What is Insight?
by Colin Bates
'Insight' is a great word. It sounds valuable. Good to have, and worth paying a consultant or agency for if we can't find one ourselves. An insight is going to help us succeed, to beat the competition. But just what is an insight? How can you be sure you've got one?
Next time you think you've got an insight, check it against this definition:
An insight is a fresh and unexpected perspective. It gets the following reaction from those involved: "Wow, yes, you're right. I'd never really thought of it like that before, but you're absolutely right. You really understand what's going on here".
Achieving that kind of reaction is not easy. It means you have to think of something that no one else has thought of before. Or, more accurately, that no one else in your market has thought of before.
It requires that you look at things differently. For that reason, most of the great sources of 'insight inspiration' are from outside of your category, and often outside of your (geographic) marketplace. Find out what's going on in other countries, other categories, other companies - and you might just come up with a fresh and unexpected perspective on your market.
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