Do You Know What Marketing Insights Look Like? Take Our Quiz!

In preparation for our marketing insights series, I took a look at a lot of insight content out there. And let me tell you, while there is a lot of content out there, it seems to be rather light on insight. My big takeaway from all this research? “Insights” is a word that gets thrown around frequently, but it’s very often used inaccurately, out of context, or at best, imprecisely.

Do You Know the Difference?

Before I go into the ways the term “insights” can be misused, take our quiz to see if you can recognize legitimate insights.

1. Two statements and one Insight. Pick out the Insight.
   1. Based on responses, it appears consumers are not interested in purchasing this product.
   2. Many consumers said they would be interested in adopting this product.
   3. 50% of consumers interested in adopting this product said they felt the given pricepoint was too high. Lowering the cost $10, however, significantly increased adoption rates.
2. Two statements and one Insight. Pick out the Insight.
   1. Roughly 3/5 of potential adopters are men.
   2. The majority of respondents indicated the primary decision maker for this service was the male head of household between ages 36-45.
   3. 75% of cardiologists are male between the ages of 50 and 75. Due to the advanced age of cardiologists, it’s important that any new software be accompanied by educational/information materials and features.
3. Two statements and one Insight. Pick out the Insight.
   1. Respondent X said, “I hate this brand because it’s stupid.”
   2. Respondent Y said, “The messaging about price-efficiency of this brand just doesn’t impact me.” This indicates you should avoid all messaging on price.
   3. 82% of respondents indicated message Z does not influence their decision making, but 70% did feel moved by messages that included language about being “environmentally friendly.” Messages that relate to being eco friendly are more likely to impact the purchase decisions of your target audience.

The Answers

If you answered “3” to all of the questions above, you’re right! But let’s take a look why.

Question 1. Not Actionable.

1. Based on responses, it appears consumers are not interested in purchasing this product.

While this may be helpful to determine whether a company should move forward with product development, it doesn’t give any actionable details. If it included feedback about what respondents liked about the product or felt was missing, it could be considered actionable insight to determining next steps.

2. Many consumers said they would be interested in adopting this product.

Did this one trick you? While positive news about potential for adoption, it still doesn’t provide any actionable details. Without feedback, this company wouldn’t know about optimal price points, features or messaging which woud help them strategize their move forward.

 3. 50% of consumers interested in adopting this product said they felt the given pricepoint was too high. Lowering the cost $10, however, significantly increased adoption rates.

This is the insight! Not only is it backed by data, analyzed by a human, it also gives an actionable suggestion to point you on the path of next steps.

Question 2. Easily Observed.

1. Roughly 3/5 of potential adopters are men.

While based on data, this statement lacks human analysis and actionable recommendations. Without this information, this is simply a statement of fact.

2. The majority of respondents indicated the primary decision maker for this service was the male head of household between ages 36-45.

This statement gives some demographgic information about the primary decision maker including age, but does not include any human analysis or actionable suggestions.

3. 75% of cardiologists in the US are male, between the ages of 50 and 75. Due to the more advanced age of cardiologists, it’s important that any new software or technology be accompanied by educational/training materials and features.

This is the insight! Not only is it backed by data, analyzed by a human, it also gives an actionable suggestion to point you forward.

Question 3. Not Based on Data.

1. Respond X said, “I hate this brand because it’s stupid.”

Hopefully this was obvious. This statement isn’t based on data, hasn’t been analyzed by a human, and isn’t actionable.

2. Respondent Y said, “The messaging about price-efficiency of this brand just doesn’t impact me.” This indicates you should avoid all messaging on price.

While this statement included human analysis and an actionable recommendation, it’s not based on scientically backed data. It’s based on the opinion of one respondent. If the respondents quote was used as an example to support the analysis, that could be a beneficial insight, but overall insights must be based on statistical data.

3. 82% of respondents indicated message Z does not influence their decision making, but 70% did feel moved by messages that included language about being “environmentally friendly.” Messages that relate to being eco friendly are more likely to impact the purchase decisions of your target audience.

This is the insight! Not only is it backed by data, it also gives specific direction in terms of reaching this audience.

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