A recent New York Times article examining more than 370,000 college essays explored an uncomfortable question: Is AI helping us become more creative, or is it just helping us sound more creative? Researchers found that while AI-assisted writing often appeared polished and sophisticated, the underlying ideas became increasingly similar. Distinctive thinking was replaced by patterns, …
Read MoreCo-creation, introduced in 2003 by C.K. Prahalad and Venkat Ramaswamy, is “the joint creation of value by the company and the customer.” But it is frequently misunderstood. It is not a suggestion box. It is not crowdsourcing feedback after a product ships. True co-creation is a cooperative process where customers and firms create value through …
Read More90% of new product launches fail due to “Internal Projection” the gap between boardroom excitement and customer reality. The problem? The “Passion is Not Proof” Trap Does this sound familiar? A passionate internal team advocates for a bold new concept, backed by their years of expertise and a handful of core assumptions. But when it …
Read MoreThe Death of Reactive Research Most organizations operate in a state of permanent “Intelligence Lag.” By the time a trend appears in a syndicated report or on a social listening dashboard, the window for first-mover advantage has already closed. Relying on these commoditized snapshots means you are following the market rather than leading it. To …
Read MoreAt some point, every organization faces crucial decisions on launching a new product or service that was a significant investment, entering a new market that may come with a risk, or pivoting to stay in touch with the market reality. In these moments, leadership isn’t looking for a general sense of consumer sentiment. They need …
Read MoreIs the research industry standing at a peculiar crossroads? We possess technology capable of generating synthetic respondents at unprecedented scale, simulating market behaviors with remarkable fidelity, and producing insights at computational speeds that would have seemed fantastical a decade ago. Yet we simultaneously grapple with fundamental questions about authenticity, validation, and trust. Digital twins promise …
Read MoreEvery year, brands invest millions crafting customer experiences and communication strategies, new service models, brand campaigns, digital journeys, messaging frameworks. Yet according to Forrester’s 2024 US Customer Experience Index, CX quality sits at an all-time low after declining for an unprecedented third year in a row, with 39% of brands declining in quality over the …
Read MoreThe AI Landscape Today As AI has moved from experimental to operational across market research, suppliers and buyers are deploying AI for asynchronous prompting, real-time dynamic summaries, and sophisticated analysis. Multiple suppliers at CRC (the Corporate Researchers Conference) reported 80%+ accuracy rates when comparing AI-generated synthetic data against human-derived insights. Factor in cost advantages and …
Read MoreEvery year, I attend the Insight Association’s Corporate Researcher’s Conference hoping for inspiration. This year’s CRC didn’t just inspire, it illuminated the path forward for our entire industry. As I walked through the sessions and networking spaces, one thing became crystal clear: we’re not just talking about AI anymore; we’re living in its reality. For …
Read MoreI’ve been helping companies better understand their customers and make better decisions for longer than I care to admit. More than 20 years of that time was spent leading insights, customer experience, and strategy teams at Fortune 500 insurance companies. Though I didn’t grow up dreaming of someday helping develop new insurance products or designing …
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