Great insights start with how a team perceives their own way of thinking before interacting with consumers:

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• Before consumer research is scoped and executed, key stakeholders should be stimulated to think about the "default benefits" in their category and generating new types of benefits and/or ways of delivering them.

• As it is challenging to see new, tangible opportunities from within the category, it is powerful to realize that many other categories also sell products with similar end-benefits to consumers.

• These different approaches to selling similar end benefits is a huge yet under-utilized resource to stimulate team thinking about how they might uniquely co-lead consumers to better solutions.

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Great insights therefore begin before consumer research by pro-actively:

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• Contrasting the benefits being offered today in your Category:

  • What type of distinctive benefit or experience can you deliver consistently at scale to your consumer? Why does this matter in their lives? 

• Comparing your type of benefit across other categories to inspire new ways to deliver it:

  • Who else is doing a great job in any other category or market by delivering a similar type of consumer benefit in other exciting ways?

  • How does this stimulate our team's thinking about future paths we could prioritize for delivery?

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Contrast & Compare with consumers:

• Contrast & Compare our "pre-totype stimuli" (seed ideas) and prioritize which offer the most distinct, new value to their lives, compared with the market today - and why?

• This approach generates truly fresh insights to guide the team's new value solutions.

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Bottom line::

"Forward search" always beats "re-search" to innovate better propositions.

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