Rather, one question leads to another, feedback here<\/em> sparks a question over there<\/em>, and what you discover isn\u2019t often what you set out to find. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In a word, research can be messy<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the messy middle of a research process is worth the result. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Customer research uncovers opportunities and customer needs that can improve your brand\u2019s performance in every business area from product development to positioning to content production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This article rounds up six real-life stories of ecommerce brands doing customer research and making those kinds of brand improvements based on real insights into customer needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These stories are meant to inspire, but keep in mind that\u2019s not all they\u2019re good for. You\u2019ll also find plenty of actionable tactics (e.g. tagging in Gorgias, following up on social media mentions, post-purchase email asks) you can use to get the most out of your research efforts as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s what\u2019s ahead:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Back in 2015, Google\u2019s People Ops (their HR) did 200+ interviews with employees and looked at 180+ active teams to answer, \u201cwhat makes teams effective?\u201d <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The answer, surprisingly, had little to do with skill sets, degrees, or personalities. The most important factor was something called psychological safety<\/em>, which is when you can answer \u201cyes\u201d to the question, \u201cCan we take risks without feeling insecure or embarrassed?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n As Google explains it, \u201cwe\u2019re all reluctant to engage in behaviors that could negatively influence how others perceive our competence, awareness, and positivity.\u201d This is why psychological safety is such an influential factor. It creates a space where you can, as Harvard Business Review put it<\/a>, practice \u201csticking your neck out without fear of having it cut off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interestingly enough, some of the brands who do a phenomenal job collecting customer<\/a> research (the ecommerce equivalents of Google\u2019s high-performing teams) cultivate a similar kind of safety for their customers. These brands create an environment where it\u2019s safe for customers to engage with the brand and be vulnerable about their experience \u2014 good, bad, or mixed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In ecommerce, the language we use to describe creating this psychological safety is \u201cbuilding trust.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Take Form, a vegan protein powder<\/a> brand. CEO Damian Soong says he frequently hears customer stories that are so personal, most folks would hesitate to share them with their doctors!<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s some serious trust, and it didn\u2019t happen by accident. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Damian told us, \u201cFor me, any relationship is about building trust and sharing value.\u201d And one of the ways he\u2019s intentional about this is through expert content. Form\u2019s blog<\/a> and email content is packed with expert-led advice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt provides value to users while at the same time establishing trust and authority,\u201d Damian explained, \u201cPeople are much more receptive to this kind of relationship than the usual one-way sales traffic.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Form then solidifies this trust through activities like giving back to various communities and its certified B-corp status. This high brand equity \u2014 how customers perceive the brand\u2019s reputation \u2014 further communicates, \u201cwe\u2019re trustworthy.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, Form starts with a firm foundation of trust. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, when anyone on the Form team reaches out, they do so with genuine concern. They know customers (much like you and me) know when kindness is fake. \u201cCustomers sense very quickly…if there\u2019s a real connection, if there\u2019s a real sense of caring,\u201d Damian told Stuart Balcombe on the DTC Voice of Customer podcast<\/a>. When you come across \u201cas open and caring, really putting your customer first,\u201d Damian explains, \u201cit\u2019s amazing what you get back and the information people share with you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Genuine interest isn\u2019t something you can fake. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This potent combination of trust and genuine interest gives Form a good deal to listen to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Especially as they pay attention to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a direct result of the feedback they gather in all these channels, Form can develop meaningful customer personas based on real customers<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Meaning, their personas don\u2019t just include demographics like age, sex, or location. They include motives<\/em>. For example, why a customer might buy a specific product or why they\u2019re interested in nutrition to begin with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is important because Form\u2019s main customer base isn\u2019t exactly who Damian expected. He originally developed Form as a gender-neutral brand, but women quickly grew as a segment, and now make up 70% of his customer base. That\u2019s not what Damian would\u2019ve guessed when he started. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Form can then use these highly actionable personas to inform website design, product strategy, and content. It\u2019s particularly useful in email, Form\u2019s most important communication channel, where real-person personas influence what content goes to which email segment. \u201cWe try and make sure emails and offers are tailored to the right people based on what we know about them,\u201d Damian told Stuart, \u201cso that everyone’s getting something that’s much more useful. And I think that’s important to keep up open rates and to lower churn from your email list.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n You may have noticed Damian gathers input from many<\/em> sources, most of which any ecommerce brand has access to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s good news in terms of opportunity, but it can also make for tricky analysis. With all that data, how can managers identify what\u2019s meaningful? <\/p>\n\n\n\n One potential solution is using a carefully crafted research approach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Allegra Poschmann<\/a> has worked with DTC brands like Glossier, Harry\u2019s, Honest, and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Allegra is a designer who does strategy, branding, and packaging. And one reason she\u2019s able to do these well is her strong emphasis on research. (I\u2019ve participated in one of her user research sessions, and I can confirm she\u2019s thorough!) <\/p>\n\n\n\n As a researcher, Allegra\u2019s particularly good at digging into data and layering insights to uncover the core issue<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While pulling actionable insights out of customer feedback is (on rare occasions) like finding a $20 bill on the sidewalk (it\u2019s obvious and there for the taking) it\u2019s more like panning for gold. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It takes time and a keen eye. You have to interrogate the data, ask \u201cwhy?\u201d several times<\/a>, and layer different data points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, digging into a customer\u2019s motives (note: folks rarely tell you the real reason they did something the first time you ask) often looks like the following example from User Interviews<\/a>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s how searching for a core problem and layering insights looked on one ecommerce project for Allegra. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A while back, a maternity brand approached Allegra with an issue: their returns rate was much higher than they wanted, and they were looking for a sitewide overhaul. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A redesign, they reasoned, would fix all their problems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Allegra wasn\u2019t so sure, and she wanted a closer look at the problem. \u201cI wanted to pressure test their hypothesis before moving ahead,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, she:<\/p>\n\n\n\n When she layered all these three data points (new prospects, existing customers, customer service), she realized the brand didn\u2019t need an entire website redesign. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What they really<\/em> needed was a better Product Page. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This particular maternity brand didn\u2019t use traditional sizing (XS-XXL). Rather, they used proprietary sizing (0-3) because they didn\u2019t want women to feel ashamed when they sized-up during pregnancy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This was well-intentioned but confusing for shoppers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The customer service agent told Allegra the most prevalent question from customers was, without a doubt, how sizing works. Allegra\u2019s interviews with qualified customers confirmed this. \u201cI was able to capture insights from prospective new<\/em> customers about what might help them to convert,\u201d Allegra explained, \u201cand understand the main pain points from a customer service perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Armed with a clear understanding of the problem, Allegra made these product page improvements:<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a result:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUser Research and Testing is an up-front investment\u201d she emphasized, \u201cthat really allows a business to investigate the root cause rather than spending hard-earned cash throwing spaghetti at the wall.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A highly structured approach like this one is an effective way to answer specific research questions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, it\u2019s an approach we take with clients at The Good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Easton is the biggest manufacturer of baseball equipment in the world. Over 90% of college baseball swings are done holding an Easton bat, and they\u2019re the official supplier for the Little League World Series. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But when Easton approached us at The Good, they were lagging in the direct-to-consumer sales market, specifically at the 15-year-old level. To find out why we set up a simple Google form and showed it to the customer service team. For two days, we asked them to fill out the form after every call with a potential customer. (The form asked a few questions about the purpose of the call and how the service team member solved the complaint.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n Turns out, the service team spoke with a lot of potential customers who couldn\u2019t figure out the best bat for their child. When we looked at the product category page on Easton\u2019s site, this made sense. It was a wall of bats with little guidance on which one to choose. The product detail pages didn\u2019t help much, either \u2014 they primarily listed technical details like size, length, and how big around the bat is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This may have made sense for visitors familiar with choosing a technical bat. Say, collegiate baseball players and college coaches. But it left most moms and dads of 15-year olds scratching their heads. They had no idea which bats were approved for their child\u2019s league and what the differences were between technologies and price points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among other changes, we wound up designing a bat-finder questionnaire that helped visitors make a few easy selections to find the right bat for their kid. This quicker path to purchase and other changes resulted in a 240% increase in ecommerce revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both Allegra\u2019s example and our Easton example show how impactful a structured research process can be. But keep in mind, a conversation with a customer doesn\u2019t have to be planned, scheduled, and recorded to be useful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n All the little customer interactions you and your team have each day (e.g. in customer service emails and on social media) are useful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are nuggets of feedback lurking in most customer conversations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Eli Weiss<\/a>, Director of CX (Customer Experience) at OLIPOP<\/a>, knows this well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Eli has learned that while email complaints and feedback are certainly valuable, there\u2019s a load of value waiting to be unpacked on social media, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s why he periodically hops on various channels and follows up with customers. \u201cWhen I have free time on a weekend, I’ll just hop into the OLIPOP DMs and just start DM-ing people,\u201d he told Katelyn Bourgoin on the Customer Show<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If a customer posted a picture of a drink, he\u2019ll follow-up and ask questions like: <\/p>\n\n\n\nBe a brand customers want to confide in <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Psychological safety and earning ecommerce customers\u2019 trust <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Form](\"https:\/\/thegood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/CH6pPA1Ae1382VkRsB7qmnu-iupuBZ5nTV7w139ldD3nRKNlxctiyo3fl59JwIjNSwynPMYiYIDShBEnaTgV_Y9d38XyvsaquG5aDWjNkQV-0rd5YqvoJ9F6IBrSRzb7V3Z-4usQ.png\")
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nTrust + genuine interest = rich customer feedback <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
To uncover a customer need, go Scooby-doo: dig around for clues <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"example](\"https:\/\/thegood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-124-791x1024.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nWhy a sitewide redesign wasn\u2019t this maternity brand\u2019s best option <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Layering the data to find an actionable insight<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How The Good helped Easton see a 240% increase in ecommerce revenue<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A conversation doesn\u2019t have to be formal to be useful<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Olipop](\"https:\/\/thegood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-125-1024x588.png\")
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