Consumer Insights Leader

PRIMARY FUNCTION

The Consumer Insights Leader is responsible for establishing and leading Flexsteel’s consumer insights (intelligence) efforts. This role will develop and implement a disciplined, enterprise-wide approach to understanding consumer behaviors, needs, and preferences, translating insights into actionable strategies that drive product innovation, brand positioning, and business growth. This role will work cross-functionally with Marketing, Product Management, Engineering, Sales, and Executive Leadership to ensure consumer insights are embedded into key business decisions.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

• Establish and lead Flexsteel’s consumer insights efforts including frameworks, processes, governance, and an enterprise-wide research roadmap aligned to strategic priorities.
• Build and champion a consumer-centric culture by embedding insights into decision-making and driving organizational adoption of a consumer-led business model.
• Develop and manage standardized intake, prioritization, and knowledge-sharing processes, including maintaining a centralized insights repository to maximize enterprise value.
• Design and lead qualitative and quantitative consumer research through external partners, including brand health tracking, segmentation, concept testing, pricing, and customer journey analysis.
• Translate complex research findings into clear, actionable recommendations (“so what” / “now what”) that inform product development, marketing strategy, and business decisions.
• Partner cross-functionally with Product Management and Engineering to identify unmet consumer needs and validate innovation opportunities.
• Collaborate with Marketing to develop insight-driven positioning, messaging, and value propositions, and with Sales to understand shopper behavior and retail dynamics.
• Lead cross-functional alignment, executive presentations, and workshops to activate insights and ensure adoption across the organization.
• Manage external research vendors and partners, ensuring methodological rigor, strong outcomes, and cost-effective use of research budgets.
• Evaluate and implement new research tools, methodologies, and technologies to continuously enhance insights capabilities.