" (H/T Armand Farrokh) ✅ By trigger This list gets pretty extensive. Hiring, job changes, customer/champion change, M&A, expansion/contraction, promotion, etc This sounds like: "Hi Dave, congrats on the promotion. It's Jason from __________. Was just talking to a new HR leader yesterday who's running into all kinds of complications scaling international hiring. That by chance something you're running into?" ✅ By niche One of my favorites. Take a well-recognized logo like Rippling. You could go after direct competitors, but it's even better to focus on non-competitive products selling to the same personas. This sounds like: "Hi Cierra, we're working with Rippling to help scale their product suite for HR leaders. It's Jason with ________. Thought you might want to hear how they've doubled ACV in the last 6 months. Have a min?" ~~~ Before you think of personalization, start with segmentation. Do the work upfront to avoid having to customize too much. Agree or disagree? We're training entire sales orgs at companies like Shopify, Rippling, Zoom, and many more on how to land more meetings with outbound. Interested in custom training for your team? DM or email me jason [at] outboundsquad.com for more info.

Surveys can serve an important purpose. We should use them to fill holes in our understanding of the customer experience or build better models with the customer data we have. As surveys tell you what customers explicitly choose to share, you should not be using them to measure the experience. Surveys are also inherently reactive, surface level, and increasingly ignored by customers who are overwhelmed by feedback requests. This is fact. There’s a different way. Some CX leaders understand that the most critical insights come from sources customers don’t even realize they’re providing from the “exhaust” of every day life with your brand. Real-time digital behavior, social listening, conversational analytics, and predictive modeling deliver insights that surveys alone never will. Voice and sentiment analytics, for example, go beyond simply reading customer comments. They reveal how customers genuinely feel by analyzing tone, frustration, or intent embedded within interactions. Behavioral analytics, meanwhile, uncover friction points by tracking real customer actions across websites or apps, highlighting issues users might never explicitly complain about. Predictive analytics are also becoming essential for modern CX strategies. They anticipate customer needs, allowing businesses to proactively address potential churn, rather than merely reacting after the fact. The capability can also help you maximize revenue in the experiences you are delivering (a use case not discussed often enough). The most forward-looking CX teams today are blending traditional feedback with these deeper, proactive techniques, creating a comprehensive view of their customers. If you’re just beginning to move beyond a survey-only approach, prioritizing these more advanced methods will help ensure your insights are not only deeper but actionable in real time. Surveys aren’t dead (much to my chagrin), but relying solely on them means leaving crucial insights behind. While many enterprises have moved beyond surveys, the majority are still overly reliant on them. And when you get to mid-market or small businesses? The survey slapping gets exponentially worse. Now is the time to start looking beyond the questionnaire and your Likert scales. The email survey is slowly becoming digital dust. And the capabilities to get you there are readily available. How are you evolving your customer listening strategy beyond traditional surveys? #customerexperience #cxstrategy #customerinsights #surveys

CSAT measurement must be more than just a score. Many companies prioritize their Net Promoter Score (NPS) as a measure of Customer Satisfaction (CSAT). But do these methods truly give us a complete understanding? In reality, surveys are not always accurate. Bias can influence the results, ratings may be misinterpreted, and there's a chance that we didn't even ask the right questions. While a basic survey can indicate problems, the true value lies in comprehending the reasons behind those scores and identifying effective solutions to improve them. Here’s a better way to look at CSAT: 1. Start with Actions, Not Just Scores: Observable behaviors like repeat purchases, referrals, and product usage often tell a more accurate story than a survey score alone. 2. Analyze Digital Signals & Employee Feedback: Look for objective measures that consumers are happy with what you offer (website micro-conversions like page depth, time on site, product views and cart adds). And don’t forget your team! Happy employees = Happy customers. 3. Understand the Voice of the Customer (VoC): Utilize AI tools to examine customer feedback, interactions with customer support, and comments on social media platforms in order to stay updated on the current attitudes towards your brand. 4. Make It a Closed Loop: Gathering feedback is only the beginning. Use it to drive change. Your customers need to know you’re listening — and *acting*. Think of your CSAT score as a signal that something happened in your customer relationships. But to truly improve your business, you must pinpoint the reasons behind those scores and use that information to guide improvements. Don’t settle for simply knowing that something happened, find an answer for why it happened. Art+Science Analytics Institute | University of Notre Dame | University of Notre Dame - Mendoza College of Business | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | University of Chicago | D'Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University | ELVTR | Grow with Google - Data Analytics #Analytics #DataStorytelling

When you're launching something new, you want to be sure it's going to work. Running in-market experiments prior to launch confirms hypotheses before you commit resources. Just as important,  experiments can often prevent big missteps. Here are four rules of thumb that make for powerful experimentation: 1. Test more than one concept or proposition with more than one target market segment. Sure, you can test just one concept with just one target, but you'll only learn if it succeeded or failed. If you test several concepts in parallel with more than one target, you can compare performance by audience and start to understand the drivers of success across concepts. 2. Make sure that tested concepts are distinct and differentiated. Each concept should be unique because the goal is to learn as much as possible. If you only test three shades of blue, you'll never learn that people actually want red. 3. Test more than once. As you see 'hot spots' form between concept and audience, test variations of your winning concept. Let’s say, for example, that you test three distinct versions of your new product concept—let’s call them Red, Yellow, and Blue. In the first experiment, Red tests well with all three of your target audience segments. In the next experiment, test three versions of Red with all three segments. This next experiment might explore value propositions or particular features or positioning. It’s a way to generate additional learning about strategy: →What problem does Red solve for customers? →Which features drive interest in Red? →Which positioning helps to interest people in Red? 4. Be aware of your testing environment and how it creates bias (or not) for your experiment. I prefer real-life in-market experiments, with just enough exposure to generate statistically valid results; others prefer ‘lab-based’ testing. Either way, think about how representative your environment is of your eventual launch. The next time you’re making a big move, remember: experiments are a powerful way to reduce risk, whether you are launching a new product, repositioning a brand, or prioritizing a product pipeline. Happy experimenting! #LIPostingDayJune

You need to know your customers as well as your parents know you🥲 I’ve compiled a list of 6 research methods I use that work to help you know your customers #1 CUSTOMER FEEDBACK SURVEYS I survey people who visited in the last 90 days but didn't buy, then use their exact questions they would ask against them. If "What's most important when buying skincare?" is the most popular question, use that in your website #2 RAW DATA ANALYSIS Avoid looking at traffic and focus on revenue instead. Your highest-revenue page probably gets ignored completely. #3 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS Check if their ads match their homepage messaging. If it's consistent everywhere, it's making them money. I screenshot like 10 competitor ads before visiting their sites to see. #4 USER TESTING Watch real people try to buy from your site. Every place they get stuck = money you're losing. Have 3 strangers try to purchase... you'll learn exactly how customers buy. #5 REVENUE-BASED HEATMAPS Traditional heatmaps aren’t very bright - they show clicks, not sales. You need to track which elements actually generate revenue Using tools like @heatmapme #6 EXPERT REVIEW You might be too close to home to see obvious problems. Show your homepage to someone for 5 seconds, tell them what you sell and why they'd buy... most can't answer properly. It's the highest ROI thing you can do.

I often say: Focus on psychographics (values, interests) Over demographics (age, gender, income) The tough part? Gathering psychographics (without being creepy or invasive.) It's easier to rely on demographics. They're: - painless to gather - straightforward - easy to analyze - quantifiable But it's a mistake to depend on them. A costly one. They're a weak data point. The role they play in purchase decisions? Smaller than many marketers think. Psychographics are much more useful. And easier to collect than you think. Here's how I do it: 👉 Customer surveys Ask direct questions about values, interests, and the purchase process. 👉 Social listening Analyze what your audience is saying in comments, reviews, and posts. Look for patterns in their language, pain points, and values. 👉 Website behavior Track which pages customers visit, what content they engage with, and how they navigate your site. 👉 Customer interviews Understand the customer buying process — from the first moment a customer noticed a problem in their life through purchasing your product (and ideally your product solving their problem). 👉 Community engagement Host webinars, engage in online groups, read and respond to customer comments. Learn your target market's pain points and how they phrase those pain points. 👉 Analyze reviews and testimonials Look for recurring themes in what people say about your product — or your competitors'. Psychographics give you: - customer behavior insights - voice-of-customer data - value props - pain points It's priceless info. Use it to hone your messaging, offers, marketing, design, and product. #marketing #customerinsights #strategy

👉 Did you know you can reverse engineer your competitors' ad strategies on LinkedIn, Google, and Meta -- for free? Having grown up in martech, I'm amazed when marketers aren’t aware of these services’ Ad Transparency Centers. They're your secret weapon for competitive intelligence, hiding in plain sight. With just a few clicks, you can instantly see the exact ad creative -- headlines, visuals, even CTAs -- your competitors are running on LinkedIn, Google, Facebook, and Instagram. 🤯 Why should you care about your competitor’s ads? Beyond inspiration, this data can help you: ✅ Spot if competitors are directly targeting you and your customers. ✅ Benchmark your own campaigns and messaging. ✅ Discover which content themes, CTAs and ad formats are performing (hint: frequency of use suggests greater perceived ROI). ✅ Uncover new keywords, ad formats, or audiences you might be overlooking. ✅ Rapidly adapt to your competitors' latest moves. Here's where to access these goldmines of competitive intel: 1️⃣ LinkedIn’s Ad Transparency Center: https://lnkd.in/gMrQpVe5 In addition to seeing competitors' sponsored content, video, carousel ads, etc, thanks to EU transparency laws, you can even reveal some audience targeting specifics for ads that run in the EU. 2️⃣ Google’s Ads Transparency Center: https://lnkd.in/ghGPPj2Z? In one site, you can see ads your competitors are running across Search, YouTube, and Google Display. Pro tip: Filter to "Video" to easily spot what ads are likely their YouTube strategy. 3️⃣ Meta’s Ad Library (Facebook & Instagram): https://lnkd.in/gYzqF-gk? ✨ Bonus insight #1:  tallying up the number of ads in each portfolio gives you a sense of the investment your competitor is putting into each channel. ✨ Bonus insight #2: Screenshot or download your competitor’s ads and let AI quickly analyze their creative portfolio so you can explore differences in CTAs, messaging, and ad formats across platforms. As Picasso famously said, "Good artists copy, great artists steal." You have access to your competitors' best art -- why wouldn't you use it to elevate your own? #DigitalMarketing #B2BMarketing #CompetitiveIntelligence #MarketingStrategy #AdvertisingTips

Market research is the foundation of every successful DTC product. Here’s how I do it: 1. Start with customer surveys—ask your existing customers what they like, what they don’t, and what they wish you offered. 2. Analyze competitor products—identify gaps in the market and opportunities to differentiate your product. 3. Use social media listening—monitor relevant hashtags, comments, and discussions to see what your target audience is talking about. Read Reddit threads related to your customers and competing products—it'll help you understand what your audience is dealing with and what they're wishing for. 4. Leverage customer feedback—dig into reviews, support tickets, and product returns to identify pain points. 5. Test with small focus groups—get a hands-on understanding of how your product meets or misses customer expectations. 6. Run A/B tests—test different versions of your product or marketing approach to see what resonates best. Effective market research has helped my brands develop products that not only meet customer needs but also stand out in the DTC space. It's the closest thing you can get to a free CAC reduction.

🚨 New Research Alert: Are Supermarkets Losing the Next Generation of Shoppers? The Feedback Group’s latest national study—U.S. Food Shopper Research 2025: The Supermarket Experience—reveals a critical shift: while supermarkets remain strong with Boomers and the Silent Generation, many younger shoppers are turning elsewhere for their food retail needs. Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X are gravitating toward Walmart, Aldi, dollar stores, and club formats—pushing supermarkets further down the preference list compared to just a year ago. Other Key Insights: ✅ Supermarket satisfaction is still high overall (4.39/5), with strong marks for food quality and cleanliness ✅ But value for money lags behind—and younger consumers are noticing ✅ Digital and mobile use continue to climb, yet only 25% of shoppers follow their store on social media ✅ Sensory experiences (like pleasant aromas, music, and sampling) significantly drive higher spending ✅ Personal connection matters—shoppers who feel heard and valued spend more and are more loyal 💡 What Do The Findings Mean? Supermarkets have an opportunity—and an urgent need—to evolve how they engage with younger consumers. This includes enhancing value perception, embracing digital and mobile engagement, and making the in-store experience more interactive, sensory-rich, and personal. Read the full press release 👉 https://cme.sh/IUt9w6 #Retail #Supermarkets #Grocery #RetailStrategy #ShopperExperience