Data, Insights & Decision Support

I would like to say that I saw it coming but perhaps it was just wishful thinking as it’s the business Pointlogic is in. But it now seems that our marketing and market research industry is shifting some of its focus from just data to delivering insights and decision support.

I’m writing this during the long (very long) non-stop flight from New York back to Singapore and just spent two weeks with probably an average of three meetings per day in NY. This flight gives me many hours to reflect on all the wonderful meetings I had. My briefest summary: it’s amazing how often people mentioned the need to push data into something that brings its value to life. I spoke with media owners that feel the data they have is under-utilized, with agencies that want data to move up the food chain with their clients, with advertisers that feel data is too often used to deliver tactical instead of strategic solutions and with potential research partners wanting to do more with their assets. I left NY for Singapore just three months ago, what happened that this seems to be on the agenda like I have never noticed before?

First of all I still see innovation in data collection and data quality. USA Touchpoints is a great example where new methods and initiatives push the boundaries forward in really being able to understand the media lives of people. Besides initiating this initiative the CIMM is actively pursuing other new innovative solutions in data and data collection and at the same time I’ve learned about other exciting new products coming from Nielsen, Simmons, Ipsos and others.

But in the end, data is raw material that needs to find its way to board rooms. I argue that old school is to have researchers using cross tab systems to extract information and to create charts entered into a PowerPoint deck. I’ve seen decks with more than 100 slides, “isn’t this interesting and look more interesting stuff, and look, isn’t this cool, …”. Important but this is information and rarely ever insights. Insights is what strategists learn when they start digging into the data themselves and are really able to get to the key points they need. The new generation of insights systems will need to deliver here where these systems will need to focus less on width and total flexibility but instead guide users through different in depth journeys into the data. New ways to present data and new designs of user interfaces are needed for users to fully unlock and leverage data.

The nature of insights is that they are surprising, they make you think and they give you creative ideas. Insights can become core to policies, change boiler plates and allow for one-liners to communicate new directions. However, insights don’t have the detail and granularity to guide implementation. An example, an insight that we once derived from our M3 Automotive product for Volvo is that people like Volvo beyond its image of being safe but they think that other people just think of Volvo as a safe (and somewhat boring car). That is a great insight so we need to make sure that people understand that their friends and family see the car as a sexy and innovative car and that you can be proud with a new Volvo. The insights further inspire ideas: perhaps we should facilitate conversations in social media (so people hear what their friends say about Volvo), perhaps we should show Volvo in mass media so people know that friends see those ads as well, perhaps we should show some likability statistics in the showrooms to help overcome last-minute objections, etc. But to push the insight into decision making, we need more granularity. Reach, costs, halo, wear-out, competitive activity, etc, etc, etc.

The role of decision support systems therefore is not to deliver the big ideas and strategies, but to help implement them in an effective and cost efficient manner. Ideas and strategies as input, not as output.

Data, inisghts and decision suport: researching larger and complex areas of strategies should look at all three elements as, in my mind, they should become one.

Now crossing the border between India and Bangladesh with four more hours to go. With nearly fifteen hours of flying behind me I can say, nearly there.

Posted by Peter Kloprogge, Co-Founder