Listen to this article
I’m back in the office after spending time in Madison attending the Leading Through Disruption Summit at the Wisconsin School of Business. Between the keynotes, breakout sessions and “Ted Talk”-style stories, I came away with a full notebook and thoughts surrounding the impact marketing researchers are having on businesses around the world.
Here are just a few of the learnings that stood out to me from the Summit:
- Data vs. insight: Several speakers discussed the difference between data and insight. Insights provide a new understanding, are simple, to the point and always promote action. It’s up to marketing researchers to keep asking why in order to find true insight.
- Be a concierge, not a stalker: As more and more brands utilize metrics such as location tracking, it’s easy for consumers to feel like their personal information has been breached, bombarded by intrusive brands. Anindya Ghose, New York University, said, “As a brand you want to be the butler, the concierge, not the stalker.”
- Necessary skills: During a C-suite panel, panelists were asked, “What is one skill that got you here and will bring you forward?” While the panelists found it difficult to name just one, they did come up with a solid list of skills every marketing researcher can strive for: genuine and transparent; curious, accurate and driven; and a willingness to go to uncomfortable places to move forward.
- Alliances matter: Although the overall theme of the Summit was leading through disruption, I think it’s safe to say a secondary theme was creating alliances and driving change through collaboration. In her session, Sarah Snudden, Keurig Dr. Pepper, said being the smartest person in the room doesn’t necessarily get the job done. This sentiment was echoed in many sessions throughout the day. If you’re not an expert at something, bring in someone who is. To move forward you need to think about alliances beyond your island. Befriend your internal stakeholders. Work to create a company culture of sharing.
- It’s OK to fail: Several speakers shared how they find success by encouraging failure. One said, “Failure is awesome – it means you’re pushing hard!” Punishing failure will not bring success to your brand. Barry Jennings, Microsoft, reminded us in his session that there is no shortage of data out there. Marketing research must stand out by being unique, valuable and enduring. To do this, researchers must push harder and risk failure by asking, how can we do it in a different way? How can we do it better?
A big thank you to the A.C. Nielsen Center and the Summit Planning Committee for inviting Quirk’s to attend!