Disruptor brands are built on breakthrough insights about their consumers. Liquid Death saw the tongue-in-cheek appeal of making water edgy. Hoka homed in on making comfort cool. As marketers, we’re constantly trying to figure out the secret sauce behind the next Stripe or Figma. Audience research can deliver insights that can help unknown brands turn entire industries upside down, … The Case for Customer-Led Research
“Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” AI’s promises are many, and we are excited about the future of insights in an AI-impacted world. Temptations to use it inappropriately or before it has been proven are certainly enticing, but may lead down a primrose path. As marketers consider the use of synthetic audiences—which offer … Synthetic Data and The Pursuit of Authentic Intelligence
With data collection now available at the press of a button, it can feel like we’re drowning in information but starving for insights. That meticulously crafted dashboard on your screen? It represents 20% of your data story. The other 80%— hidden in customer conversations, social media comments, and support tickets—contains the ‘ah-ha’ moments that could … The Insights Frontier: Unstructured Data
For years now, most of us have been in the practice of “ask” research. We create surveys with a variety of questions we want consumers to react and respond to. We give them grids, scales, a set list of attributes and a range of methods to register their response. Short surveys are ideal, 5 minutes is optimal, but many instruments take 12, 15 or even 20 minutes to … The Power of Storytelling: From Ask to Listen Research
MaxDiff is a solid technique. I’ve used it, taught it, built variations of it—and I still recommend it all the time. It forces people to make real choices, it gets past the mushy middle of rating scales, and it gives you a clean, ranked list of priorities. What’s not to like? Well… maybe the way … Better results by breaking the rules: Duo MaxDiff
How do we get more customers? How do we win more business? Those are the fundamental question most marketers and sales leaders ask themselves. To understand how to win, you need to understand what’s happening now and where you have space to play. Specifically, you need to understand your target audience and their journey to … From trigger to sold: optimizing the customer journey
As a marketer, how often have you looked at research study results and felt a disconnect? The data might be interesting, but does it truly drive strategy? Do you find yourself wondering, “Why didn’t we ask about this?” or “What does this really mean for my business?” Researchers face similar frustrations. You meticulously craft the perfect attribute list, … Stop asking, start listening
Unlocking CX potential: 3 steps to drive growth Losing a customer costs far more than gaining a new one. That’s why optimizing the customer experience (CX) is mission-critical for growth. But are your CX surveys truly delivering the insights you need? Many fall short, failing to capture the depth and nuance of customer sentiment. This … Transform your CX
The importance of customer motivation How would your strategy change if you found out your customers were using your dating app to combat isolation and loneliness, rather than to find a life partner? This nuance in motivation can significantly impact your product look and feel, product line expansions, partnerships you create, target audience, marketing message … Hidden customer motivations that inform strategic breakthroughs
Global comparisons don’t work Want to know a dirty little secret from the market research industry? Most global studies are useless. Well, not entirely useless, but meaningful comparison across countries is nearly impossible with the average research survey. The truth is, people from different countries and cultures perceive and respond to scales differently, and simply … How to have a meaningful global research study