Blazer collaborated with the world’s largest retail bookseller to navigate the challenges of the digital marketplace, particularly in the face of competition from major online retailers. Despite initial reluctance to emulate competitors, declining sales underscored the need for optimization. The digital team recognized the imperative to enhance customer engagement and boost online revenue but faced obstacles due to limited insights into customer behavior and a lack of internal capabilities to optimize the website experience.
[Blazer] is a leader in this space. The quality of their service, personal attention, and responsiveness to our needs is top-notch. They continue to provide a high level of service and partnership that allows us to be successful. With their help, our website has achieved significant growth, and the impact on UX and our business is immeasurable.
Director, Digital Optimization, Revenue & Traffic, Fortune 500 Retail BooksellerAt Blazer, we prioritize sustainable growth by centering the customer in every decision. As a boutique consultancy with a 20-year track record, we specialize in insight-driven transformation, assisting brands in navigating complex marketing and customer experience challenges.
Our team, with deep expertise in analytics, experimentation, UX research, and organizational effectiveness, is uniquely positioned to advise on both consumer behavior and the intricacies of optimizing enterprise operations. Unlike larger firms, we offer highly customized solutions that prioritize value creation over standardized frameworks, as well as hands-on coaching, training, and facilitation to drive tangible impact.
Our strategy with this client was twofold: optimize their site experience while simultaneously building internal experimentation capabilities and fostering a culture that would empower the digital team to sustain these improvements independently.
Within the first year of our partnership, the digital team established a formal testing program, developed a library of customer insights to inform tests, and created a 12-month testing roadmap. These efforts led to a $16 million increase in incremental website revenue, surpassing our initial goal by 60%.
To embed experimentation within the company’s culture, Blazer consultants facilitated a series of cross-functional trainings, brainstorms, and roadshows.
In the subsequent years, we increased the velocity and complexity of tests and explored more personalized experiences.
A key insight was that common best practices did not resonate with the brand’s customers. Unlike typical online shoppers, these customers were less inclined toward impulse purchases and less influenced by price or variations in calls to action. Their focus was on the books themselves: cover aesthetics, page count, editorial and customer reviews, and the overall value of the reading experience.
This finding underscores the importance of testing to validate assumptions and tailor strategies to specific customer behaviors. By partnering with Blazer, the digital team transitioned from a one-size-fits-all website experience to a more data-driven, programmatic approach. Experimentation removed the guesswork in delivering a better customer experience and optimized the path to increasing digital revenue.
At Blazer, we partner with ambitious brands and leaders that refuse to settle for less.
Blazer is the consulting firm that helps brands prove what drives customer value, and builds teams that deliver on it.
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16 W. Martin St., 9th Floor, Raleigh, NC 27601