How would you address a situation where sales data contradicts customer feedback on a product's popularity?

Throughout my retail career, I have frequently encountered discrepancies between sales data and customer feedback regarding various products. A common issue is the insufficient stock of popular items. For instance, a store might receive only three units of a high-demand product in a weekly shipment, selling out on the same day and remaining out of stock for the rest of the week. I faced this situation at a department store where I tracked inventory levels and sales patterns. By sharing my findings with the buyers, I was able to secure an increased supply of the popular product. As a result, my sales soared, and my counter achieved the number one ranking in the nation.

When sales data contradicts customer feedback on a product's popularity, it’s essential to investigate both perspectives. Analyze if marketing, distribution, or external factors affect sales. Use detailed feedback to identify potential product improvements or misalignment with customer expectations. Engaging directly with customers for insights can bridge the gap. This balanced approach ensures decisions are data-informed while prioritizing customer satisfaction and loyalty.

How would I explain the discrepancy between the two? Very simple : customers have a tendency to only leave feedback when they are unhappy and never really take the time to leave positive feedback when they have a good experience. Therefore, a store may have great numbers and great customer service, but the small percentage that are not satisfied, will make the effort to provide feedback !!!

I believe these are variables that move in parallel and at equivalent rates, whether they are growing or declining, because, at first glance, it doesn't make sense to have positive commercial performance and negative product acceptance. When this happens, I believe that part of the team or actions (marketing, sales, communication, advertising) is performing exceptionally well on this project, where the product is part of this effort. However, the product definitely has some deficiencies, whether real or due to a lack of clarification, that have been noticed by the customer and need to be addressed immediately.

Salespeople manage and are measured by numbers. Well collected reporting is what we are all paid to deliver. Differences in customer’s opinions and data is very apparent during the “honeymoon period”. I ask a lot of questions to customers. Data delivery can lag what the customers are telling you. New products especially bring out emotions with customers. Some may love new products immediately and buy in optimistic quantities. Others will treat new products with skepticism and can provide negative information instead of an objective review. Rely on your data, appreciate all the valuable feedback clients supply and consider the source.

Customer feedback is crucial for any business's growth and future development. Post-purchase experiences often result in customer feedback, both positive and negative. While voluntary feedback is valuable, companies should also proactively seek input from customers about their products and services. These direct interactions can yield fair and reasonable feedback from those who have living experience.

As pesquisas s?o essenciais para o estudo do ambiente, porém o feedback do cliente é nosso norte para atingir os parametros de qualquer estratégia. Entendendo o cliente chegamos ao resultado esperado !

The feedback review need to consider not just those that are speaking up, but also the silent majority. If we look at Woolworths or Coles as a product as opposed to being supermarkets, recent criticisms and/or confrontations with staff over security measures, there is obvious dissatisfaction, this in itself could provide insight as to customer feedback can conflict with sales data - there are limited alternatives as opposed to these two brands.

Sales data and Customer feedback can vary as the customers perspective on different articles may vary according to there needs and liking . However one should do in depth study on the feedbacks which gives a clearer picture for going forward strategies to adopt by the companies .

Sales data is a trailing indicator of what has happened. Customer feedback *could* be a leading indicator of where things are heading. Cross reference the information collected via feedback with overall market trends to investigate if that's the case. Don't spend too much time in this though - market trend analyses have a risk of leading down rabbit holes that end up consuming too much time.

Las tendencias del mercado actual sugieren un enfoque en la personalización y la experiencia del cliente, con un énfasis en la sostenibilidad y la responsabilidad social. La inteligencia artificial y el análisis de big data están jugando un papel crucial en la predicción de comportamientos de compra y en la creación de campa?as de marketing más efectivas. Además, el metaverso y la realidad aumentada están emergiendo como plataformas innovadoras para ofrecer experiencias de compra únicas y atractivas. Estas tendencias pueden influir significativamente en las percepciones de los clientes y sus decisiones de compra, y es esencial que las empresas se adapten rápidamente para mantenerse competitivas.

In my experience strain fatigue plays a huge part in sales. It might be the best quality and attractive pricing but people are a weird creature to deal with. Some thrive with constant change while others are content with consistency and will not accept any deviation from what they know.

Evaluate if the marketing strategies are effectively targeting the customers who provided the positive feedback. Sometimes, a product might be popular in theory but not properly marketed to convert that interest into sales.

The idea of products that are overstocked could lead to inflated sales where products are marked down. We need to understand that some products are elastic and some are in elastic. Below we will consider some supermarket items Examples of inelastic products could be milk, bread and other household necessities such as toilet paper etc Examples of elastic products could be treats and snacks such as chocolate bars, potato chips and soft drinks. If we look more broadly items such as energy petroleum products and even cigarettes and alcohol is inelastic in a sense because products are in demand regardless of price (although under current cost of living pressures there is still some elasticity for these item)

Based on the findings, make necessary adjustments in pricing, promotion, distribution, or even the product itself. Monitor the changes to see if the sales start to align more closely with the feedback.

Sometimes if a product is one that there are not many alternatives, then product quality may wane. Look for alternatives for your customers as if they have a realistic alternative, then it could cause the product that is underperforming in quality an opportunity to correct the product quality issues. Customers need to know you are listening and not just taking it for granted that customers will buy the product because it’s the only option they see

Compare your product with competitors to see if they are facing similar issues or if their strategies are different. It could be that customers like the product but find a competitor's offering more accessible or better priced.

Conduct real time research with customers one on one to get precise information about the product. It would help to find out the likes and dislikes about the product and ask customers what would they like to change about the product.

Senhor cliente, ouvir atentamente sua declara??o e valorizo seu feedback. Vejamos, pela minha experiência e competência na área, posso lhe demonstra o seguinte, reuni inicialmente de pronto relevantes dados sobre as vendas do produto, incluindo números de vendas, tendências de mercado, feedback de outros clientes e análises de mercado que est?o disponíveis, nestes há comprova??o do que realmente ocorrera. Ademais, n?o posso deixar de saber qual base o senho utilizou para realizar a declara??o anterior, pois, pode ser que as informa??es ou percep??es específicas n?o s?o as refletidas nos dados de vendas gerais, além disso, devemos verificar possíveis varia??es, mas de qualquer forma monitorarei a situa??o e o manterei informado.