J.Crew Group

Business Opportunity

The J.Crew Group insights team was a well-oiled machine. They had built an efficient customer feedback program with community at the core and could spin up research studies and get results back quickly. Then, a company reorganization opened a door for the team to evaluate strategy, reprioritize, and shift their focus. 

The SVP, Head of Strategy & Insights of the J.Crew Group saw that the Insights team could be a larger asset to answer the big questions. With a stronger connection to business leaders, Consumer Insight team leads Shira Blum and Ernesto Gomez now had an opportunity to begin supporting the long-term strategy of the company to inform the J.Crew Group of the future.

Solution

An Alida customer for many years, J.Crew Group already had a community of customers they could turn to for insights. But they needed to evolve the processes behind the research, how they were engaging with members, the type of questions they asked, and how they presented results to grow the impact of the program on business decisions. 

Stakeholder alignment 

The first shift the team made was to focus their efforts on fewer, more strategic surveys. Instead of churning out “one and done” surveys to address tactical questions, they designed surveys that went deeper, with questions that would support trend analysis and inform the bigger picture.

“It’s exciting as an insights person to have work received, used, and making an impact. Sometimes you report, get the data, and you’re not sure where it’s going. This shift we made has made feedback much more impactful and people are seeking us out.” - Ernesto Gomez, Analyst, Consumer Insights

They began having stakeholder meetings with smaller groups to understand the nuances of what different teams were looking to achieve. That helped them understand the type of information they needed to gather. They ask more questions up front, using a standardized template to guide their stakeholder discussions. They built a process that allows for flexibility, but they don’t say yes to everything. Instead, they consider the timing and how the effort will align with business goals. 

Brand customization

The retail space has no shortage of data on changing shopping preferences and behaviors. But the same data is used by all retail players. J.Crew Group was looking for insights no other retailer would have. They wanted to be the expert on what consumers wanted and what they thought of all three brands under their corporate umbrella (J.Crew, Madewell, and J.Crew Factory).

Previously the team would create a survey for one brand and then execute it for the other brands as well, even if they weren’t as relevant. They changed their strategy to customize surveys for specific stakeholders in each brand who could apply the results to their business.

Results

The team successfully transitioned from being tactical to proactive business partners. Instead of sharing results broadly, hoping something would catch on, they now know exactly how their work will be used, and by whom.

Because they conduct fewer surveys, the team has more time to sit in on stakeholder meetings, ask bigger questions, and provide more detailed answers. They’ve become more creative with their reporting, presenting different kinds of analysis. The team’s new focus has led to higher engagement from stakeholders and an increase in overall visibility and utilization of their work to support strategic direction and inform key business priorities. 

Specifically, this new research approach has supported changes in brand strategy, portfolio management, digital, and marketing efforts.