Human insight

Human insight is the process of understanding your customer by listening and observing with empathy. It offers a valuable new understanding of your customer that results from listening and observing with empathy and can be used to connect the dots between what they think, feel, say, and do. It provides the "why" context that gives organizations the ability to understand customer needs and rethink ways to better serve them.

Why human insight is important

When human insight is used to make business decisions, it becomes the core driver of compelling customer experiences. For as long as businesses have existed, the most successful ones have recognized that commerce is a fundamentally human endeavor. These organizations understand they’re selling not just a product but an experience—one that motivates and delights rather than frustrates and erodes trust.

Brands have always lived and died based on how well they address these emotions. But the digital age has completely changed the calculus. While the app economy has given businesses an unprecedentedly powerful, fast, and scalable route to market, it also has stripped away much of the human-to-human interaction that used to help organizations know how customers experience the brand.

How to promote customer empathy through human insight

The organizations that can build a trusted relationship through real customer empathy have a tremendous business opportunity today. How can they do it? By emphasizing three priority areas:

  • Culture: Organizations should cultivate human experience as a core value. And all teams should be able to see, hear and talk to customers—not just the privileged few.
  • Strategy: Interaction with real customers must be blended into companies’ data-centric digital processes and personas. It should inform every aspect of product design, creation, and support.
  • Technology: Organizations should take advantage of technology—video, live interviews, and other research studies—to continually interact with customers. This feedback loop should become part of the brand’s lifeblood.