In August I moderated a conversation with four client-side researchers as part of a Quirk’s-hosted and TMRE-sponsored Webinar titled, The New Insights Leader: The Changing Role and Strategies that Deliver Big Business Impact. Panelists were James Petretti, SVP, U.S. research and analytics, Sony Pictures Television; Cindy Casper, managing director, constituent knowledge and insights, Arizona State University; Deborah Campbell, VP of customer marketplace insights, Verizon; and Ben Lawder, vice president, customer experience and insights, Equifax.
The discussion covered a variety of topics from how companies are defining insights and what disciplines fall under the insights categories today, to how marketing researchers are aligning with broader business changes and priorities, to the skills needed to succeed both as an insight team member and a leader.
Looking back on the discussion, two of the topic areas that stood out most surrounded the changing definition of insights and the skills – specifically the soft skills – needed to both succeed in an insights role as well as lead a team or department. In this article I will share a few of the key points the panelists brought to the table surrounding those two topics. Some of the responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.
Defining insights
It’s quite likely that marketing research and insight teams across the world define the term insight in many different ways, so to start off the webinar, the panelists were asked, “What do we mean by insight? And how do we define in-depth insight?”
Casper began the conversation off by noting the “myriad of tools and techniques” such as big data, AI and predictive modeling that help us define and understand insights. “I think it's important that we think about insights as broader than just marketing research,” she said.
From there the panelists shared a number of elements that go into defining insight.
“Beyond just the different techniques and methods of collecting data in the different data sets that we're using, today it's really important to make sure that we're integrated with the businesses and understanding the actual business and how data can play into it and help achieve real life business goals and make our companies successful,” said Petretti.
“Twenty years ago, an insight came just from what a consumer said or thought or felt and now the insight is really only actual to the business if it has multiple points of the demonstrability,” said Campbell. “What my consumer says needs to be reflected in the big data that we have and in the lifetime value. So it really has to come together in a full picture.”
Lawder also shared the criteria that his team uses when defining insights:
- non-obvious (“There's a difference between just showing up with information and showing up with true insights.”),
- actionable and
- timely.
Leaders in a changing industry
When asked to describe the key characteristics insight leaders must embody to succeed in today’s business world, the panelists narrowed in on three words: curious, tenacious and solution-oriented.
Lawder started out the conversation by digging into his shift of focus from technical to more soft skills:
“My biggest one is curiosity. I've shifted from focusing a lot on those technical skills. So, hiring the subject matter experts who know their craft … you find people that know some of those areas but [also have] that underlying curiosity to dig and find the answer. [If] some of your numbers come in and they don't match, or something is telling a story opposite the prevailing hypothesis in the C-suite, being able to say, ‘What do I have or what can I use to bolster that piece of data information? What can I use to totally counter that?’ Being able to kind of push that around and counter that.
“The whole concept of storytelling gets kind of thrown around a little too easily, but I do think that people will remember when you go through and walk them through an example or a story or connection of how things play together as opposed to just showing charts and numbers. It has become a lot more of those soft skills that I've seen really propel people's career and this space over the last five years or so.”
Both Casper and Campbell noted the importance of tenacity:
“I often look for people who are motivated by wanting to have a business impact because they'll be really tenacious to make sure that the right information is brought forward and that people are listening to it. If they don't listen the first three times, they'll find a fourth way to explain it and not give up because that's how they're wired.” Casper
“I think tenacity is probably one of the most important things for an insight leader. When you're coming up through the ranks having a business mind-set, understanding your methodology, understanding how business makes money, those are all critical.
“It's this combination of tenacity and being solution-oriented, like [knowing] this is what's going to expose us to risk. If you pivot to this, that's going to mitigate and maybe make you successful.” Campbell
Panelists also highlighted the importance of standing your ground as an insight leader and shared how their personal successes have been possible due to their ability to operate as an equal to business partners outside of the research department.
“I had a boss tell me back when I was starting out, ‘If I'm not getting a call about you at least once a month saying that you are being irritatingly objective, I'll know you're not doing your job,’” said Campbell. “That has really stayed with me.”
As an insight leader within a state university, Casper also shared unique challenges found within higher education. “It is really hard because people don't want to hear the negative and they don't want their ideas to be challenged,” she said. “What's really different in a higher education space is that it's not a fan of control from the top so people don't have to do things because they're told to. You have to convince people of the merit of your idea in order for them to really get on board.”
Panelists also made note of the technical skills necessary to be a successful insight leader. During this discussion Petretti commented on the role nontraditional insight skills – such as excelling in visual presentation – can have on an insight team. “One of our analysts is someone who really excels at visual presentation and so while she lacks the traditional analytical expertise and experience, she has that visual skill and is great at communicating ideas,” he said. “We've tried to take different disciplines that expand beyond the traditional research expertise and build on that and bring that into our group.”
“We’ll make it through!”
While there have been many changes to the industry – and as AI continues to develop there are sure to be more to come – some human aspects of the insight function just can't be replaced right now – or as Casper put it, “Algorithms don’t have feelings.”
Near the end of the webinar Petretti even joked on how the panel felt a bit like a research support group, to which Casper responded with a laugh, “It’ll be OK. We’ll make it through!”
And at the end of the day, as the industry works to redefine insights and the skills necessary to succeed, this seems to be something everyone needs to hear.
Looking for more advice from the panelists? Check out the full recording (registration required).