AN INSIGHT CONSULTANCY C H A N G I N G T H E WAY B U S I N E S S E S T H I N K

THOUGHTS 6 FROM OUR FIRST

TWO YEARS

the forge

T h e r e a r e l o t s o f i n s i g h t b u s i n e s s e s . Th e re a re l o t s o f i n s i g h t t o o l s . B u t l e t ’s f a c e i t , t h e re j u s t i s n ’ t e n o u g h i n s i g h t i s t h e re ? Yo u k n o w, i n s i g h t ? Th a t t h i n g t h a t m a k e s y o u t h i n k d i f f e r e n t l y, t h a t h e l p s y o u m a k e b e t t e r d e c i s i o n s , t h a t l e a d s t o b e t t e r a c t i o n s a n d b u s i n e s s g ro w t h . N o t f a c t s . N o t i n f o r m a t i o n . N o t d a t a . I n s i g h t . Wh y i s t h i s ? O n e re a s o n i s t h e i n d u s t r y ’s e x c i t e m e n t & o v e r- re l i a n c e o n n e w t o o l s a n d m e t h o d o l o g i e s . Th e y d o n ’ t g e n e ra t e i n s i g h t .

Ye s , t h e y m a k e r e s e a r c h f a s t e r & t h e y c a n m a k e i t s h a r p e r. Th e y c a n h e l p u s g e t c l o s e r t o t h e t r u t h . B u t m o r e s p e e d a n d m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n d o e s n ’ t g u a ra n t e e m o re i n s i g h t . I n f a c t , i t c a n h i n d e r t h e p r o c e s s b e c a u s e t h e r e c o m e s a p o i n t w h e n t o o m u c h i n f o r m a t i o n i s j u s t t h a t… t o o m u c h . I n s i g h t i s h a rd . I t c o m e s f ro m t h i n k i n g . I n s i g h t i s f o r g e d b y p e o p l e ; s m a r t p e o p l e ; p e o p l e w h o k n o w e n o u g h a b o u t m a r k e t i n g , c o n s u m e r s a n d h o w b u s i n e s s e s o p e ra t e .

Pe o p l e w h o a s k c h a l l e n g i n g , re v e a l i n g q u e s t i o n s a n d c a n a p p l y y e a r s o f c r o s s -c a t e g o r y e x p e r i e n c e t o g e t t o a n a n s w e r. T h e r e i s n ’ t a m a c h i n e i n v e n t e d y e t t h a t c a n re p l a c e t h e t h i n k i n g a n d e x p e r i e n c e t h a t g o e s i n t o g e n e r a t i n g g e n u i n e i n s i g h t s . A n d w e d o u b t t h e re e v e r w i l l b e . D e s p i t e t h e B B C ’ s s u g g e s t i o n s w e m a y a l l l o s e o u r j o b s t o ro b o t s , w e d o n ’ t t h i n k g e n u i n e i n s i g h t b u s i n e s s e s n e e d t o w o r r y

S o w h e n t a l k i n g t o a g e n c y p a r t n e r s w e t h i n k y o u s h o u l d m a k e s u r e y o u f e e l a s c o m f o r t a b l e w i t h t h e i r t h i n k i n g a s y o u d o w i t h t h e i r m e t h o d o l o g i e s . I t ’s e a s y t o ‘ l e a r n ’ h o w t o r o l l o u t a m e t h o d o l o g y – i t ’ s m u c h h a r d e r t o k n o w h o w i t ’ l l b r i n g g e n u i n e i n s i g h t t o a b u s i n e s s . A s k ! B e s u re t h e t o o l s a n d t h e t e a m a r e f i t f o r y o u r p u r p o s e , t h a t t h e y k n o w n o t j u s t h o w t o m a k e a p ro c e s s w o r k , b u t h o w t o m a k e i t w o r k f o r y o u r b u s i n e s s . I f y o u a re n ’ t s o l d o n t h e i r t h i n k i n g , i t ’s w o r t h y o u re -t h i n k i n g . .

01 SHOW ME THE INSIGHT

I t ’s just buried under 26 mattresses! And by mattresses we mean research reports . Nearly al l our c l ients have a weal th of informat ion but of ten lack the t ime & space to look at i t d i fferent ly. This means more than just synthesis ing and s impl i fy ing what you already know. That ’s l ike apply ing NXPowerl ight to shrink informat ion, hoping a quick t idy up wi l l reveal something new! S impl i f icat ion is a start point . But i t isn’t the end. Making what you have work hard is about interrogat ing i t , chal lenging i t and reframing i t , so i t becomes act ionable and direct ional for the business. W e ’ d s u g g e s t y o u s t a r t b y a p p l y i n g b r a i n s t o t h e in format ion you a l ready have – don ’t jus t squash i t together and make i t neater to read - twist i t , chal lenge i t and poke holes in i t , to take a di fferent v iew on what ’s already avai lable. Only then f i l l any gaps with very focused fresh work. I t ’s much quicker, much more eff ic ient and i t ’s inf in i te ly more valuable. This is a way of working everyone can adopt . There’s no secret formula to learning how to make this happen. I t ’s about experience and a sty le of approach. Try get t ing stakeholders to read and review what you already have in the business and bui ld hypotheses in a working session together. Chal lenging ‘so what?’ , ‘what i f? ’ and ‘what does this mean for us, our category and our brand?’ Embrace unique perspect ives and embrace experience. Get d i fferent departments or funct ions to g ive their v iews and input . Isn’t i t t ime to chuck a few of those mattresses in the skip?

02 YOU’VE PROBABLY GOT YOUR PEA ALREADY!

C o n f u s e d ? S o a re w e w h e n , t o o o f t e n , w e s e e i n s i g h t c h a l l e n g e s b e i n g t a c k l e d i n a w ay t h a t w o n ’ t g e t t o t h e r i g h t a n sw e r. S o m e t i m e s i t ’s u s i n g t h e w ro n g t o o l s . S o m e t i m e s i t ’s e n g a g i n g i n t h e w ro n g p ro c e s s . S o m e t i m e s i t ’s a s k i n g t h e w ro n g q u e s t i o n s . S o m e t i m e s i t ’s a l l 3 . Th i n g s w e s e e i n c l u d e : E m p l o y i n g r e s e a r c h a p p r o a c h e s t h a t s i m p l y d o n ’ t g e t t o t h e h e a r t o f t h e c h a l l e n g e ; m e a s u r i n g p r o j e c t s u c c e s s w i t h b u s i n e s s -e n g ra i n e d t o o l s t h a t d o n ’ t a c t u a l l y m e a s u r e i n - m a r k e t s u c c e s s ; s e t t i n g b e n c h m a r k s a g a i n s t c o m p e t i t o r s t h a t a re n ’ t re a l l y o u r c o m p e t i t o r s . T h e s a m e p r o j e c t b e i n g r e p e a t e d t i m e & a g a i n w i t h o u t g e t t i n g a n y c l o s e r t o a n a n sw e r, h o p i n g t h a t t h i s t i m e w e w i l l u n l o c k a n e w n u g g e t o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g . M o r e r e s e a r c h s i m p l y d o e s n ’ t m e a n m o re i n s i g h t . Th e f ru s t ra t i n g re s u l t i s a w a s t e o f re s e a rc h b u d g e t s , a n d p o o re r u n d e r s t a n d i n g . W e b e l i e v e i n d o i n g l e s s , b u t d o i n g i t b e t t e r.

B e i n g b r i l l i a n t a t i n s i g h t i s n ’ t j u s t a b o u t b e i n g s m a r t , i t ’s a b o u t b e i n g o p e n - m i n d e d & b ra ve . We n e e d t o g e t b e t t e r a t c h a l l e n g i n g o u r s e l ve s , o u r b r i e f s , o u r i n t e rn a l s t a ke h o l d e r s a n d w i t h o u t a d o u b t , a g e n c y p a r t n e r s . We w e re e x c i t e d t o re c e n t l y w o r k w i t h a c l i e n t b r a v e e n o u g h t o l e a v e b e h i n d t h e i r t r a d i t i o n a l f r a m e w o r k s b e c a u s e t h e g l o b a l m e t h o d o l o g y j u s t w a s n ’ t h e l p i n g t h e m re a l i s e t h e f u l l p o t e n t i a l o f a h u g e l o c a l o p p o r t u n i t y. We w e re e q u a l l y d e l i g h t e d w h e n a n o t h e r c l i e n t a g re e d t h e l o n g -h e l d v i e w t h e i r b u s i n e s s h a d o f i t s ‘ c o m p e t i t o r s ’ w a s w r o n g & h a m p e r i n g t h e i r a b i l i t y t o p o s i t i o n t h e m s e l ve s f o r f u t u re g ro w t h . T h e s e d e c i s i o n s r e q u i r e d o p e n n e s s a n d c o m m i t m e n t . B u t t h e o u t p u t , t h e o p p o r t u n i t y a n d t h e b u s i n e s s i s a l w a y s b e t t e r f o r h a v i n g d o n e s o m e t h i n g d i f f e re n t , t o d o s o m e t h i n g r i g h t . A s S e t h G o d i n s o e l o q u e n t l y p u t s i t “ o u r j o b i s t o m a ke c h a n g e…e v e r y t i m e w e w a s t e t h a t o p p o r t u n i t y . E v e r y p a g e , o r s e n t e n c e t h a t d o e s n ’ t d o e n o u g h t o a d v a n c e t h e c a u s e , i s w a s t e . ” .

STOP MEASURING S P E E D W I T H A POTATO!

“ OUR JOB IS TO MAKE CHANGE…”

SETH GODIN

03

There’s no doubt i t ’s convenient to work with partners who say they can do everything. I t saves t ime and who doesn’t want more of that. But saying you are great at everything is a long way from being great at everything. The reali ty is very few people can do everything bril l iantly. Generalists may be convenient, but too often they come with an unnecessary compromise on quality. We are increasingly noticing cl ients are gett ing much better value and output from working with special ist agencies who know how to play nicely with each other. Agencies who are honest about where their expertise starts and f inishes and who can collaborate with other agencies to make a process feel seamless for the cl ient, while st i l l delivering their area of expertise, bri l l iantly. I t ’s well worth investing in these types of relationships. Finding ways of gett ing agency partners to work together to best effect, who’l l invest in understanding each other, as much as they wil l in understanding you. I t might take a l i t t le t ime to get started but you’l l f ind the init ial effort is well worth the pay off . There’s no point sett l ing for second best when you don’t need to.

04 BEWARE THE

J A C K OF A

LL

TRADES

T h a t ’ s n o t a c t u a l l y t r u e . I t ’ s a s h a m e l e s s a t t e n t i o n - g r a b b i n g h e a d l i n e . Th e t ru t h i s s t o r i e s a re a s p o w e r f u l a s t h e y ’ v e e v e r b e e n . Th e y c u t t h ro u g h , t h e y g e t n o t i c e d a n d t h e y d r i ve a c t i o n . S a d l y, t o o m u c h r e s e a r c h i s s t i l l d e l i ve re d i n t h e w o r s t k i n d o f w ay. I t ’s o f t e n 2 0 0 - o d d s e e m i n g l y e n d l e s s s l i d e s o f s t u f f w i t h n o p l o t , l e t a l o n e a s t a r t , m i d d l e o r e n d . T h e a r t o f s t o r y t e l l i n g i s a b o u t k n o w i n g yo u r a u d i e n c e , s i m p l i f y i n g yo u r m e s s a g e - s t ra i g h t f o r w a rd a n d s i m p l e d o e s n ’ t m a ke a s t o r y m e a n l e s s , i t i n c r e a s e s t h e i m p a c t . Pa r t i c u l a r l y w h e n yo u m a ke i t YO U R s t o r y t o t e l l .

I t ’s g o o d t o s e e c l i e n t s g e t t i n g t o u g h o n a q u a l i t y o ve r q u a n t i t y a p p ro a c h t o d e b r i e f s . I t t a ke s c o n f i d e n c e t o f o c u s o n t h e 3 0 s l i d e s t h a t t e l l t h e s t a ke h o l d e r s w h a t t h e y n e e d t o k n o w, i n t h e w ay t h e y n e e d t o k n o w i t . B u t t h a t c o n f i d e n c e a n d d i s c i p l i n e c r e a t e s p o w e r f u l s t o r y t e l l i n g . H a ve yo u t h o u g h t a b o u t a g e n c i e s n o t p r o d u c i n g ‘ t h e f i n a l d e b r i e f ’ ? C o n s i d e r i n s t e a d , t h e p ro j e c t t e a m w a l k i n g t h r o u g h k e y f i n d i n g s a n d re c o m m e n d a t i o n s i n a ro u g h f o r m a t o n a w h i t e b o a r d o r s t o r y b o a r d . C h a l l e n g e , r e f i n e , d i s c u s s t h e i m p l i c a t i o n s a n d m a ke i t s h a r p e r a n d m o re re l ev a n t . Th e n t a ke i t a w ay a n d re f i n e i t i n t o t h e s t o r y YO U w a n t t o t e l l i n yo u r b u s i n e s s .

We w o n d e r h o w m a n y c l i e n t s h a ve g o o d c o n v e r s a t i o n s w i t h t h e i r a g e n c i e s a b o u t w h a t i n s i g h t o u t p u t n e e d s t o l o o k l i ke ? Wh a t ’s t h e b e s t w ay t o t e l l t h e s t o r y o f t h e t h i n k i n g ? I f yo u d o n ’ t a l re a d y d o i t , t h e n p l e a s e d o . I t m a t t e r s t o u s t h a t w e ’ r e c r e a t i n g o u t p u t t h a t ’ l l m a k e a n i m p a c t .

05 S T O R I E S DEAD A

RE !

Th e re i s a h u g e d i f f e re n c e b e t w e e n r e s e a r c h s u p p l i e r s a n d i n s i g h t p a r t n e r s . I n f a c t , w e b e l i eve i n s i g h t o n l y c o m e s t h ro u g h p a r t n e r s h i p . Th i s m e a n s a g e n c i e s w o r k i n g i n t ru e c o l l a b o ra t i o n w i t h c l i e n t s ; f o s t e r i n g o p e n , r e s p e c t f u l p a r t n e r s h i p s t h a t e n s u re k n o w l e d g e o f h o w a b u s i n e s s o p e ra t e s , w h a t s t a ke h o l d e r s re q u i re , h o w m a r ke t i n g p r i n c i p l e s w o r k a n d c o n s u m e r p e r s p e c t i ve s a re b ro u g h t t o g e t h e r i n a m e a n i n g f u l w ay.

G i v i n g g e n e ro u s l y s h o u l d b e p a r t o f e v e r y o n e ’ s w o r k i n g p r i n c i p l e s . C l i e n t s a n d a g e n c i e s s h o u l d s p e n d t i m e t o g e t h e r s h a r i n g ra w t h i n k i n g b e f o re g e t t i n g a n y w h e re n e a r w r i t i n g d e b r i e f s . B a n k i d e a s t o g e t h e r, c h a l l e n g e h y p o t h e s e s , m a k e s u r e w o r k w i l l d e l i ve r w h a t t h e b u s i n e s s n e e d s & w h a t s t a ke h o l d e r s re q u i re . I t ’s a p ro c e s s o f c l o s e c o l l a b o ra t i o n t o g e t t o t a n g i b l e s o l u t i o n s t h a t eve r yo n e b e l i eve s i n a n d c a n w o r k w i t h , d e l i ve re d i n a w ay t h a t w i l l g e t re a l t ra c t i o n . I t ’s f a r m o re p o w e r f u l t h a n b e i n g a s ke d t o ‘ d e l i ve r yo u r f i n d i n g s ’ !

G e t t i n g c l o s e t o o u r c l i e n t ’s b u s i n e s s h e l p s u s d o b e t t e r w o r k . A n d o u r c l i e n t s g e t t i n g u n d e r t h e s k i n o f o u r t h i n k i n g h e l p s o u r w o r k m a k e a b i g g e r d i f f e re n c e t o t h e m . We ’ d s t ro n g l y a d v o c a t e i n ve s t i n g i n t h e a g e n c i e s yo u c a n c re a t e a d e e p re l a t i o n s h i p w i t h . G e t t h e m c l o s e t o yo u r b u s i n e s s . Wo r k t h e m p o s i t i ve l y. Yo u ’ l l b e s u r p r i s e d h o w m a n y w o u l d b i t e yo u r h a n d o f f f o r t h i s t y p e o f re l a t i o n s h i p . S o m e a g e n c i e s e x i s t t o re a l l y m a ke a d i f f e re n c e t o t h e i r c l i e n t s .

I T I S B E T T E R TO

P*SS OFF PA RT N E R U P O R

06

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BEN GLASSOCK ben@theforge-uk.com

M +44 7834 868226

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