Entering the future: your Pause, Play & Future-Forward solutions
As we move into the second half of 2020, we are entering a different world. Your business context remains complex, due to the slow release worldwide of the daily restrictions, at a stuttering pace. Only now do we discover the impact on society of the past events, a force that affects consumers, categories and brands.
To get a grip on the changes which continue to impact categories and consumers across the globe, we propose a framework of consumer collaboration that helps your company adapt to any branding, innovation or customer experience challenge.
First, we need to understand what is happening. New habits and practices are becoming part of your consumers’ routine every day. Let’s ‘pause’ and connect with consumers to get close to day-to-day challenges and needs.
“Instead of second-guessing which is ‘right’, we have decided to follow the consumer needs as they evolve. We do stay close. At the end of it, we cannot control what is happening. The only thing we can do is solve their needs.”
(client quote from our CMI roundtable discussions on Apr 1, 2020)
However, we cannot ‘pause’ forever; consumers expect companies to act. The question is: what are the right and appropriate actions to take? We involve your consumers directly, enabling you to develop your actions rapidly and in a focused manner.
“We have to decipher what is happening now. The role of insights is to make sure the markets adjust quickly to the changing situation, to the different norm right now. We had to shelve a lot of the plans we had, and change them overnight.”
(client quote from our CMI roundtable discussions on Apr 1, 2020)
Changing habits forced us to question previous habits. This reflection forces us to reinvent ourselves to a smaller or larger extent: as a society, as an individual and as a company or brand. At all different levels (society, consumer, category, brand) and more than ever there is a need for clear guidance in the near and far away future.We offer a variety of explorative, validation and tracking possibilities to get to the most relevant understanding of what to focus on (whether it is a trend, an insight, a habit, a product (feature) or a brand execution), now and in the future.
“The one-million-dollar question is: how can we be ready for the recovery phase? While we do not really know what one should do, we can observe what is happening in the world and in people’s day-to-day life to allow for scenario planning. As such, we bring human insights and coloring to what is happening.”
(client quote from our CMI roundtable discussions on Apr 1, 2020)
In the belief that knowledge is power we have always, and now more than ever, believed in the power of consumers. By staying close to your consumers, by keeping that finger on the pulse, you’ll be able to adapt your actions today and use consumer insights to be prepared for the future.