How organizations translate customer insight into marketing action

Abstract

The use of customer insights (CI) in marketing decisions is poorly understood, partly due to difficulties in obtaining research access and partly because it is assumed in market based learning (MBL) theory that knowledge is a fixed asset. A review of organizational learning literature suggests that a process view of knowledge is appropriate. The four-step MBL framework (acquisition, dissemination, application and storage) however inadequately explains this process. We employ case research including real time experience tracking (RET) and depth interviews to follow individuals as they engage with CIs in marketing decisions over a time period. Our analysis indicates that a new seven-step CI use process provides a richer explanation of organizational CI use. Users acquire and subsequently transform data into CI, which in turn they disseminate among fellow users. Recipients analyse and interpret these CI to reach a common understanding, applied in accepted action. Change emerging from actions is embedded in the organization’s memory – at individual and organizational levels. Our findings provide a richer understanding of organizational CI usage processes, relevant for researchers and practitioners alike. As well as identifying a more detailed process, we observe various blocks to insight acquisition, sharing and usage, including overload, structural and cultural barriers.