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Welcome to the 19th edition of 5-Minute Insights, the e-mail newsletter from Steve Wills and Sally Webb at Customer Insight Solutions (CI Solutions). We hope that in the few short minutes that it takes to scan the key messages, you will find snippets that are both informative and stimulating. If you want to find out more, we have provided links to longer articles for some of the insights.

INSIGHT IN PRACTICE

BATTLING WITH BUDGETS

In the current economic climate, you may be forced to cut back on some of your insight data sources and planned projects. If you don’t use a systematic way of assessing what to keep and what to lose from your budget, sometimes the winners are just those whose sponsors shout the loudest at you! And these may not be the most valuable projects for the business.

So, what’s the best strategy to adopt? Here are a few quick ideas:

• Anticipate – Think beyond the current recession so that your organisation is well placed to compete when things start picking up. Consider the short and long term impact of any cuts. Identify any items that might be funded by internal clients if you cut them from your budget.
• Prioritise – Look at the potential value of each piece of work. What is its likely impact on sales, acquisition, retention, cost savings etc? If there’s no obvious business benefit, the work may be a prime candidate for cuts.
• Summarise – Produce a colour-coded summary of your budget that will give you a quick, visual guide to those projects that are likely to have the greatest impact.

To find out more about how to survive when your budget is under attack, please click here.
 

LEARNING FROM RECESSION

This develops one of the themes mentioned in the previous feature: the need to plan for the longer term during a recession. Do you have any detailed records and lessons from previous tough times? Whether you have or not, you need to learn from the current situation and store these lessons away so that you can offer more informed advice in the future.

If you put some time aside to learn lessons from the current recession, this could pay dividends in the future. There are four areas on which you should focus:

• The market: Look at the overall changes that are taking place. 
• Your competitors: Which companies are investing in marketing and which are cutting back – and which are the ultimate winners?
• Your customers: How have their behaviour and attitudes changed?
• Your company: What action has your company taken and what impact has it had?

Finally, try and reach a position where you can say: “With hindsight, this is what our company should have done, and this is what the Insight team should have provided.” Then remember that and use the lessons you’ve learnt in the next recession! To read more click here
 

MEET THE TEAM MEMBER - CONFLICT-AVERSE CONNIE

During this series, we are looking at people who typify four different styles of behaviour. We will use two examples of each style: one whose approach has more impact upon other people and one that has more impact upon the task in hand.

Conflict-Averse Connie

The style
This month, we’re focusing on Connie, who is a Relater. She’s a good listener and team player. She’s supportive, sharing and easy-going but she does everything she can to avoid any kind of conflict.

The substance
Sometimes, Connie can be a bit too pliable because harmony is so important to her. This means that people might try and take advantage of her. Others might become frustrated by her reluctance to voice her real opinion for fear of upsetting someone.

The solution
Connie needs to learn the importance of making a stand occasionally and needs to realise that not all conflict is bad. She also needs to show some real passion and commitment for the task or goal in hand. To find out more about how you could help her, please click here.