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Developing a high-precision customer strategy for an iconic retail brand portfolio

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The challenge

A multi-billion dollar leader in the beauty & retail space faced a critical strategic hurdle: their overarching brand messaging had become too broad. Their existing segmentation had resulted in overlapping groups that lacked clear differentiation, making them impossible to identify or action in the marketplace. Furthermore, the brand needed a unified strategy that could simultaneously serve its two distinct sub-brands without diluting the unique identity of either.
We knew our proprietary approach to segmentation, CustomLink, could provide the opportunity for customization and differentiation the brand needed.

 

The method

We developed a proprietary, multi-phased segmentation:
  • Cross-Brand Alignment: We engineered the research to work across the entire portfolio, ensuring the segments were relevant for both sub-brands while unifying the organization’s overarching vision.
  • Multi-Dimensional Validation: Our team executed a robust methodology – starting with qualitative focus groups and moving to a large-scale quantitative survey – specifically designed to ensure each segment was distinct, identifiable, and reachable in the real world.
  • Stakeholder Immersion: Throughout the process, we facilitated interactive workshops with cross-functional leaders to transform raw data into “living” personas that the organization could immediately adopt for marketing, creative, and product design.

 

The impact

The output of this research replaced previous legacy models and became a foundational pillar for the organization’s global evolution:
  • Key stakeholder buy-in: The findings were so pivotal that the CEO and CCO championed the segmentation as one of the core focal points of an internationally broadcasted Annual Investor Meeting.
  • Cross-brand alignment: For the first time, the organization had a single, unified “customer language” that worked across sub-brands, leading to broad adoption across all cross-functional teams.
  • Market execution: This research provided foundational insight for multiple successful global campaigns, new product lines, and strategic brand partnerships.

“We now know our customer better than ever before. The final deliverable was the clearest output I have ever seen from research… it should be an example of what ‘good’ looks like moving forward.”  – Chief Customer Officer, Global Fortune 500 Retail

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