Editor’s note: Priyanka Carr is general manager of market research at experience management company Momentive.

Our world is full of multidiverse groups, with smaller populations within those groups and smaller communities within those populations (and so on). When looking for insights about these many subdivisions, we can’t simply look at the averages and assume we have insights that are reflective of the opinions and experiences contained within. 

Findings that aggregate results can. be misleading. Trying to base marketing or sales strategy on these results will impede a company’s ability to gain real and impactful insights as market researchers try to understand the full human experience and the motivations of their audiences.

Aggregated data can result in everything from poor product launches to underwhelming market performances and alienating audiences. Companies need to focus on detailed segmentation and get granular with data to accurately understand the people behind the numbers.

While many companies have successfully started using research, the examples below point to the increased importance of digging a bit deeper. 

Scrubs company FIGS recently placed a Facebook ad that showed a doctor of osteopathic medicine holding a book upside down titled, "Medical Terminology for Dummies," apparently trying to understand the content. The reaction from the osteopathic community was swift, calling the company out for its discrimination and demanding an apology. FIGS scrambled to fix the problem, but it might have saved itself a lot of trouble and forfeited goodwill by simply gathering better data, including a broader range of insights and listening to more inclusive voices.

In that same vein, Apple recently released its AirPods Max wireless headphones, which come with a soft carrying case that – to many eyes – resembles a bra or a handbag. The responses ranged from predictable jokes to...