When it comes to marketing an important question to brands is “do you understand your customer?” and this is where consumer insight comes in handy. Brands need to understand how the consumer acts, what extent culture influences them and not just the basic understanding in a traditional way.
On the May 26th 2017 from 6 PM – 8 PM, Simon Page will host a marketing masterclass. Helda Wakhungu, the head of consumer planning and research will headline the event. She will talk on consumer insights and how they help brands become great.

However; here are five tips for getting consumer insights

1. Listening to the consumer
It is one thing to know your consumer; but it is another thing to listen to them. Listening to the consumer is a crucial means of gaining consumer insight. It helps you learn what they want and what motivates their decisions when choosing a brand.

2. Be deep and thorough
Most brands confuse ordinary observations as consumer insight. This is wrong. A brand needs to dive deep into the mind of the consumer and get something concrete. They need to get to the heart of the problem they are trying to solve and come up with a solution. This also helps a brand reposition themselves appropriately.

3. Find something new
When getting into consumer insight; the idea is to find something fresh. You want an angle that most people have not exploited. Something that will make your brand stand out to your target demographic. For this you need to invest a lot in point 2.

4. Collaborate
There are many organizations out there that have conducted research geared towards consumer insights. You can tap into these resources to supplement your own efforts. Plus, it is a great way to discover more about your demographic from readily available data saving you time and money.

5. Make it relevant
There is a lot of consumer insight out there; you need to tailor your efforts ensuring the data you collect is relevant for your brand.