{"id":10262,"date":"2023-03-13T12:24:41","date_gmt":"2023-03-13T16:24:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leaphumanx.com\/?p=10262"},"modified":"2023-03-27T09:50:51","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T13:50:51","slug":"breakthrough-insights-a-qa-with-timothy-sauer-ph-d","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leaphumanx.com\/insights\/news\/breakthrough-insights-a-qa-with-timothy-sauer-ph-d\/","title":{"rendered":"Breakthrough Insights: A Q&A with Timothy Sauer, Ph.D."},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Research is the foundation of quality marketing. When our team takes on a client, we let the human insights our in-house research team uncovers lead the project.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Sometimes, we go in a research project with a notion of what the outcome may be. And sometimes, the truth we discover is anything but expected. Those are what we like to call <\/span>breakthrough insights<\/span><\/b>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Marketers should approach research with an open mind and let the data lead them to places they haven\u2019t yet imagined. That is where the magic happens.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

We sat down with Timothy Sauer, Ph.D., the head of Leap Group\u2019s in-house research team, to discuss research, breakthrough human insights, and letting data lead the project.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

*This interview has been edited for length and clarity.\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Q: What is the value of research and marketing?<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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TS<\/strong>: Market research is like the North Star. It\u2019s the jumping off point, the building block for strategy, and what we essentially measure all execution against.<\/p>

\"\"<\/p>

Because we\u2019re all talented marketers, we can have our own hypotheses or guesses [going into a project] \u2014 but none of that really matters, unless we know what matters to the consumer. We can have great, brilliant ideas for creative, but if we don\u2019t understand the consumer and what\u2019s going to resonate, we\u2019re taking a shot in the dark. To put the best foot forward, we should begin with research.<\/p>

It doesn\u2019t have to be a huge lift. It\u2019s more than just checking the boxes. [Research is about] taking the time to get the understanding of the company, the client, the landscape, and ultimately the customer.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Q: Does every project start with research?<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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TS<\/strong>: Ideally, every project starts with research.<\/p>

Typically, at a minimum, [we like] to at least have stakeholder calls before we go and execute anything. The goal is to talk to those key stakeholders to find out how they frame their needs, goals, what they want to get out of whatever they\u2019ve signed with us, what their value proposition is, [what their products or services are], and what they know about their customers.<\/p>

In addition to the stakeholder interview, we typically do what\u2019s called business alignment, and that\u2019s just gathering data from [the client]. Oftentimes, they already have some sort of foundation [of data and insights] if they\u2019ve been executing or creating their own strategy. Hopefully, there\u2019s remnants or pieces of [research like] personas. Or maybe they\u2019ve done focus groups five or ten years ago, or they\u2019ve done some ongoing customer surveys; that kind of stuff. We ask for all of that, even before stakeholder interviews to find out where the gaps are.<\/p>

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Q: How do you gauge what sort of research you need to do in each project?<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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TS<\/strong>: [Once we\u2019ve completed the stakeholder interviews and business alignment, we say] let\u2019s go look at how you sit within your vertical and within your competitive set. Let\u2019s go look at what others are doing, what others are saying. Where is the whitespace? How are you positioned within your competitive set? Is there somewhere, within our value proposition, that we think is going to resonate in a way that hasn\u2019t been marketed or positioned before?<\/p>

The final piece would be, what I think is the most valuable, let\u2019s talk to your consumers. It\u2019s the same for B2B and B2C. Whoever you are trying to market to, let\u2019s talk to them.<\/p>

Audience research can [include] focus groups, where we spend 90 minutes with a sample of four to six individuals that would be part of your target audience and we\u2019ll talk to them about their consumer journey and what they look for. [Focus groups are] in real time, and we can [pivot] if somebody says something that we hadn\u2019t thought of before.<\/p>

It can [also include] surveys. The benefit of a survey is a much larger sample, and a lot faster turnaround. But we\u2019re not going to have the depth [of a focus group].<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Q: When you approach a new project, do you have a preconceived idea of how it might go?<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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TS:<\/strong> We go in with full-formed methodology.<\/p>

Do we know what we\u2019re going to hear, what we\u2019re going to learn? No.<\/p>

Do we have some notion of what might come out of it? Yes, we do.<\/p>

Are there times where we\u2019re completely wrong about what we thought about what a client was thinking? Yes, that does happen.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Even from a methodology standpoint \u2014 where we are trying to recruit for a niche [and] there\u2019s a lot of trouble incentivizing or getting [participants] to commit [to a study]. We might have to pivot to [another method].<\/p>

\"\" It\u2019s all about being able to pivot. We hope that\u2019s not the case, and it\u2019s a rare occurrence. But you\u2019ve got to be agile on your feet if something\u2019s not working.<\/p>

One of the more interesting studies we did was on a dating app [startup]. I\u2019ve been married for 13 years. From popular media, I know about dating apps [but not much]. When you start getting into different verticals and industries, we\u2019re going to go in not knowing a hell of a lot, and that\u2019s the fun of it.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Q: Has there ever been a time conducting research where you ran into an opportunity or insight that you did not see coming?<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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TS<\/b>: It\u2019s not a measurable goal, but I really like to have that happen at least once every study. It shows depth, that we\u2019ve gotten to something like that. It shows a level of understanding that we\u2019ve gone well beyond what [the client] might have considered.<\/p>

We worked with a startup that creates stainless steel bottles. It was a new-to-market product. We were doing the initial feasibility study, market positioning, that kind of thing. [We were researching] where are you going to sell it, how are you going to sell it. We looked at the industry and across the board, brands were going after 18 to 34-year-old females in the wellness and fitness vertical. [Other brands were saying], \u201cHey, take this to yoga, take this to exercise class, when you\u2019re going on a hike.\u201d<\/p>

What we found when talking to consumers, [some participants] said: \u201cHey that\u2019s all great, but I don\u2019t see myself in that imagery. I don\u2019t have time for that, seeing people at a music festival with their water bottles. I breastfeed and you get really dehydrated when you breastfeed. It\u2019s encouraged to drink plenty of fluids. Why don\u2019t you show imagery there? If you want a use case, show the bottle with a new mother that\u2019s breastfeeding.\u201d<\/p>

I was like, holy shit. I never thought about it. Going and looking at the content that was out there, using our social listening tools and manual effort scouring the competitive set, [we found] nobody was playing there.<\/p>

The [lesson] was, we need to be more inclusive. We [had been] more narrowly focused, and there were real opportunities to broaden the reach and resonate with more people.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Q: Has there ever been a time where you uncovered an issue you did not expect?<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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TS<\/strong>: A lot of times [that happens] in startups, where they have a product concept, they\u2019ve done some work and their hearts are in it, and they think it\u2019s going to be a great, game-changing thing. You go out and do the research, and we must be honest with them and say this doesn\u2019t seem feasible in this market. We\u2019ll give recommendations. The dating app [I mentioned previously] had that [problem]. There\u2019s so much saturation in the market. You\u2019re just going to be one in a million.<\/p>

I can think of an example, a healthcare brand we took website mockup creative in front of. They wanted to validate a new design and compare it to an old design [in a focus group], and people preferred the old design.<\/p>

[The issue] was around the language itself. It was clinical and medical. You\u2019ve got to be careful because some marketing copy is written by healthcare professionals, and they\u2019ll start using terms that the public will say, \u201cI don\u2019t know what that means. It doesn\u2019t resonate with me.\u201d<\/p>

That\u2019s not fun to give back to the creative team, or to give to the client who\u2019s just invested this time and money. But I\u2019d rather catch it now before it goes live.<\/p>

What we\u2019re able to do there then is pivot, go back, and make some changes. When we do that research, we aren\u2019t just asking \u201cwhich one do you like more?\u201d It\u2019s, \u201cWhy do you like this one more? What do you not like about this? What can be improved?\u201d So, we come back with a set of recommendations.<\/p>

Learning from Breakthrough Insights<\/p>

Research is the North Star of any marketing project. Seasoned professionals can anticipate results, but even the most educated guess is pointless if it doesn\u2019t reflect the voice of the consumer. Research can uncover breakthrough insights in the form of opportunities or issues that can make or break a given project.<\/p>

If your brand needs assistance in research, we are here to help. To learn more about our in-house research team, 20 years and counting of experience, and how it can work for you, visit our website or contact us for a consultation.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Research is the foundation of quality marketing. We sat down with the head of Leap’s in-house research team to discuss the value of research and letting data lead the project. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":10264,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,176,26,10],"tags":[62],"industry":[223],"class_list":["post-10262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital-news","category-industry-insights","category-market-research","category-news","tag-marketing-research","industry-audience-intelligence"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/leaphumanx.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/leaphumanx.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/leaphumanx.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leaphumanx.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leaphumanx.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10262"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/leaphumanx.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10262\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leaphumanx.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/leaphumanx.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leaphumanx.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leaphumanx.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10262"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leaphumanx.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=10262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}