It’s unfortunate that ‘unlocking consumer insight’ sounds nothing like the delightful process that it actually is.
No doubt these 3 innocuous words strike fear into some, and delight is the furthest thing from their minds when faced with this seemly un-wielding task.
It such a shame that something, once unlocked brings such joy to teams, briefs and beyond makes many recoil.
When you use different words to describe the task, it changes. What do certain people feel about certain things and why? What does that mean they really need, want, or believe? That’s it. The joy comes from not only learning something new and hopefully illuminating but often there can be delightful revelations for those being questioned too. The most important thing is to understand what consumers “really” need. People have gotten very good at convincing not only us as strategists, but themselves, that most of their answers are rational and obvious. Perhaps this makes them feel in control of their narrative. The fun starts when you question deeply. This can take many forms of analysis, observing and questioning. Ideally synthesising all three and ideally across many different, data sets, locations, media with a good dollop of experiencing behaviours thrown in.
Experiencing behaviours is fascinating and will often be met with ‘I never knew I did that’ type of remarks from those being questioned about their actions. Autopilot is rampant for human convenience and coping so really walking along with someone as they experience a service, product or occasion is powerful to understand their needs and desires and can provide great stimulus for questioning.
When insight emerges it kind of just reveals itself and brings an energy that can change a room. That’s the energy of humans delighting in the fascination of others and how irrational and interesting we are. For some, it’s the energy of the commercial potential of now knowing how to better meet a need, want or desire in the marketplace.
Interestingly there is a remarkable number of people at all levels of business who have never experienced their product or service alongside the end user. Let that sink in. Now that’s an ‘ah ha’ and perhaps one that if fixed, could kick start the process of leading your team to unlocking consumer insight!
