319. Everything feels harder right now - Why Your Strategy Isn't Working Anymore

0:00I recently worked with a brand that launched a new product line that reimagined a popular snack. It was high protein, better for you, and positioned against a massive mainstream brand. And the early stage response? Everyone loved it. Strong concept, strong demand, clear differentiation. On the surface, it looked like a slam dunk, but behind the scenes, they were completely stuck. They didn't know how much to produce, which flavors to prioritize, what pack size would work, which retailers to launch in first, second, third, and so on, or what the long-term potential actually look like. And this is more common than most people think because when you're creating something novel, you don't have clean historical data to reline.

0:43So what most brands do, they guess. They follow instinct. They listen to fragmented advice. And that's where things start to break. Are you ready to hear more? Welcome to the Bulk Proof Your CBG Brand Podcast where we discuss tactics and strategies that you need to give your brand the unfair competitive advantage it deserves. Hello, I'm Dan Lohman. Be certain to comment and subscribe to get immediate access to new brand building episodes. Please recommend this to friends and colleagues and help me raise the bar in natural. Let me know what your most pressing issues are and I'll do my best to address them on future episodes.

1:20There's a free downloadable guide at the end of every episode to help you go deeper into the topics we discussed. Now let's roll up sleeves and get started. You don't have a data problem. You have a clarity problem. The real problem isn't execution. The biggest problem most CPG brands have right now isn't execution. It's not your broker, your promotions, your retailer, or even your product. The real problem is you don't know what to do next. If you have data, you have reports, you have dashboards, you can see what's happening in your business. But you're still asking, what should we produce next?

1:56Which skew should we focus on? Which retailer should we prioritize? Why didn't that promotion work? It's not a data problem. That's a clarity problem. And that's exactly why I created the retail clarity framework. Here's the story. There was no data to rely on. Let me ground this in a real example. I recently worked with a brand that launched a new product line that reimagined a popular snack. It was high protein, better for you, and positioned against a massive mainstream brand. And the early stage response? Everyone loved it. Strong concept, strong demand, clear differentiation. On the surface, it looked like a slam dunk, but behind the scenes, they were completely stuck.

2:39They didn't know how much to produce, which flavors to prioritize, what pack size would work, which retailers to launch in first, second, third, and so on, or what the long-term potential actually look like. And this is more common than most people think because when you're creating something novel, you don't have clean historical data to relive. So what most brands do, they guess. They follow instinct. They listen to fragmented advice. And that's where things start to break. Here's the shift. This wasn't a trade strategy problem, but I used trade strategy thinking to solve it. Here's what's interesting.

3:14This wasn't a trade marketing problem, but I solved it using trade marketing skills because at its core trade marketing is about understanding behavior brand behavior category behavior competitor behavior shopper behavior market behavior not just performance so instead of looking at their internal data we built a model from the outside in this is how we actually solved it here's what we did first we looked at adjacent categories, not identical products, similar behaviors. We analyzed products within similar attributes, how those products perform, how they impacted other items in the category. Then we went deeper.

3:54We broke it down by pack size, flavor, positioning, product tiers, product attributes, high protein, clean label, etc. We studied how shoppers actually made buying decisions. Then we layered on seasonality, promotional patterns, retail-specific dynamics. because what worked at one retailer does not work at every other retailer. So we built retail specific models, not generic assumptions. The result from guessing to predictable growth. What happened next was important. We went from guessing to making informed strategic decisions. They knew what to produce, where to launch, how to prioritize SKUs, what realistic demand looked like, how to scale.

4:36And most importantly, they understood the why behind every decision. The models proved to be extremely accurate, and we were able to expand them across additional innovation. Here's the insight why most brands get this wrong. Now here's the lesson. Most brands look at their own data and assume this should tell us what to do. But it doesn't, because your data tells you what happened, past tense. It does not tell you why it happened. And without that understanding, you can't predict what happens next. That's where brands get stuck. Let me break this down, where a why actually comes from. The why doesn't live in your dashboard.

5:13It comes from the shopper, the shelf, and the competition. What problem is the shopper solving? Where are they looking for solutions? What are they comparing you to? What else is influencing the decision? If you don't understand those things, your data will always feel incomplete. Here's the framework, the Retail Clarity Framework. This is exactly why I built the Retail Clarity Framework, because what brands need isn't more data. They need a way to interpret what they're seeing. Here's a simple version. Number one, shopper. Why they buy. What problem are they solving? What matters to them? What triggers the purchase?

5:51Number two, how they find you. Where is the product placed? Is it intuitive? Is it easy to shop? Number three, competition. What else do they compare you to? What else is on the shelf? What are the alternatives? How are they positioned? Number four, execution. What actually happens? Is the product in stock? Is it merchandised correctly? Is the promotion executed as planned? Most brands focus on one thing, their internal data, but your business lives across all four. Here's the bridge, why this matters for you now. Now here's the important part. You don't need to rebuild your entire strategy overnight.

6:28You don't need new software, new tools, or a massive overhaul. You need to start applying this lens, and the fastest place to do that is your trade spend. Focus first on the leaks. Where to apply this immediately? Because this is where most brands lose money. Not because they overspend, because they can't see clearly. Let's connect this back. Leak number one, promotions that don't drive demand. You see lift, but you don't see if that lift created new behavior. Leak number two, poor timing versus competitors. You see a promotion, but you don't see what else is happening in the category. Leak number three, weak feasibility and placement.

7:08You measure sales, but you don't see what didn't sell because it couldn't be found. Leak number four, forecasting blind spots. You produce based on past data, but you don't understand how behavior will change. This is one of the biggest hidden leaks, especially in perishable categories. Do this, the 15-minute leak clarity audit. Here's what I want you to do. Take 15 minutes and run this simple audit. Question one, what happened in our last promotion? Question two, why did it happen? Shopper shelf competition. Question three, what didn't we see? Question four, what else could we do differently next time?

7:48If you can't answer those clearly, that's your gap, and that's where your opportunity is. It's this week's free download. Here's the next step. If this way of thinking resonates with you, this is exactly why I go deeper into how to interpret what you're seeing, how to connect the dots, and how to make better decisions faster. And if you want a more structured way to apply this to your business, if you want to go deeper, I walk through this in a free workshop. Details in this week's free guide and on my homepage, RetailSolve.com. And if you want help working through this in your business, just reach out.

8:23I'm happy to help. But for now, start with a 15-minute leak audit finder. It's the fastest way to see what's actually costing you money because clarity is what unlocks everything else. Recap. Here's the real shift. You don't need more data. You don't need more tools. You need better interpretation because data shows you what happened. The shopper explains why. Clarity determines what happens next. The brands that win aren't the ones with the most data. They're the ones understand what they're looking at. If this resonated with you, share it with the founder looking for clarity. Subscribe so you don't miss an episode.

9:00Connect with me on LinkedIn. Visit RetailSolve for more brand building strategies, advice, and tips. I'm Dan Lomit, and this is the Bulletproof Your CBG Brand Podcast. You don't have a sales problem. You have a visibility problem. Most brands rely on reports to understand their business, but those reports don't show you what actually happened in store. The Retail Audit Checklist helps you quickly identify gaps in execution, placement, pricing, and promotion so you can fix what's costing you sales. This is one of the fastest ways to improve performance without spending more. If you want to see what others miss and act faster, download the Retail Audit Checklist in the show notes.

9:40Thanks again for joining us today. Please reach out and share your most pressing questions, and I'll do my best to get you the answers that you need on future episodes, including with expert advice from CEOs and industry thought leaders. Comment, leave your questions, and get this week's free downloadable guide and the show notes. At RetailSolve.com size session 316.