How Data-Driven Insights Generated $3M in New Revenue

Greif Inc. needed to revamp their sales strategy & tactics. While they developed individual client strategies as part of their account planning, they lacked deep insight into what their customers actually valued and expected.

The question: How could they proactively create opportunities instead of waiting for them to appear?

Strategex deployed Customer Insight methodology—a custom VOC project designed to get inside the customer's mind. Our approach differed from typical survey platforms by focusing on actionable intelligence rather than just data collection.

What we measured:

1. Customer expectations vs. actual performance
2. Key drivers of customer satisfaction
3. Competitive positioning
4. Specific opportunities for differentiation

The breakthrough: Customer feedback analysis helped us develop individual Performance Improvement Maps for each customer, showing exactly where Greif excelled and where they needed to improve.

Immediate Impact:

1. Every customer conversation became strategic and purposeful
2. Sales calls transformed from generic pitches to targeted solutions
3. Customer discussions revealed partnership opportunities beyond traditional supplier relationships

Business Impact:

Several key customers indicated Greif could help improve their internal operations. This insight led to collaborative projects focused on:

1. Increasing throughput
2. Reducing energy consumption
3. Minimizing waste

Bottom Line:

Greif secured $3 million in additional volume in highly attractive markets—a 19:1 return on their research investment. They also captured market share from a major competitor by significantly enhancing their value proposition.