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Key Takeaways Guessing what customers want is a losing strategy. The best strategy is to ask them what they want, remember what they say and deliver experiences tailored to those preferences across every interaction.
When customers tell you their preferences, they create data that competitors can’t replicate by analyzing purchase patterns.
To move beyond behavioral guesswork, identify your highest-friction moments, create clear value exchange, start with one channel (then expand) and unify your data infrastructure.
While most ecommerce brands are still guessing what customers want based on their clicks, the smartest ones in 2025 simply ask — and the revenue gap is staggering.
Companies that excel at preference-based personalization generate 40% more revenue than competitors still relying on behavioral guesswork, according to McKinsey. The difference isn’t just revenue; it’s customer acquisition costs dropping by up to 50% and loyalty that survives pricing pressure.
The winning strategy is remarkably straightforward: Ask customers what they want, remember what they tell you, and deliver experiences tailored to those preferences across every interaction.
This direct exchange — information for personalization — is creating a category of customer data called “zero-party data:” the preferences, intentions and personal context that customers explicitly share with a brand, rather than information inferred from their behavior.
Related: Do You Know What Your Customers Want? Are You Sure?
Why asking beats guessing
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