webinar: an unfiltered perspective of the consumer insight interactions part 1
DESCRIPTION
The consumer insight process brings together multiple stakeholders working towards one goal: making better business decisions affecting consumers. However, interactions between practitioners can hinder the process. Differing skills, individual agendas and conflicting visions of "success" can sometimes make the process rocky and less effective. This story brings together three unfiltered views of the insights world - from a client, researcher, and consultant - providing an honest look at what we should learn from each other to make the process increasingly seamless, become more well-rounded practitioners, and ultimately drive impactful decisions and strategies. For more information on SKIM's webinars, visit www.skimgroup.com/webinars.TRANSCRIPT
expect great answers
Part 1 - April 2013 (presented at TMRE 2012)
An unfiltered perspective of the roles and interactions between stakeholders of the consumer insight process
2
A consultant, researcher and client walk into a bar…
1998 2012
3
It all started with a conversation, but evolved quickly
Initial hypothesis generation
Review of recent collective experiences
Qualitative ResearchInterviews with 25 practitioners
Quantitative validationBCG on going insights benchmarkingAdditional worldwide survey in progress
"Call to action" packets
• Management Consulting• Specialized Research
firms• Corporate insights
organizations
4
Our motivation: what can we learn from each other to become an increasingly relevant function?
Climbing the ladder not easy, specially alone...
Source: BCG benchmarking study; Press searches; Company web sites; Analyst reports
1
2
3
4
• Stronger consumer focus mandate by senior execs
• Mix has strategic focus• Influence encouraged to
extend outside marketing• Focused on individual
insights
• Senior execs consumer-focused
• Influence extendingoutside marketing
• Growing knowledge base• Focused on synthesized
insights across sources
• Little access to senior execs• Mix skewed toward tactical• Little involvement
outside marketing• Focused on hindsight
• Strategic research priority• Involved across functions• Able to build knowledge base
to become a learning organization
• Focused on foresight/ prediction across source
Traditional market research
Strategic insights
organization
Insights as a competitive advantage
Business contributors
90% of benchmarked companies in
levels 1-2
Evolution requires more than just skills improvement, it demands better interaction with industry players
6
Improving together requires celebrating and reinforcing what each of us do well...
ConsultingBusiness driven
insights
Corporate Insights
Institutional knowledge
Research Firm
Managing the intricacies of
research
7
... while finding the areas that will make our interactions increasingly successful
Research Firm
Managing the intricacies of
research
... and no one best than a friend to speak honestly
ConsultingBusiness driven
insights
Corporate Insights
Institutional knowledge
Visualization
Coordination
Busin
ess
lens
Enabl
emen
t
"Less" black boxes
Engage experts
8
What we learned Consulting
Selected findings
9
Structurally, consulting firms can influence key decision makers ...
Typical Influence
Focus oninsights
Insightsorganization
Core insight customers
e.g., Mktg, R&D
Extended brand team
e.g., Finance, sales
Executive suite
Consulting
Research firm
Corporate Insights
organization
Illustrative organization
10
... so insights are directly tied to the business Thinking how the insight will be used is as important (or more) than the process to get it
• ...• ...• ...• ...
Size of the opportunity
Ability to differentiate
Starting position
Ease of execution
• ...• ...• ...
• ...• ...• ...
Several options to reposition
the brand...
Which one to
choose? Brand indexed share of visits
Brand association
The client need...
The criteria... The questions to answer... What the research tool must be able to do...
• Is it a white space for brand?– Concentrated vs. Fragmented– Presence of major competitors
• Is there value of differentiation ?
Source: BCG project experience (sanitized)
11
What we've learned is that we are not always infallible in assessing complexity of the tools
Sometimes we are too optimistic....
Day 1 Day 14
Brand 1 - MBC
Brand 1 - MBC
Brand 1 - MBC
Brand 1 – MBCBrand 2 – MBC
Brand 1 – MBCBrand 3 – MBC
Brand 1 – MBCBrand 4 – MBC
Brand 1 – CBC + MaxDiffBrand 2 – CBC + MaxDiffBrand 5 – BYO + MaxDiffBrand 6 – BYO + MaxDiff
Brand 1 – CBC + MaxDiffBrand 3 – CBC + MaxDiffBrand 6 – BYO + MaxDiffBrand 7 – BYO + MaxDiff
Brand 1 – CBC + MaxDiffBrand 4 – CBC + MaxDiffBrand 6 – BYO + MaxDiffBrand 8 – BYO + MaxDiff
Brand 1 – CBC + MaxDiffBrand 2 – CBC + MaxDiff
Brand 1 – CBC + MaxDiffBrand 3 – CBC + MaxDiff
Brand 1 – CBC + MaxDiffBrand 4 – CBC + MaxDiff
3 Models 24 Models6 Models 12 Models
4X Cost
Source: BCG/SKIM project experience (sanitized)
12
What we've learned is that we are not always infallible in assessing complexity of the tools
Sometimes we don't want to tradeoff....
Original design"We need to test everything, on everyone"
Original design"We need to test everything, on everyone"
Final design"What we need as burden of proof"
Final design"What we need as burden of proof"
Screener
Brand experience funnels
Last purchase map
Price optimization (CBC)
Emotional claims
Brand perception
Purchase drivers
Category attitudes
Screener
Brand experience funnels
Last purchase map
Price optimization (CBC) Emotional claims
Brand perception
üüüüü
ûüû
Source: BCG/SKIM project experience (sanitized)
13
Key to bring in experts early to save the team (and our research partners) from heartache
Who helped evolve the thinking?Who helped evolve the thinking?
2 weeks before turnaround by Insights expert team + vendor
Complete reprogram of survey and field delays before turnaround by
insights team
14
We've also learned that sometimes our insights counterparts are left in the dark
Given our usual stakeholders...Given our usual stakeholders...... there isn't a obvious process to
close the loop with the insights team ... there isn't a obvious process to
close the loop with the insights team
"Your team left us with an enormous piece of research ... but nobody in the team had any idea how to replicate, let alone how to use going forward and explain to the organization"-Senior Director of insights, Retail
"We need to understand how this will impact our brand tracking studies, our syndicated data requests and our metrics for success" -Insights Director, CPG
"We need to learn to be able to replicate this, otherwise it will die very quickly. We need to be able to respond to the organization when they ask us to understand"-Insights VP, CPG
Typical Influence
Executive suite
Extended brand team
Core insight customers
Insights group
Source: Qualitative interviews; BCG analysis
Consulting
Research firm
Corporate Insights
organization
Fo
cus
on
in
sig
hts
15
Need to formalize a process to leave our corporate counterparts to carry the torch
2. Capability build
1. Joint project team
3. Coaching4. Process facilitation
Strategy / planning Implementation
Project Scope
Corporate team
leads
BCG team
leads
ProjectStructure
Source: BCG Enablement center
16
What we learned Research firm
Selected findings
17
Agency as a center of research expertise for the client, help navigate complexity
Capabilities• Quantitative/Qualitative
skills• Insight extraction• Analytical mindset• Ability to translate
business question into appropriate methodology and analysis plan
Proven Methods• In market validation
(case studies)• Body of academic
research (back up)• Proven expertise (in
house)• Identifying potential
pitfalls
Standards• Project roadmap• Database
/benchmarking• Templates• Mock-up outputs
Quality Assurance• Data quality• Checklists (design,
programming, fielding, data prep, analysis)
• Manuals
Reassurance research firm competency
Reassurance reliability of
answers
Peace of mind
18
Choice-based conjoint roadmap to guide client
Survey design & inputs
Conjoint experimental design
Programming Fieldwork
Choice file output Choice file recoding
Utility estimation (HB)
Simulator building Analysis of simulator outputs
Optimization algorithm
Reporting
Set up / Design
Processing
Analysis / simulation
1 2 3 4
5 6 7
8 9 10
Key interactions with client
11
19
What we are not
20
Wh
at w
e ar
e n
ot
21
More integration is required in the industry, become a learning organization
• Meta analysis of results across studies
• Develop frameworks for more effective research & marketing
• Improve inputs before testing / decide without testing
22
Meta-analysis examples
*Examples courtesy of SKIM
23
Old ways of presenting data giving way to new generation of storytellers/iconographers
New recruitment needs and profiles within the function
24
More of… Less of…
*Examples courtesy of SKIM
25
*Examples courtesy of BuzzBack, Hypothesis, CognitiveMedia, and SKIM
26
Consultant Client enablement + Manage research complexity
Action: Design enablement scheme to work with insight organizations
More discipline involving experts early in the process
Research Firm Powerful data visualization + Knowledge Integration
Action: Broaden recruitment profile (graphic designers, media)
Improve client engagement: discuss possibility and feasibility
For our next round of webinars:
Corporate Institutionalize knowledge + Stakeholder involvement
What did we learn?
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• An ongoing honest conversation needs to take place between key players and stakeholders of the insight process, in order for the function to evolve and avoid perpetuation of counter-productive behaviors
• Realization and leverage of what every part brings to the table is a necessary condition to collectively enable Insights as a source of competitive advantage in the organization
Where do we go from here?