“Painting an Insights Picture”Written and designed by

Michael Evanchan

The following is a framework for attacking business problems by identifying the right questions, transforming into useful information, and translating into actionable insights.

Now let’s paint a picture...

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1) Identify the problem

2) Gather Information

3) Find the Insight

Action Steps

Questions, Questions, Questions! Defining the business problem means asking the right questions. Filter into 3

insight pools: Emotional, Market, Functional.

Data, Data, Data! Our well defined business problem points us towards the right data to answer our

questions. Now where is the story? Find the feeling.

Ouch! Insights are painful! The data has given us an insight. Now we can provide content, creative, and

marketing with a strategic recommendation.

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Understanding our consumer

Identify the problem

Emotional Drivers

Getting to know what motivates our target audience. Are they driven by fear or desire? Why? Identifying emotional drivers is the

most important step in generating insights.

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Market InsightsUnderstanding the landscape

Identify the problem

Getting to know the lay of the land. Identify your competition, their

positioning, who is winning and why.

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Understanding our product

Functional Insights

Identify the problem

Getting to know how our target audience interacts with the product or brand. Identifying who is

using, what they like, what they dislike, what is missing, and (most importantly) why they need it.

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Gather information

Now that we’ve hunted for the right questions, it’s time to gather the right information.

Design your research with the goal of answering a specific insight. Dig into the data leaving no stone unturned. Discover the right

story based on what the information gives you.

Data is useless unless you can see the story. Our audience makes decisions based on feeling

(fears or desires), not fact. Find the feeling.

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Find the insightIf asking the right questions led us toward the right story in the right data… right now

the light should be going off…Insight!

Insights are painful truths about our consumer’s motivations (fears or desires)

that are actionable by the brand.

Insights are not observations. They help us provide a go-to-market strategy for content,

creative, and product development.

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Put it all together…

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The End

…to reach our goals!

By understanding insights, we can better position your brand, improve site interaction, and drive conversions

throughout the sales process.

This framework provides a system and structure for attacking business problems. Discipline within this

framework leads to actionable insights.

Our portrait of product, market, and consumer insights will empower us with recommendations to

drive revenue and reach goals!

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