Discover how Ashley Robinson of The Seaker Group helps location-based brands conquer uncharted markets and unlock profitability.

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At Seaker, we know you’re busy so here’s the TL;DR:

Avoid mistakes by asking the right questions, at the right times;

Personal bias lies, consumer perception doesn't;

Data is useless unless you know why it is important;

Know your sales and cost drivers in every market;

Bottom line matters more than top line;

Adapt and change - or get left behind.

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In today’s rapidly changing business landscape, it is critical to ask the right questions and constantly seek innovative solutions to problems. This is the philosophy of Ashley Robinson, the founder of The Seaker Group, who has built her career on her passion for gaining a deeper understanding for what makes location based business successful. She has channeled her curiosity into her work, helping Location Based Brands and businesses navigate the complexities of growth strategies.

Ashley's journey into founding The Seaker Group started with her passion or what she likes to call her “burdensome curiosity” about “why things are the way they are''. From that passion, she developed what one may call an obsession with finding solutions. She found that people often attach themselves to answers that might not necessarily help them find success. Instead, she wanted to approach business instead by focusing on the right questions, encouraging leaders to   think differently to achieve their desired results. Thus, The Seaker Group was born.

Ashley likes to describe The Seaker Group as a “Wayfinder on a ship who's trying to get to help the captain find a destination”. She knows that the “waters” (i.e. Growth Strategies) are different every time. For location-based brands in their own uncharted waters there is no one size fits all approach to growth. Seaker's overall goal is to help their location-based brand clients grow and maintain profitability on their quest.

Ashley believes that in business, it is a sink-or-swim situation. Companies must be willing to change with their consumers, the environment, and the industry to stay afloat. Those who are not willing to adapt are likely to sink.

However, Ashley admits that disrupting a space that has been stagnant for a long time is a significant challenge. The business environment is constantly changing, and companies must adapt to stay afloat. Seaker's biggest challenge is to convince leaders that they need to change the way things were done previously, in order to succeed in an environment where new technology and data are expected to be leveraged for success.

One of the lessons Ashley learned early on in her career was the importance of asking the right questions. She recalls the first time she saw the problem with location-based brands back in 2001 while working on a restaurant deal for PF Changs in San Francisco. Ashley calls this “the deal that got away” She spent two years trying to find the right location for the restaurant, negotiated heavily on the space, and delivered a phenomenal rent deal. However, at the 11th hour, her client discovered that the labor costs would be too expensive, and the lease was not signed.  This was a data point that was available the entire time, but no one thought to ask about it until the end of the process. Ashley learned that businesses must ask the right questions, at the right times, to glean the insights that avoids wasting valuable time and making costly mistakes.

Ashley tries to live her brand by staying grounded in an unwavering desire to learn. She is constantly reading articles and talking to people, balancing published content with real-life experiences. She speaks with confidence when creating strategies or advising boards because of her 20 years of experience in the field.

Being a Strategic Advisor means looking three steps ahead at all times and helping clients see potential mistakes before they happen. For this reason, when asked the question “What has the biggest win in your career been” she had a hard time answering, not because she hasn’t had extraordinary wins but because she is already onto the next necessary steps. Ashley showed great humility in this question, also stating that any win is not just her own, “it's the whole team’s”.

One of the biggest challenges businesses face is blind spots. There are critical unknowns in new markets, different states, and even different categories. It is crucial to identify these blind spots and shed light on the sales drivers and cost drivers that lead to success or failure.

One of the common threads companies have for blind spots is understanding their own brand. All too often, affinity for one’s own brand is based solely on personal bias which is disconnected from reality.  Companies must be willing to face consumer’s perceptions of their brands without ego, and do the hard work to improve their brand in order to reach their business goals.

At the end of the day, asking the right questions is essential to business success. Companies must be willing to adapt and change to stay afloat in today's rapidly changing business landscape.

Ashley Robinson's passion for understanding why some boats sink and why some float helped her build Seaker Group, a business that seeks innovative solutions to complex problems. By asking the right questions, The Seaker Group can guide businesses to their desired destination, regardless of  how choppy the waters might become.

Now we want to hear from you! What are the “right questions” your brand and business are asking? How are you getting the answers to those questions? What insights have you discovered?

Start the conversation below.

Find out how Seaker can help your Location-Based Brand ask the right questions by reaching out to questions@theseakergroup.com.