Understanding your customers has become the ultimate business superpower

Numbers tell stories, but only humans comprehend them.

As the interpreters of these meaningful narratives, insights professionals now hold coveted positions at decision-making tables across major corporations, bringing customer perspectives to business strategy discussions. This shift places new demands on researchers to become strategic partners while maintaining their connection to authentic human experiences. The conversation on Insightful Inspiration between Host Isabelle Landreville and Karen Lynch, Head of Content at Greenbook, looks into how this evolution affects both research practices and business outcomes.

"When you're seated around the table, you can't just be passive listeners to what's going on -  you have to be active participants in that room," Lynch says. "You have to know what you're talking about. You have to be strategic thinkers."

This evolution isn't optional; it’s essential. Companies excelling at understanding their customers consistently outperform their peers, with research from McKinsey showing they achieve revenue growth rates 85 percent higher than those that neglect deeper insights. In other words, in markets where products and pricing can be easily replicated, deep customer understanding becomes one of the few durable advantages.

Beyond data to understanding

The gap between collecting feedback and genuinely understanding your customers represents a crucial distinction in business intelligence. While feedback captures reactions, understanding explores motivations and emotional drivers.

"Getting feedback versus understanding people — qualitative shines with the latter,” Lynch says.

Business questions now drive research design. Landreville, drawing from Sylvestre & Co.'s approach of starting every project with strategic clarity, notes how investigations begin with business objectives: "It's not a research question as much as a business objective or a business problem," she observes.

The changing research dynamic

Researchers face pressure to maximise impact with fewer resources. For example, Lynch highlights how insights professionals must optimise their seat at the table by participating in strategic discussions while championing customer perspectives.

With stakeholders across departments, insights teams must tailor findings without diluting core messages:

Lynch mentions that "there's a greater need for insights people to be amazing communicators and to cater to their internal targets without losing sight of the insights."

This communication expertise directly determines whether insights drive real change.

Creating business impact

Actionable insights remain the gold standard, but action requires influence. Lynch points out: "Our insights are actionable. Well, they're only actionable if somebody takes action on them. And that is often out of the hands of the insights professional."

Successful leaders approach their role as business partners first. "My job is to make my client really look good internally in their organisation,” says Lynch.

This partner-focused approach extends beyond individual insights professionals to shape entire organisational cultures.

Building a customer-understanding culture

Organisations excelling at understanding their customers break down silos, integrate customer perspectives into decisions, and maintain empathy at all levels.

Lynch cautions about forgetting team humanity: "If you're in an organisation and you forget your team is a team of people, I think that's something to watch out for."

The human element remains essential in understanding your customers. Technical skills matter, but empathy distinguishes exceptional insights teams.

Landreville, whose firm has navigated these strategic shifts across 50 years of qualitative research, captures this paradox: "Communication is more important than ever in this time where we're stretched on time ... the saying goes, 'I didn't have time so I didn't write you a short letter. I wrote you a long one.'"

Understanding your customers remains the ultimate business superpower, requiring both technical proficiency and human empathy.

Curious about building a stronger customer-understanding culture in your organisation? Contact Sylvestre & Co. to explore how our human-first approach can elevate your insights practice and drive meaningful business outcomes.

Insightful Inspiration is brought to you by Sylvestre & Co., an award-winning qualitative research firm with half a century of experience uncovering authentic human truths for global brands.

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