What Are Consumer Insights, Exactly?

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”

Henry Ford

I can’t begin to count the number of times that I’ve heard this quote referenced as a rationale for not relying on consumer input. As a professional who has built a career on understanding consumers, shoppers, users and customers, I often feel we’ve drifted away from distinguishing how an insight is fundamentally different from a fact, observation or opinion.

It seems to me that Ford nailed the idea of a consumer insight in his quote. Had he talked to consumers about what they wanted, it’s true – he probably would have heard only about faster horses. Instead, the broader insight that Ford understood was what consumers feel they really need: to go faster.

Ford may never have conducted research with consumers to uncover or validate this insight, but it still serves as a very powerful example of understanding a consumer desire and then translating that understanding into a product that serves a real consumer need.

It’s also illustrative of how the true power of an insight is unlocked when the suggested next steps create meaningful differentiation, disruptive change and accelerated growth. Ford’s “faster” insight certainly achieved all three of these goals by changing more than the way we move from place to place; it also changed the very pace of progress.

Ultimately, Ford tapped into the space where magic happens – where businesses experience inspiration, realize discernment and discover innovation. Services like Uber, products like Swiffer and social media disruptors like Snapchat are some more recent examples of innovations that emerged from the evolving sphere of insights.

Consumer insights can drive your bottom-line success, too – if you know how to tap fully into their magic and power.

The Ins and Outs of Consumer Insights

So, what qualifies as a true insight, and why is the distinction consequential?

At the outset, it may be more helpful to define what an insight is not, rather than what it is. As I mentioned above, an insight is not a fact, observation or opinion. All these things are useful and necessary in discovering insights, but none of them are insights in and of themselves.

Facts

In its essence, a fact is scientifically verifiable. In business, a fact often presents as a data point and is commonly referred to as a truth about customers. An example would be a statistic that helps us understand the world around us – such as the Forbes survey showing that 11% of respondents had never left their home state.

Observations

By contrast, an observation is something that you perceive to be true based on experiences and perceptions. It’s not necessarily a fact, because an observation could be true, but it needs verifiable evidence to support it. The danger of an observation is that we can be virtually certain it’s true, only to discover later that the facts do not support it. 

A common observation for the past several years has been that people are no longer making many payments with cash. What makes this observation interesting is that, when this perception first emerged, it wasn’t true. Back in 2018, cash was still the most often used method of payment in the U.S., accounting for nearly a third of all transactions. As of 2024, though, cash makes up only 16% of payments. So, this particular observation, while not originally accurate, turned out to be somewhat prophetic. Observations, it turns out, aren’t dependable – and our perceptions are often just glimpses of moving targets. 

Opinions

An opinion is more nuanced compared to a fact or an observation. An opinion builds on an observation or a fact, but it is a personal viewpoint such as, “I think that kids today don’t understand the value of hard work.”

The distinction in this case is that the result requires a person to make a value judgment based on their observations. For example, the opinion-holder might have seen a young child who was playing video games and, based on that and similar observations, formed an opinion that “kids today don’t understand the value of hard work.”

You’ve probably been in meetings where the conversation referred to an insight, but the discussion actually focused on one of the above concepts.

To be clear, an insight is not entirely distinct from facts, observations, and opinions; rather, it is derived from them as a triangulation of the three.

The Next Level: Highly Actionable Insights

Similarly, insight is not pure science, art or intuition, and it can at times be opaque or even subjective. But a skilled practitioner can uncover highly actionable insights with a strategic approach that leverages all three to create clarity and focus.

Perhaps this is why defining insights is such a struggle. Over the years, I’ve heard different definitions not only among different companies, but also among professionals within the same company. Some say that an insight can be framed only as a statement of what the consumer wants, needs or believes. Others say that an insight must be worded in a very memorable way, using as few words as possible – Henry Ford’s “faster” insight for example.

Naturally, the opaque and subjective dynamic of insights is also why so many brands have defaulted to relying on purely data-based decisions, without delving into what I would label the “why territory.” Not only is the why territory a bit murky, but it also takes up our most precious resource – time.

But deep, critical, strategic thinking is crucial to understanding consumer perceptions, needs and wants on a more conscious level. The why territory requires the courage and curiosity of an archaeologist, because you must be willing to dig well below the surface of what the data appears to show to discover the deeper, more ambiguous human emotions and beliefs that drive what people do. Some key ways to do this include focus groups, in-depth interviews, ethnographic market research and customer segmentation.

Of course, insights aren’t just about venturing into the why territory; it’s also about mapping the path forward. Deciding what a business stakeholder, designer, creative or marketer should do because of the uncovered insights in the most crucial next step. Quite simply, a why without an actionable recommendation isn’t very useful. As such, consumer insights play a huge role in developing a great brand strategy.

As I mentioned earlier, the magic happens in the space where what you’ve discovered becomes the driving force behind a new product, an improved strategy or a boost in marketing ROI. And that magic starts with a true insight, just like Ford’s.

Want to learn more about how Material can help you fully leverage consumer insights to deepen your human understanding of your customers and drive growth for your bottom line? Let’s chat.