Article by ICG member Morgan Arnell, Co-Founder of Mingle Connections
Most organisations don’t have a data problem.
They have a distance problem.
Despite more dashboards, trackers and reports than ever before, many businesses feel strangely unsure when it comes to the decisions that matter most. Teams debate. Alignment meetings multiply. Consumer or customer insight is referenced, but rarely felt. Somewhere along the way, the humans that buy your products or services become an abstraction and are rarely top of mind when decisions are being made.
Ask yourself this:
When was the last time your leadership team spent meaningful time with a real consumer — in their world, on their terms?
For many organisations, the honest answer is rarely — or never.
This distance has consequences. Brands lose relevance. Innovation misses the mark. Decisions slow down or default to what feels safe internally rather than what works externally. Consumer-centricity becomes something organisations talk about, not something they practice.
Consumer Closeness is about closing that gap
At Mingle Connections that is all we do! In 30 years of leading it in organisations of all shapes and sizes our Co-Founder, Morgan Arnell, thought he’d put his thoughts into a short guide.
If you work in the world of brands we’re sure the topic of consumer closeness has probably come up. Maybe it’s got pushed down the list of priorities or you haven’t felt confident enough to drive such activity in your business. We hope this paper can give you the confidence to make a clear business case for making time for consumer closeness and a draw from some of the tools and tips to do it brilliantly.
Download this free paper to learn:
- What consumer closeness actually is (and isn’t)
- Why consumer closeness is more important now than ever
- The tangible value it adds – not just to the process of insight generation but also to your culture and its impact on decision making
- A framework for doing consumer closeness like a pro
- Our top tips to make it stick in your organisation, shifting consumer closeness from a buzz word to something your business just does.
It will give you the language and frameworks you need to make a real case for consumer closeness in your organisation. To bring the voice of the consumer into everyone’s mind and increase the impact those humans that buy your products and services have on the decisions you make. Because when consumer closeness is led well, owned proudly and linked to real business challenges, it creates impact that goes far beyond the moments of connection themselves
Mingle Conssumer Closeness Paper