New Waypoint Strategic Solutions Thought Leadership Highlights Retail Trends and Success Factors

CHICAGO - March 13, 2018 - PRLog -- Ric Noreen, Managing Partner at boutique consultancy Waypoint Strategic Solutions, has delivered new thought leadership on how manufacturers can access the exponential growth in the value shopper and their channels value channel as well as  new approaches to understanding customer value.

In his article, "All customers are not created equal," appearing in CustomerThink, a prominent business publication read by 150,000 business leaders a month interested in creating profitable, customer-centric enterprises, Noreen looks beyond the overly-simplistic "any customer is a good customer" maxim, to better understand the specific value of groups of like customers. The article describes how greater innovation, growth and profitability can be achieved through customer segmentation – an approach which, while preserving the value of all customers, seeks to shift focus and resources to high potential customers from those less performing. This creates a relative index of customer attractiveness, which can then be used to better allocate limited resources.

"This type of segmentation adds a great deal more precision to any customer-facing organization," said Noreen. "It also allows the enterprise to better serve a more productive group of customers, by allowing a smarter approach to applying what is often limited customer resources."

Noreen notes that organizations which have employed this type of segmentation have seen impressive results as the enterprise gains greater clarity as to where and how to focus.

Noreen's insightful article, "It takes a village to raise a business in value channels"  appearing in CPGmatters, a publication designed to help consumer packaged goods manufacturers build their brands through retail, focused directly on where real retail growth is occurring today. "Retail today is undergoing a significant change in terms of where people shop," said Noreen. "The headlines are filled with stories of major retailers shutting their doors, but the real story is the significant growth occurring in value-channel outlets, and how those dollar stores and discount grocers are appealing to a more diverse demographic than in years past."

Noreen underscores the importance of recruiting and developing a cross-functional team, with tactics such as Value Channel workshops, or social experiments to help educate individual team members on how value shoppers think. This team will essentially build a business within a business, using value shopper insights to guide product, package, promotion development tailored for these channels.

Noreen, founder and Managing Partner of Waypoint Strategic Solutions, is frequently sought out as an expert source, and his opinions and insights have appeared in several other high-profile publications including TotalRetail, SalesPOP!, and Innovation Excellence. Over his 35-year business career, he has excelled in areas including brand management, sales strategy and management consulting for global Fortune 100 companies across a wide range of industries. At Waypoint, he takes an integrated approach, working collaboratively with each client to deliver solutions in sales effectiveness, market development, and strategic sales planning.  Find more of Ric's perspectives here.

About Waypoint Strategic Solutions

Waypoint Strategic Solutions is a boutique consultancy that helps clients develop and implement market-driven strategies by working collaboratively with its clients to develop consumer and commercial markets through innovative business strategies, breakthrough plans and increased selling effectiveness. Waypoint has worked with a broad range of clients globally to accelerate channel performance and create end user demand through customer segmentation, market entry strategies, retail innovation, joint business planning, and sales effectiveness. For more information, contact Ric Noreen at ricnoreen@wpstrategicsolutions.com.