287. Retailers face immense pressure from online competition and changing shopper behaviors. Brands can gain a competitive edge by becoming category leaders, not just category captains. This involves understanding the retailer's shopper, leveraging complementary brands, providing actionable insights, and thinking like a retailer to help them win.

Retailers are under more pressure than ever.

Competition from online. Razor-thin margins. Shoppers changing how and where they buy.

Most brands look at that and think, "How do I get more from my retailer?"

I want you to flip that.

Retailers want and need your help. You hold the key to giving them a huge competitive edge.

When you step up as a strategic partner – not just another line item on a shelf – savvy retailers will reward you with incremental opportunities you cannot buy:

Extra displays

Premium placement

Early access to resets

A real voice in how the category is built

That's what becoming a category leader is all about.

Action step: bring one insight + one solution to every retailer conversation. What's one insight you could bring this week?

Tip of the day: Retailers want and need your help! You hold the key to giving them a huge competitive edge. Become an indispensable trusted resource and partner and savvy retailers will reward you with incremental opportunities

You can get the episodes free guide and todays show notes at: RetailSolved.com/session287

286. Not every retailer is suitable for every brand. Brands should focus on partnering with retailers that align with their ideal customer's shopping habits and values, rather than chasing big-name banners. By prioritizing contribution over coverage and owning their distribution strategy, brands can build impactful and profitable relationships with retailers.

Not all doors are good doors.

If there's one lesson that doesn't get talked about enough in this industry, it's this:

Not every retailer is right for your brand. And chasing the wrong ones can quietly drain your runway and jeopardize your future.

Just like every customer is unique, every store is unique. Every chain has its own priorities, its own shopper base, and its own definition of success.

You are not supposed to be everywhere. You are supposed to be where your ideal customer shops and where the retailer actually values what you bring to the table.

Action step: define "ideal retailer" by shopper, category, execution support, and terms. Which retailer is your best fit right now?

You can get the episodes free guide and todays show notes at: RetailSolved.com/session286

285. Clarity and consistency are crucial for building a successful brand. When customers are confused or unsure about a product, they are more likely to choose a familiar or cheaper option. By providing a straightforward and predictable customer journey, brands can increase confidence, leading to more sales and customer loyalty.

Consistency is a growth lever.

Confusion pushes shoppers away.

When a customer is overwhelmed, unsure, or can't quickly understand what your product is, who it's for, or why it matters, they default to the easiest option:

They walk away. Or they grab whatever's familiar. Or they choose the cheapest thing on the shelf.

Your job is simple:

Make the customer's journey straightforward, predictable, and consistent—everywhere they encounter your brand.

Do that well, and you become the easy "yes." Do it poorly, and you unintentionally push shoppers toward your competitors.

Clarity + Consistency = Confidence

Action step: choose 3 brand truths and repeat them everywhere for 90 days. What are your 3 non-negotiables?

284. To increase sales and build customer loyalty, brands must make their products easy to find and purchase. This involves understanding the shopper's buying journey, identifying complementary products, and strategically placing products in stores. By removing friction and confusion from the shopping experience, brands can create a seamless journey that encourages repeat purchases and strengthens retailer relationships.

Availability beats awareness.

If a shopper can't find your product, they can't buy your product.

It doesn't matter how powerful your story is, how compelling your WHY is, or how aligned your mission is with your customer's values—if your product isn't easy to find, understand, and purchase, everything else falls apart.

Today we're going to talk about how to remove friction from the buying journey, how to help your customer succeed at shelf, and how to help retailers deliver the seamless and frictionless shopping experience their customers crave.

Because when you make it easy for shoppers to find your brand, you don't just increase sales—you build trust, loyalty, and repeat purchases.

Action step: audit friction: search, shelf placement, OOS, PDP quality. Where is it hardest to buy your brand?

You can get the episodes free guide and todays show notes at: RetailSolved.com/session284

283. Storytelling is a powerful tool for building a brand that resonates with customers. By understanding your customer's internal dialogue and articulating your brand's value proposition, you can create a compelling story that positions your product as the guide to their success. This approach fosters loyalty, advocacy, and ultimately, brand growth.

If you want to build a brand that people love—really love—you must become a master storyteller. Not in the sense of crafting clever taglines or flashy ads, but in the deeper sense of communicating your mission, your WHY, and your value in a way that resonates with your ideal customer.

Because here's the truth:

Shoppers want personalization. But personalization doesn't begin with data—it begins with humanity.

Action step: write your story in 3 lines: problem → promise → proof. Is your story consistent everywhere?

You can get the episodes free guide and todays show notes at: RetailSolved.com/session283

282. The Fastest Way to Avoid Costly Mistakes in Retail

Building a loyal customer community is crucial for brand growth. Simply placing a product on a store shelf doesn't provide valuable customer insights, making it difficult to market effectively. By understanding customer behavior and needs outside of retail, brands can tailor their messaging, innovation, and retail strategy, leading to increased sales and customer loyalty.

Building a community around your brand is crucial for predictable, profitable, and sustainable growth. By understanding your customers' needs and behaviors beyond retail, you can tailor your marketing, innovation, and retail strategies to foster loyalty and drive organic growth. This approach, exemplified by a struggling oatmeal brand that discovered its product's use as baby food, leads to more effective messaging, packaging, and content, ultimately boosting sales.

If you want your brand to grow predictably, profitably, and sustainably, you need more than a great product on a retail shelf. You need a community—a living ecosystem of people who know you, trust you, love you, and advocate for you.

Because here's the truth:

The brands that win in the future are the brands that own the relationship with their customer today.

Welcoming shoppers into your community, embracing them, making them feel seen, heard, and valued—that's how you convert casual interest into deep loyalty. And loyalty is the engine behind every thriving natural brand.

This is the exact information retailers need and can't get from anyone else.

Leveraging the Power of Your Unique Shopper, is how you can go into every retailer meeting with insights no competitor can offer.

Day 10 of the Free 30 Days To Prosperity Challenge

You can get the episodes free guide and todays show notes at: RetailSolved.com/session274

281. Brands must prioritize building a thriving, connected community around their brand to achieve predictable, profitable growth. Traditional customer targeting methods are failing because they oversimplify customers and miss their values and motivations. By nurturing a loyal tribe, brands can gain valuable insights, reduce acquisition costs, and differentiate themselves beyond price.

If you want your brand to be unshakable—if you want predictable, profitable growth—then you must internalize one truth:

You need to own your customers. They are your most valuable asset.

They are the engine behind your sales, your innovation, your brand story, and your runway. When you build a thriving, connected community around your brand—one that you engage, nurture, and celebrate—you transform occasional shoppers into loyal evangelists.

Today's episode is about mastering that transformation.

You can get the episodes free guide and todays show notes at: RetailSolved.com/session281

280. A brand's WHY is its greatest competitive advantage, but only if communicated clearly and consistently. By embedding your WHY into your selling story, you can differentiate your brand, attract loyal customers, and increase your value to retailers. Understanding your unique shopper and their values is crucial to effectively communicating your WHY and driving growth.

If you want to build a brand that grows, scales, and earns fierce loyalty, there's one foundational truth you must embrace:

Your WHY is your greatest competitive advantage— but only if you communicate it clearly, consistently, and authentically.

Today's episode is about mastering your WHY, embedding it into your selling story, and communicating it with the same passion, enthusiasm, and authenticity as the founder—everywhere your brand shows up.

Because when you get this right, you unlock a level of customer connection that big brands can't replicate.

Your Unique Shopper Is More Valuable Than Any Fee You'll Ever Pay

Understanding Your WHY Strengthens Your Retail Pitch

When you bake your WHY into your selling story, you don't walk into a retailer trying to compete with big brand playbooks.

Instead, you walk in saying:

"We bring a unique shopper to your store.

Download the free accompanying guide for this episode at https://retailsolved.com/op/guide25/

279. Understanding the true cost of products is crucial for brand success, enabling accurate pricing, forecasting, and strategic planning. Many brands, however, lack this knowledge, relying on estimates and assumptions, which hinders profitability and scalability. By building a comprehensive cost model, brands can gain control over their finances, optimize margins, and make informed decisions for growth.

If you want to extend your runway, maximize profitability, and build a brand that scales sustainably, there's one capability you cannot overlook:

You must know the true cost of your products—down to the penny.

Managing down to the penny might seem like small details. But small details compounded over thousands—or millions—of units can determine whether your company is profitable or operating at a loss.

The Promotion Problem: Where Most Brands Lose Money

Did you know?

About 25% of a brand's gross sales go toward trade spend. Over 70% of those dollars deliver little or no sustainable lift.

You cannot have a profitable business if you do not understand the cost of every promotion.

Your brand deserves better than guesswork.

This episode gives you the framework to confidently grow and scale your brand.

You can get the episodes free guide and todays show notes at: RetailSolved.com/session279

278. The strength of a leader lies in their ability to build a team that complements their strengths. Founders should focus on their unique genius zone and delegate tasks that others can do better. Hiring strategically, prioritizing revenue-generating roles, and leveraging mentors and advisors are crucial for scaling a business effectively.

The real strength of any great leader isn't measured by how much they do alone—it's measured by who they surround themselves with and how effectively they empower those people to succeed on behalf of the organization.

This is a truth most founders learn the hard way.

You launched your brand because you're passionate, creative, mission-driven, and ready to make an impact. But at some point the business grows, complexity increases, and you hit a wall where the "I'll just do it myself" approach no longer works.

Today's episode is about helping you avoid that wall altogether by learning how to hire wisely, fill key skill gaps, and build a team—or ecosystem—of people who elevate your strengths instead of draining them.

Download the free accompanying guide for this episode at https://retailsolved.com/op/guide25/

277. Traditional goal-setting often fails because it lacks specificity, measurability, and accountability. To achieve ambitious goals, founders should use the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely) to break down goals into actionable steps. A business plan and scorecard are essential tools for tracking progress, maintaining accountability, and ensuring alignment across the team.

Goals without accountability are wishes. In business, this leads to missed sales targets and disappointed retailers and customers

Here's the part most founders miss:

Your biggest dreams only matter when they're connected to clear, strategic, and measurable goals… supported by accountability.

Use scorecards to manage your goals.

Scorecards: The Most Underrated Accountability Tool

One of the most important tools in goal-setting is a scorecard.

A scorecard:

Breaks goals into tasks

Assigns ownership

Tracks progress

Highlights gaps

Drives accountability

Keeps everyone aligned

Action step: pick one goal, assign an owner, a number, and a weekly checkpoint. What goal are you committing to this quarter?

Download the free accompanying guide for this episode at https://retailsolved.com/op/guide25/