6 Places Top Brands Find Their Best Ideas

Here’s something I’ve learned working with fast-growing ecom brands:

They aren’t just running ads and hoping for signals.

They’re mining feedback everywhere, from customer service to post-purchase surveys, to shape what they launch, how they sell, and what they scale.

Here’s what that actually looks like:

1. In-store feedback still beats surveys

At Jones Road, every team member, from growth to CX, spends time in retail stores every quarter.

They’re not there to “observe.” They’re behind the counter, talking to customers, watching reactions, hearing objections live.

You see what people hesitate about. What they’re confused by. What gets picked up and never added to cart.

Way more useful than another Typeform.

2. Facebook groups are focus groups on steroids

Brands that run active Facebook groups get insane value from them, if they’re paying attention.

I’ve seen multiple SKUs added to the roadmap just because 20 people asked for the same thing.

Sometimes it’s product ideas. Other times it’s positioning or messaging you missed entirely.

It’s raw, unsolicited insight from people who already bought. That’s gold.

3. Founders who are the demo don’t need a spreadsheet

When a founder is in the target demo, they pick up signals that data teams miss.

It’s not magic. They just know what feels wrong.

Wrong weight, wrong finish, wrong experience, those are product decisions made in real life, not spreadsheets.

If your founder isn’t the demo, you need to actively close that gap somewhere in your org.

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4. Prototype testing doesn’t need a research team

One thing I loved: Jones Road hands early product samples to makeup artists in store. They try them live on customers.

That feedback goes directly to the lab.

You don’t need a formal testing panel when you have a retail location, or even a small group of trusted creators.

This reveals more than any survey.

5. You can test demand without building anything

One brand wanted to test whether launching a consumable line made sense. So they didn’t start with R&D.

They added a third-party consumable as an upsell on a related product page. Then tracked the take rate.

No new product. No risk. Real buyer data.

It’s a simple way to test category appetite before you spend time and budget building the wrong thing.

6. Not all feedback is verbal

This one blew my mind: a brand ran a geo holdout test for Meta spend and found a 1:1 ratio of incremental orders between dotcom and Amazon.

They didn’t hear this from customers. They saw it in the data.

It’s a reminder: not all feedback comes from reviews or DMs.

Sometimes, your media mix is telling you exactly what your customer won’t.

If you’re not getting the feedback you need, the solution isn’t to ask louder.

It’s to create better systems that listen more effectively.

That’s how the best brands stay ahead of product fatigue, customer churn, and creative guesswork.

Talk to the floor staff. Read the comments. Run the weird test.

Your customers are telling you everything. Most brands just aren’t listening.

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