Humans have battled crises throughout history and often come out the other side stronger. Whether it was wars, famine, plagues or natural disasters, humans are a resilient bunch. With the COVID crisis continuing to build momentum in terms of physical heath, mental health and financial challenges, our collective resiliency is being tested. From the latest IMI data, we see that the estimated end date for COVID continues to extend. This means that the perceived end is not quite yet in sight as 2020 comes to a close.
While much of the conversation to date has been about the “bad news” (infection rates, deaths and impacted communities), there is more to the story. And that is what our expert contributor has explored his entire career. Don Mayo is the Managing Partner, Global, of IMI International, a research-based consultancy. IMI has been peeling the onion to discover new truths for half a century. Due to the unique approach that IMI has created, it’s worthwhile to explore how this team works.
A METHOD TO THE MADNESS
IMI International started 2020 celebrating its 50th year in business. During this time, IMI has been conducting and analyzing research to gain and share insights. Don started as an intern back in 1986 while he was in university and this has been his one job. Today, Don and his team provides solutions for companies around the world. Organizations globally have issues, questions or opportunities and they want consumer or customer feedback or input.
Companies ask regularly: “how do my consumers / brands / campaigns work?” And therefore, “how do we go to market?” IMI looks at what information is necessary to make a sound business decision. Conducting research in 45 countries and on four continents, IMI works with nearly 200 companies per year globally. Their focus is to deliver insights that drive profit because the world is filled with way too much data. Don believes there is also too much research done to ‘check the box’ so there’s too much noise in the data.
IMI’s focus is around exploring: “Do you have a question?” or “What decision are you trying to make?” At that point, Don’s team will present an approach to find a solution to confirm or refute what you’re thinking. Or, it’s how to optimize how to work forward in a solutions-focused manner.
People SAY a lot of things and INTEND to do a lot of things but they often don’t DO them.
Don understands there’s a lot of science, blended with art, in this type of exploration. The key insight anyone can take away is past behaviour dictates future behaviour. A common area that demonstrates the importance of understanding behavior vs. intention is weight loss. Over the past 20 year, over 70% have said ‘I intend to lose weight in the next 12 months.’ However, these same people have NOT worked out in the last week and ate fast food three times. The reality is that the behaviour of inactivity and poor eating habits eliminates the attitude of ‘intending to lose weight.’ Don explains you must understand and appreciate attitudes, but focus laser attention on behaviours when studying any topic.
NOT SO UNCHARTED TERRITORY
As a result of…
