Editor’s note: Yvette Wikstrom is owner and client partner at strategy and insight firm Mercury Strategy, Denver. She can be reached at yvette@mercurystrategy.com.
The quiet knock of opportunity
It was 2005 and I was working with one of the aspiring cell phone brands at the time. The iPhone did not exist, though Apple has grown its consumer brand equity with the iPod. BlackBerry was the category darling and proudly announced 127 percent revenue growth with a subscriber base of more than $2.5 million users. That was a lot back then.
The firm I was working with wanted to understand the parameters of customer cell phone needs ranging from device design, user interface, emotional and functional brand and purchase drivers. We did the research well. We designed a quantitative survey and included functional and emotional brand/device attributes that came from a qualitative effort. The findings told many stories and we looked at many different scenarios. We built up the insights in a logical fashion, assessing the quality of satisfaction, Net Promoter Scores across segments and the different purchase and brand drivers. One of our recommendations was that they should abandon the traditional look of a cell phone and go all touch-screen. If done right, this product could demand a premium in the $300-to-400 price range. However, this insight was weakened by a relatively high level of satisfaction and brand equity. The executives were also alarmed by the investment required to develop such a product and were overwhelmed with the fact that its current operations would need to undergo dramatic changes as a consequence. The commonly held view, “Why change something that is not broken?” was the persistent harbor of the status quo.
But there was more to the story. We – as partners – could have served them better.
The way we presented the insights failed to cast light on the blinding assumptions that prevented this firm from realizing a dormant, volcano-like need among consumers. More devastatingly, we failed to help them realize an imminent threat to their business. In January 2007 Steve Jobs announced the iPhone during the Macworld Expo keynote address. It was unlike any smartphone that preceded it. It was a bittersweet moment for me, because the iPhone mirrored what the research had told us consumers wanted back in 2005.
There and then I realized knowledge does not equal change. I had always believed that if you have knowledge and insight, action follows. Fact-based decision-making is a valued premise in the research industry but it is not enough. Since then I’ve embarked on a journey where I’ve focused on landing a more provocative perspective that inspires action that matters to customers, partners and staff.
I believe that change is at the heart of all individual and organizational developments and that the greatest potential for improvement and competitive advantage in business lies in the different states of transition. Each successful transition starts with a perspective, a point-of-view on the dynamics and accessible facts, as well as your ability to see a future that has not yet been seized. And as is often the case, the knock of opportunity is quiet.
This article suggests an approach for how to move beyond insights and identify a provocative perspective that can inspire action that pivots the strategic agenda and market execution.
The voice of inspired action
Let’s be clear. What I am about to suggest builds on facts and insights. I propose that you take a bold view on the insights to provoke a perspective of a better future compared to status quo – or to provoke a perspective of a worse future because of status quo.
The most basic of motivations lie in fear and reward. Your confidence in reward or fear of failure stand in direct relationship with the understanding of the facts on the matter. Facts matter but facts do not stir up action. Let me give you an example.
We all read and heard about the hardships of Syrian immigrants and the media reported on numbers of refugees and political dynamics. The refugee and immigration data inadvertently concealed the harrowing and desperate attempts of individuals to escape and the global community remained quiet. The facts had been there for years but it took the image of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi for the global community to rise to action. This is an extreme example – and outside of our normal business context – but my point is that we care when we feel the issue matters. Data alone does not disturb us enough to want to act.
I’ve summarized five steps that can help you develop a provocative perspective that inspires action.
- Make the research objectives outcome-focused.
- Identify the assumptions that prevent clarity of what matters to customers, partners and staff.
- Embrace the deficiencies and find the gaps.
- Think outside the parameters of the objectives.
- Collaborate with executive stakeholders throughout the research journey.
1. Make the research objectives outcome-focused.
Many research objectives are assessment-oriented and include analytical language that in itself does not suggest an outcome or action. It is implied that if we assess and compare correctly, then we’ll know what to do. This is not true. Following a half-day read-out of research findings, one of my friends at a leading global software company said, “The analysis is great – and there is so much there – but this does not help us to narrow down options and we still have a long way to go before a decision can be made.” She paused, looked at me quizzically and said, “I just wish researchers would focus more on telling the narrative that singles out the options that matter with a focus to drive change.” This comment stuck with me and I began to design objectives with desired outcomes. Table 1 translates traditional research objectives to more specific business outcomes from that research.
Once we start to think about outcomes, it becomes clear which strategic goals the research should inspire action for. When we give the outcomes words, it becomes more natural to think innovatively about ideas and actions that could deliver better outcomes.
2. Identify the assumptions that prevent clarity of what matters to customers, partners and staff.
Every organization and culture operates according to a set of ingrained beliefs and assumptions about the business. People in the organization may not realize how these beliefs are directing their receptivity to change, risk and opportunity. To realize your full potential in the market, you have to take a close look at the assumptions that move the business and industry and be prepared to see the reality through the eyes of your customers, partners and staff.
A few years back I was helping a firm that provides professional sales training. The firm prided itself on not being consultants. In fact, consulting was considered a dirty word. Its value proposition was to enable its customers so that they would need no outside support. The training would be sufficient to bridge knowledge to ability. However, there were a few problems. First of all, though the customers loved the training, it was simply not enough to help the sales staff internalize a very different customer interaction behavior. Old habits die hard, and though they understood the concept, the ability to adapt fell short. Consequently, the customers reached out for additional coaching and on-site consulting with their sales teams. Not only did the training firm reject its customers’ needs but it also defended its position to the extent customers actually perceived it. The blinding assumption was that consulting was a no-go zone, whereas consulting was desired by its customers and held tremendous revenue opportunity for the training firm. Once this firm came to grips with the fact that consulting held the key to a continued legacy in its field, it developed a set of consulting and coaching services, evolved its internal training and talent development to match customer needs.
Another example is from a public agency. We were charged with helping it develop a communications strategy. The internal belief was that it provided consumer protection and that this was a valued service. However, speaking with consumers and retailers, it became clear that they did not know that this agency actually provided consumer protection. For years, this agency had avoided advertising. It argued it was not needed. With the realization that the blinding assumption was awareness, the agency was able to persuade its board to invest more broadly in driving awareness of its mission and ultimate reason for being protect the consumer.
How do you identify the blinding assumptions? The answer is research that invites strife by embracing the deficiencies and finding the gaps.
3. Embrace the deficiencies and find the gaps.
By bringing to life the customers’ experiences across key touchpoints, we can understand how well the value proposition is received. By understanding the gaps, we can understand unmet expectations, covert and overt pain points that – if left unaddressed – are powerful enough to lead to brand erosion. Alternatively, the magical moments are ones that further anchor the equity and emotional tie to the brand. I encourage you to look at what a business believes they promise and deliver against what the customers say they actually receive. Perception is reality. As you identify findings in this manner, outline how the business needs to change to be able to deliver on the new promise, the new support required and the barriers you are most likely to run into.
By listening to the internal narrative – internal and external dynamics; views on opportunities and threats; what has worked, not worked and why – you begin to tell the story. When you then juxtapose this against the voice of the customer, gaps emerge. And it is in the gaps the real opportunity exists. The flipside of a gap – be it dissatisfaction or deficiency – is the opportunity for innovation. It is the very notion that you can develop, modify or enhance your operations to become the firm that is simply better than others.
There is a paradox: The more disturbing or provocative the insight is, the greater the power to stir action that can make a difference. Equally, the more disturbing the blinding assumption is, the greater the risk that your audience will reject the very pill that could save the future prosperity of their business.
Gaps and deficiency ultimately represent opportunity. The ability to close a gap is fundamental to change agility, improvement and ultimately excellence. Therefore, our ability to realize gaps and points of deficiency lies at the heart of opportunity, innovation and learning.
When you look for the strategic narrative, remember that fear is a driver, strength gives confidence and opportunity creates desire. The right mixture will turn blinding assumptions into strategic clarity of what needs to happen.
4. Think outside the parameters of the objectives.
It is not uncommon that objectives evolve throughout a project. Many research agencies resist this in favor of honoring the defined scope. This is an old practice with limited value if you want to provoke a new reality by challenging the blinding assumptions. Insights and confidence to act evolve as we learn about the topic at hand. In the discovery phase where you engage data, think big and don’t limit your ideas to what you or others think is possible. Find the courage to revisit the why and, more importantly, the consequence of the why.
In the 1970s a major film studio conducted research to predict the success or failure of Star Wars. The research concluded that in the light of the Watergate scandal consumers – now less trusting of institutions – wanted realism and authenticity over science. The research also concluded that the Vietnam War had saturated consumers’ appetite for a war story. The problem was that Star Wars was not about war but rather the eternal human struggle: good and evil; love and loss; strife and redemption. Failure to understand all of the dimensions of the script, the consumer sentiment and receptivity to the emotional story behind the action scenes contributed to inaccurate results. Had the research approach included the author behind the story, a greater understanding of the script, an assessment of other science fiction stories and what makes for a successful story, maybe the outcome would have been different. In this case, a narrowly defined problem resulted in a costly business mistake.
5. Collaborate with executive stakeholders throughout the research journey.
When you conduct research, engaging and collaborating with the executive stakeholder is critical. It starts during the design and verbalization of the objectives. Engage senior-level stakeholders when translating the research objectives to business results. Inspire them to share with you what matters to them: their experiences, business goals and the barriers they have run into. This dialogue helps to identify hypotheses about the findings, anticipated points of resistance and ideas on how to mobilize resources in a way that leads to the desired outcomes.
Blinding assumptions and provocation are great concepts in theory but they can be very uncomfortable and most people reject discomfort. Therefore, partner with those impacted by the research as early in the process as you can. Invite their point of view and test your evolving perspective. What are their points of defense? Why do they agree or disagree? How easy or hard would it be to land a certain perspective with their group and why? This dialogue is critical for your research and how you land the results with the group. The input will also help you modify research questions and the data you need to capture to tell a story that will be provocative enough to inspire action that can make a significant difference.
The key to success is to let the cat out of the bag before the formal read-out. The executive leaders need to be on board with the message. This is different than just providing weekly updates on the data collection and how we are cleaning or coding the data.
This is where we come full circle. Research objectives have been designed and agreed upon to deliver business outcomes that matter. But let’s not stop here. Continue to challenge the objectives as you learn about the topics and be prepared to evolve the objectives to deliver a better value and outcome. Share early insights and perspectives and invite reaction.
Seizing the future
We have all experienced various degrees of frustration where research was cleverly designed and excellently executed according to all rules and prudent research methodologies, yet the effort failed to deliver a provocative enough perspective to inspire action and secure the future. More importantly, the effort did not serve to mobilize organizational energy that drives change and leadership through critical transitions to deliver better value with customers and staff.
This article suggests that you can lead organizational transitions with a perspective on a future not yet seized. Begin to cast light on the blinding assumptions that not only prevent you from realizing market opportunities but make you vulnerable to threats. A provocative perspective can mobilize organizational energy to deliver better value with customers and staff. Provocation takes courage and requires an ability to be comfortable with discomfort. As you begin to test some of the ideas above, I encourage you to be bold.