The Deformation of Insight

Damask Consulting, November 2019

Is 'insight' one of the most over-used and incorrectly applied word in marketing, maybe even business in general?

Genuine Insights are of course incredibly valuable, but many managers and marketers seem to think they grow on trees. How many job descriptions, project briefs and personal annual objectives are stuffed full of demands for insight delivery on tap?

It is very possible, indeed likely, that the average research project will not lead to any genuine insight at all. Let’s not conflate research findings with genuine insight.

Now that’s not to denigrate research findings which are incredible valuable and important. But to know that your prospective customers prefer Concept B to Concept A is not an insight. While it may pass the commercial value test, is it generally applicable to other situations?

Below is our attempt at a simple model to help our clients, colleagues and managers to better clarify the difference in their day to day work:

? Damask Consulting Ltd. 2019

Understanding which option people prefer or what they claim they would do in a specific situation is the mainstay of most market research. This is what we call the Research Findings. These are good, we need these and we value these.

From here there are two avenues of enhancement, firstly any good researcher or analyst will attempt to explain ‘why’ Concept B beats Concept A – and that information is of course essential in refining and improving those concepts (as opposed to just launching B).

The second avenue is to apply the vast pantheon of behavioural heuristics that predicts how people will behave in a more generalisable manner. Both add significant value to the initial Research Finding, but neither - alone - are what we would define as Genuine Insight.

Our definition of Genuine Insight requires both enhancements to be present simultaneously. The research finding needs to be both explainable, and generalisable. At best that's hard to do, and at worst; not possible at all.

So, the next time we are about to use the word 'insight', let’s pause and ask ourselves: is that really what we mean, and if so; are we prepared to make the necessary investment?

#GenuineInsight

PS As an aside, apologies to all the research teams who have just rebranded from insight departments to foresight departments. In our model, because a Genuine Insight is by definition generalisable, there is no meaningful difference between Insight and Foresight.

About Damask Consulting

Damask Consulting specialises in applying #genuineinsight from research and data analytics to brand strategy.

www.damaskconsulting.com

? Damask Consulting 2019