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Driving Innovation and Consumer Loyalty

Overall takeaways from the track follow, but click the below links to dive into each session:

  1. Are KPIs & Benchmarks Really Doing a Good Job of Predicting Product Concept Strength?: Ben Harknett, CEO, Cambri
  2. An Ethnographic Approach to Marketing Strategy & Planning: Alexandra Pascarella, Associate Director, Customer and Marketplace Insights, Verizon & Mayra Gacon, Associate Director, Verizon
  3. Emerging Market Research & Analytics Methodologies and Trends: Lauren Deraleau, Head of Research, Glass, Lauren Zweifler, Former SVP Insights & Research, Formerly NBCUniversal, Andrew Embry, Sr. Director, Insights Innovation Capabilities – Global Core Market Research, Eli Lily & Doug Jensen, SVP, Experienced Data & Analytics Leader, Avon & The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
  4. Finding the Face of Your Brand: Tish Hasting, Senior Director, MarketCast & Mala Pearson, Global Advertising Effectiveness & Marketing Insights Manager, Ford Motor Company
  5. Reinventing Innovation with Generative AI-Enabled Insights: Tim Joyce, Principal, ZS & Amanda Beacher, Senior Consumer Insights Manager, The Hershey Company
  6. Designing with Purpose: How Away Uses Customer Insights to Create Iconic Products: Dustin Zender, Director, Customer Success, Alida & Whitney Bauer, Customer Insights Senior Director, Away
  7. Learn How KDP Removes Recall Bias by Leveraging Known Buyers to Unlock Fast, Differentiated Insights: Erin Fredericks, Enterprise Director, Customer Insights, Numerator & Halley Jhass, Director of Shopper Insights, Keurig Dr. Pepper

Key Takeaways 

  1. AI as a Collaborative Tool: AI is transforming the market research landscape, enhancing decision-making, and speeding up innovation, but it thrives best when paired with human insight. 
  1. Verified Data Over Recall Bias: Verified buyer panels are taking the place of unreliable survey screeners, offering brands richer, more accurate insights into consumer behaviors. 
  1. Building Strong Communities: Establishing direct communication with consumers through communities like Away’s Zone One helps brands gather rapid feedback, creating deeper customer loyalty and driving product success. 

AI and Consumer Insights: A Dynamic Duo 

At TMRE 2024, the buzz around AI wasn’t just about tech for tech’s sake; it was about blending it with human expertise. The spotlight was on how AI tools are speeding up the innovation cycle. From understanding consumer preferences to predicting trends, AI allows companies to move from concept to execution faster than ever. But here’s the twist: AI isn’t replacing the human element. Instead, it’s becoming the research assistant we didn’t know we needed. 

Take the Hershey example: they used AI to identify market gaps and spot trends in snack flavors. AI could process massive amounts of data, but it was the human expertise that connected the dots to create a winning product. Similarly, the concept of combining AI with human creativity surfaced in several sessions—AI’s strength lies in providing quick, actionable insights, while human insight ensures that these insights resonate with real-world consumers. So, while AI transforms the research process, it’s still the human touch that ensures ideas are innovative and relevant. 

Verified Buyer Data: Moving Beyond Memory 

The second major theme that emerged was how brands are prioritizing verified buyer data to skip the pitfalls of recall bias. Traditional surveys have long relied on consumer memory to inform decisions. But as Keurig Dr Pepper’s experience showed, that often leads to inaccurate data. Consumers forget which brands they bought three months ago, creating discrepancies that can skew business decisions. 

By tapping into verified buyer panels, like those provided by Numerator, companies gain access to actual purchase history, eliminating memory gaps. This results in cleaner data and more actionable insights. The kicker? These verified panels often see higher engagement and participation rates, leading to faster and more reliable feedback. Whether it’s tweaking product offerings or launching new flavors, verified data gives companies the certainty they need to make informed, timely decisions. 

Engaged Communities: The New Way to Innovate 

The power of community-driven insights was another major highlight of the event. Away, a luggage brand, is a prime example of this shift. Their Zone One community is a select group of 5,000 active customers who directly influence product development. Away can gather hundreds of responses within hours, something that was impossible with traditional feedback methods. This community not only provides feedback but feels a sense of ownership in the products they help create. Away turned a simple suggestion for a purple suitcase into a market-ready product, showcasing how powerful engaged communities can be. 

This direct connection between brands and consumers fosters loyalty. Consumers don’t just feel heard—they feel involved. When they see their feedback making it into products, their connection with the brand strengthens. This loyalty isn’t just good for business; it’s essential for survival in today’s competitive market. Away, for example, used their Zone One community to de-risk product assortment decisions, avoiding costly mistakes. Other brands can replicate this approach, using community feedback to steer innovation and ensure that products resonate with the target market. 

Navigating the Evolving Market Landscape 

These sessions also shed light on how businesses are evolving to stay ahead of the curve in a rapidly changing market. With shifting consumer preferences and unpredictable trends, the pressure to innovate is higher than ever. That’s where quick-turn research and verified buyer data come in handy. The ability to adapt based on real-time feedback is a game-changer for businesses looking to stay relevant. 

The research process has moved away from static, one-time surveys to a more dynamic, ongoing feedback loop. As brands interact continuously with consumers, they can refine their products in real-time, ensuring a quicker response to market demands. This agile approach is helping brands not only react faster to changes but also anticipate what customers will want next. 

Blending Technology with Human Connection 

What became crystal clear at TMRE 2024 is that while AI and data-driven insights are reshaping how businesses innovate, human connection and empathy are irreplaceable. The future of market research isn’t about choosing between technology and human intuition—it’s about blending the two seamlessly. Whether it’s using AI to speed up research or tapping into customer communities to build brand loyalty, the key is to keep the consumer at the heart of every decision. 

This hybrid approach is not just a trend; it’s the future of how businesses will approach product development. Companies that can marry cutting-edge technology with deep consumer understanding will be the ones leading the charge in tomorrow’s market. With tools like AI to streamline data collection and engaged communities to drive real-time insights, the possibilities are endless for brands committed to innovation. 

A New Era of Consumer-Centric Innovation 

TMRE 2024 made one thing clear: the future of market research lies in understanding consumers at a deeper level. Brands that can connect directly with their audience, whether through verified buyer panels, customer communities, or AI-driven insights, will have a competitive edge. The key to success will be blending technology with human empathy to drive innovation and create products that truly resonate. As brands continue to build closer relationships with consumers, the insights gathered will become more actionable, faster, and more impactful than ever before. 

10 KEY ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAYS

  1. AI as Collaborative Tool:
    • Action: Explore how AI can enhance your current market research process.
  2. Verified Data:
    • Action: Investigate using verified buyer panels for more accurate consumer insights.
  3. Strong Communities:
    • Action: Consider creating a dedicated community for your brand to gather feedback.
  4. AI and Insights:
    • Action: Use AI to process large amounts of data and identify trends.  
  5. Beyond Memory:
    • Action: Evaluate the accuracy of your current survey data by comparing it to verified purchase data.
  6. New Way to Innovate:
    • Action: Gather rapid feedback from your customer community on a new product idea.
  7. Evolving Market:
    • Action: Implement quick-turn research methods to stay ahead of market changes.  
  8. Dynamic Feedback:
    • Action: Establish a continuous feedback loop with your customers.
  9. Blending Technology:
    • Action: Develop a strategy to integrate AI and human intuition in your research.
  10. Consumer-Centric Innovation:
    • Action: Prioritize understanding consumers at a deeper level in your product development process.

Contributor

  • Seth Adler

    Seth Adler heads up All Things Insights & All Things Innovation. He has spent his career bringing people together around content. He has a dynamic background producing events, podcasts, video, and the written word.

    View all posts

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