Here's how you can drive innovation in your brand strategies by leveraging consumer insights.

Find a good research agency that does not just fill questionnaires at home or office and have a strong infrastructure to find right consumers and interview them. While interviewing them make sure that consumer is providing accurate information. Your decisions will be based on this research so ensure atleast 95% confidence level

Very important to leverage on consumer insights because the so called products and services are essentially supposed to meet and provide solutions to consumer's needs, wants and probably challenges. The product designs and specs therefore should resonate with the consumers' line of thinking and behaviours

Driving innovation in brand strategies through consumer insights involves analyzing data from customer feedback, social media, and market trends to understand preferences and behaviors. This approach enables brands to tailor products and marketing efforts to meet evolving consumer needs. For instance, Nike uses consumer insights to develop new athletic wear that aligns with emerging fitness trends, ensuring relevance and customer satisfaction. By continuously gathering and acting on these insights, companies can stay ahead of the competition and foster brand loyalty.

To drive innovation in brand strategies through consumer insights, it's essential to gather data through various methods like surveys and social media monitoring. By segmenting consumers based on demographics and behaviors, brands can understand their needs and pain points, identify trends, and co-create with consumers. Personalizing offerings and continuously iterating based on feedback ensures relevance and competitiveness, ultimately leading to business growth and customer satisfaction.

I agree that gathering data early on is critical…but…you have to ensure the integrity of this data and make sure it is brought to life to give meaningful insights. In my experience, this means that you should not solely rely on piles of audit documents and research summaries, you need to get out there and experience the category and Brands for yourself…observe consumers at the supermarket shelves, do immersive home visits, experience the Brand like they do, be it at a coffee shop, a hairdresser or a pharmacy.

It's so important to consider both qualitative and quantitative analysis. I recently noticed that an organization was using a small consumer survey (qualitative = personal accounts) to make an important business decision when they also had access to up-to-the-minute sales data (quantitative = measurable data) that they weren't considering. The survey data was markedly different than the sales data, and opinion (things said in a survey) was not important as fact (actual sales data) for this particular decision. Know the value of both when considering what actions to take.

After gathering available data about your market, the real work of painting a clear picture of the customer begins. Personify all that info into a customer profile that shows who this person is - from a simple "day in the life" of this customer to diving deep into their motivations and aspirations. Truly understanding the customer requires an understanding of their needs. Only then can you gain an understanding of how your brand can address these opportunities. After all, meaningful innovation comes from continuously creating experiences that fulfill customer's desires.

I use several simple but effective ways to understand customers and create new brand strategies. First, we look at the brand's existing content and read social media comments to see what customers are saying. I also talk to people I know who use the brand to hear about their experiences. If I don't know anyone who uses the brand, I connect with people on LinkedIn or social media to get their feedback. This approach helps us gather real customer opinions, which we use to plan our strategies. We combine these insights with market trends to create new ideas that match what customers want and what's happening in the market. This way, we make sure our strategies are relevant and effective.

Analyze Insights: Once you have the data, analyze it to uncover valuable insights. Look for patterns, identify opportunities, and understand your audience better. This step is crucial for informed decision-making. .

In today's fast-paced world, where consumers are spoilt for choices, and constantly exposed to multiple brands, it has become paramount to create unique experiences to get their attention - something new and exciting that can capture the attention of the user and eventually help build brand loyalty. An important aspect of a solid brand strategy is ease with which this strategy can be translated into a plan that can be implemented and executed well enough to effectively communicate with the target audience!

Being creative doesn't have to be something new like a campaign, product feature or radical change. These things can often be expensive or slow to deliver, especially in larger companies. Creativity can come from looking at existing things differently based on sound human truths. Chewing Gum was a waste product from a manufacturing process that is now a $BN industry. The famous Old Spice adverts were born from a human truth that Old Spice had tried to sell products to Men, ignoring the fact that the majority of the shopping at the time for these products was done by their female partners. Look for the human truths and you'll find creativity thats fueled in the best way.

Linus Pauling's quote, "The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas," highlights that out of every 7 ideas, about 4 enter development, 1-2 are launched, and only 1 succeeds (R. Cooper, Product Leadership). To generate lots of ideas, use brainstorming with two rules: defer judgment and go for quantity. Traditionally, brainstorming led to chaos as participants spontaneously shouted ideas. The FORTH innovation method by Gijs Van Wulfen differs by allowing team members to asynchronously generate ideas in Miro, inspired by others' ideas on the screen. This method, over four rounds, typically produces 500-750 ideas. You can find much more in the Online Innovation: Tools, Techniques, Methods and Rules to Innovate Online book.

Ja! Kreativ! Neu! Ungewohnt! Sogar aufrüttelnd. Wach machend! Die Sinnhaftigkeit der Botschaft klar machen. Den Nutzen darstellen! Den eigenen Tellerrand komplett verlassen - sogar vergessen. Gute Ideen sind und muten immer RADIKAL an.

Foster a culture of creativity by brainstorming with cross-functional teams. Leverage consumer insights to inspire new ideas that resonate with your audience. Use techniques like design thinking and mind mapping to generate a diverse range of concepts. Encourage collaboration and openness to ensure that innovative ideas are both practical and aligned with consumer expectations.

Implement Innovations: Take action! Turn your validated concepts into reality. Whether it’s a new product, service, or marketing campaign, execution is key to driving innovation.

Don't just dream it, validate it! Rapid Prototyping: Build quick, low-fidelity mockups (think sketches or paper prototypes) to test core concepts with real users. Get early feedback to iterate and improve. A/B Testing: Present two versions of your concept to different user groups and see which resonates better. Data can help guide your final design. Social Listening: See how people react to sneak peeks or concept teasers on social media. Gauge initial interest and identify potential concerns.

Volle Zustimmung! Ein A-B-test ist immer klug. Ein Prototyp ist ebenso klug. Die Feedbacks dieser Phase lassen sich in Gold aufwiegen. So wertvoll sind sie.

Test your ideas through focus groups, surveys, and A/B testing. Collect feedback from a representative sample of your target audience to refine concepts. Validation ensures that the proposed innovations are feasible and desirable, minimizing the risk of failure. Iterative testing and refining help in fine-tuning the product or service before a full-scale launch.

Implement Innovations: Take action! Turn your validated concepts into reality. Whether it’s a new product, service, or marketing campaign, execution is key to driving innovation.

Innovation is an ongoing process. Continuously gather feedback post-implementation to monitor performance and customer satisfaction. Stay agile and responsive to changes in consumer preferences and market dynamics. Regularly update and refine your strategies, products, or services to maintain relevance and drive sustained growth. Embrace a culture of continuous improvement and learning.

Research is important, but it can be misleading. The mobile phone company Nokia tested how a smartphone would be received, and the consumers in the market research group didn’t like it. Shortly after, Apple released a smartphone, and we all know what happened next. Therefore, it’s advisable to use common sense when analyzing things. True innovations are often not understood by people initially. They need time to get accustomed to them...

Always remember there are different paradigms to managing projects. You may get an insight that can be implemented in 1 hr and another that may take 1 year. Therefore, embed flexibility in your process.

As a brand strategist, you should also have an eye to understand whether the trend coming out of insights is just a short-term fad or is there to stay for the long-run. Accordingly you can make the desired changes in your brand strategy, and the subsequent?action?plan

Correct, you need to go towards the brand's perspective and move towards it daily. You can't just change the perception in 1 day, it's a gradual & slow shift that you are doing over time.