It’s time to build a culture of optimization

Welcome to Ryan’s Rant, my weekly newsletter aimed at helping companies drive customer-centric growth.

A few weeks ago I published a rant about agile insights, where I talked about how “agile” is not just another word for “fast.”?

When used correctly, agile insights can transform businesses. They can help organizations make truly consumer-centric decisions. And they can elevate the role of insights teams.?

Today I want to take that one step further and talk about why it’s important to use the speed offered by technology to build a culture of optimization and experimentation. In other words, to be truly agile (not just fast).?

Thanks to my special guest Kim Malcolm for joining me in my rant video above.

Moving away from constant fire drills

I first joined Zappi because I was excited about the possibilities of technology in market research.?

I saw how technology could change the way businesses operated: If consumer data could be delivered faster, then there would be nothing standing in the way of businesses becoming truly consumer-centric. They could make all their decisions based on consumer understanding.?

Unfortunately, what I saw happen over and over was that insights teams would come to Zappi in a rush because they had been asked to test an ad that was going to air the next day. And because technology allowed them to test that ad quickly, there was no motivation to change that behavior.?

But what happens when you get consumer feedback on an ad that’s already going to air? All you can do is a) piss a lot of people off if the data doesn’t say the ad is great or b) cover someone’s ass by saying the ad is good enough to launch.?

In the end, agile market research platforms like Zappi can perpetuate bad behavior like that.?

Insights teams shouldn’t just help stakeholders who come to them with a fire drill. They should work to eliminate the need for fire drills completely.??

Optimization is the goal

I recently hosted a webinar with Matt Cahill, Sr, Director of US Strategic Insights and Prioritization at McDonald's. We talked through Matt’s journey from stage 1 to stage 2 of the Connected Insights Framework. One of the first steps he took on that journey was to help transition the company from speed to optimization.?

He found that when you can move quickly — which involves doing research quicker and more affordably — you can do a lot more research than ever before.?

You no longer have as much riding on a single concept test.?

You don’t have to wait until a concept is fully baked before doing research. You can research an idea very early in the process to decide if it’s worth moving forward and which direction to take it.?

You can kill bad ideas early and focus on ideas with potential.?

You can research throughout the development process to try out different variations.?

You can use consumer feedback to help you experiment with different ideas and be intentional about what you’re trying to learn — testing different hypotheses and variables.

That’s a completely different way of working. It’s enabled by speed, but it’s not about the speed. It’s about changing the way your business works. As Matt said:?

The capability is speed and amount of testing. But the benefit to the business was this culture of optimization.

When your organization interacts with insights in this way, insights teams turn from gatekeeper to partner. They’re the team you go to when you want to spot good ideas and make good ideas great.

Ultimately, when you rely on consumer insights early and often throughout your process, there should no longer be any need for fire drills. Because by the end of the process you already know the idea is good.?

And you certainly don’t need to cover your ass right before anything hits the market.?

If you missed it

I talked with Matt Cahill about this in a recent webinar with the AMA. Catch it on-demand for more on Matt's journey from speed to optimization: