We live in a time when information has never been more crucial. Consumers have so much choice and access to goods and services that brands can't just wait patiently for buyers to find them.
No, to survive, they have to get to know them better.
"Consumer insights" are therefore informed and unpublished information about a brand or consumers in a specific market. They include key demographics like age, gender, and geographic location; but also deal with the centers of interest and the feelings aroused by the evocation of specific products.
It's a fact: brands need the most information available about their customers. Without falling into the Orwellian cliché, of course… It is nevertheless legitimate for the latter to seek to know what consumers really want, where they spend time online and what they think of the main players in a specific market.
And it's not just a question of "data"... It must, moreover, be relevant.
So how do you recognize an “insight”?
Genuine insights, whether consumer-related or not, must meet a few criteria:
* Novelty: if you were already aware (or suspected) of a particular piece of information, it is not an insight.
* The unexpectedness: ideally, you weren't even looking for it when you found it.
* Relevance: any new information may be interesting per se, but if it does not correspond to your business objectives or those of your consumers, you will not be able to take advantage of it.
* The incentive character: you should immediately be able to consider an action plan by reading it.
If new information meets these criteria, you probably have an insight. This is something to rejoice! Why? You still have to prove it...
Why should you care about consumer insights?
Everything that will be put forward later is evidence of which you are already certainly aware.
How do you create the right products for your consumers if you don't know what they really want? And once these have been designed, how are you going to be able to ensure proper marketing?
Almost impossible missions.
And if we talk about “competitive advantage”, it is obvious that the more actionable information you collect, the more likely you are to stay ahead of the competition.
Jumbled up, the consumer insights drawn from listening to social media will be useful for:
* Analyze your own customers and understand what makes you popular
* Observe the behavior of your competitors' customers and thus determine the reasons why they do not choose you
* Contemplate global trends in your industry to understand what drives consumers today
* Find new target audiences to offer them your products directly
And of course, it is by putting the data collected on social media into perspective that you will find its potential uses. Ultimately, the objective is to disseminate some of this new knowledge to your consumers in all your business units to finally become a brand that moves forward serenely thanks to data. Because when we make decisions based on real insights drawn from the live market, we can be sure to make choices in full consciousness and protect ourselves from moving forward by pure intuition.
In short, you have understood that there is no shortage of reasons justifying you’re going to draw on consumer insights. I imagine that it is now knowing how to do it that must be itching for you.
