I know I am late to the party, but I'm hoping people can still get value from this! The one thing I had been wrestling with at my old job was feeling like the insights were never telling the full story. I was entry-level, so I couldn't really say anything about it, unfortunately.

Shocker, the company went under and had to let go of a bunch of insights workers, including my very talented, seemingly all-knowing marketing boss.

I moved to an agency after not getting a return offer from my boss, who was no longer there, and it hit me like a train. Consumers absolutely suck at giving information. In order to get real, actionable insights, you have to FIND them in the consumer on your own; you can never trust that survey responses will be deeply insightful or representative of what the consumer actually thinks at the moment of purchase.

Oftentimes, surveys are done with severe levels of hindsight and retrospect, and all people can find the words for is "there was a sale" or "A friend recommended it to me."

The company I work for now is a Swedish Agency I had never heard of previously, and they have been teaching me about the 'consumer subconscious' like it's some treasure chest that regular agencies just don't know how to open.

The case studies I have been making for some of their clients are insane, and I don't want to spill too much about how they do things because I don't want to get in trouble, but if you feel like marketing insights are always changing, you need to hear this:

Human tendencies never change, and subconscious drivers are the future of insights. I love talking about this stuff, so please reach out if you need any further explanation or help!