Success in the insights function requires a deeper understanding of the journey of people’s lives, not just more data about the shopper journey.

Customer centricity is no longer enough. In fact, it’s not even quite right. The success of your business must be built on a foundation of empathy, which means putting the human experience at the centre of everything a company does, not simply the customer. To do this, companies must adopt a more expansive way of doing business, by embracing what we’re calling “the imperative of imagination”.

The importance of empathy is one of three key takeaways from Insights 2030, Kantar’s in-depth investigation of the future of insights. Supported by an advisory board of industry organisations and leading companies, including primary sponsor and collaborator Colgate-Palmolive, Kantar’s work for Insights 2030 entailed hundreds of one-on-one interviews with business leaders around the world as well as a global survey among 1,700-plus senior business and insights leaders.

Global business leaders made it clear in our study that they believe success in the future necessitates a deeper understanding of the journey of people’s lives, not just more data about the shopper journey.