Insights

Insights grounded in how people actually decide.

Research-informed perspective on trust, differentiation, and growth.

For expert-led businesses, insight isn’t about being louder. It’s about being clearer.

This is where we share perspectives drawn from our original research, real conversations, and patterns we see across agencies, consultancies, and professional services firms. The goal isn’t volume or cadence. It’s usefulness — insight that helps leaders see what they’re missing and think more clearly about what to do next.

What you’ll find here

The insights we publish are grounded in research and refined through real-world application.

Topics often include:
  • How trust forms before a sales conversation begins
  • Why differentiation often breaks down, even for firms with a strong difference
  • What research reveals about audience expectations and assumptions
  • How expertise is evaluated, misunderstood, or discounted
  • Where thought leadership helps, and where it gets in its own way

We publish when there’s something worth sharing.

Types of insight you’ll see here

Resources

Short guides to building pipeline, differentiation, reputation, and trust.

Articles & essays

Short-form writing that explores patterns we see in research, client work, and industry conversations.

Research briefs

Accessible interpretations of original research, focused on implications rather than data volume.

Conversations & appearances

Selected podcast interviews, talks, and discussions where research-informed perspective is explored in dialogue with others.

Notes from the field

Occasional observations from working with expert-led teams — moments where assumptions surface or clarity shifts.

How to read this page

You don’t need to read everything here.

If a headline sparks recognition, start there. If something challenges an assumption you’ve been carrying, pause. These insights are meant to support better judgment — not quick answers or shortcuts.

If you’re evaluating whether our approach fits how you think, this page will give you a clear sense of that.

Where these insights come from

Everything we share here is informed by original research into how audiences evaluate expertise and form trust. Sometimes it’s research we’ve conducted. Sometimes it’s research conducted by others that deepens our understanding of the work.

Explore Our Research

If something here resonates

If an insight here reflects a challenge you’re navigating — or names something you haven’t quite been able to articulate — we’d be happy to explore whether research could help bring clarity.

How We Help Start a Conversation

Insights in Your Inbox.

Our perspective is grounded in research, shaped by real conversations, and designed to be Relentlessly Helpful.®️

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Why Companies Aren’t Segmenting, Even Though They Admit They Should Be

The evidence is in – segmented emails work better.  A recent HubSpot article by Pamela Vaughn does a great job of detailing WHY segmentation is so important, and she cites data from Lyris and HubSpot showing that companies segmenting their email efforts experience higher open rates, lower unsubscribe rates and higher revenue from email efforts….
Read More Why Companies Aren’t Segmenting, Even Though They Admit They Should Be

B-to-B Audience Segmentation: A Case Study

Often I’m asked if attitudinal audience segmentation can benefit B-to-B companies as well.  While B-to-B projects carry some unique challenges compared to B-to-C initiatives — finding enough respondents can be tricky, and often they can’t be incented to provide their feedback, for example —  I’ve conducted some fascinating B-to-B projects. As an example I can…
Read More B-to-B Audience Segmentation: A Case Study

Using Your Dog Whistle

I’m a big fan of “The Good Wife” and the other day was watching a episode in which a key character was discussing his political campaign with his campaign manager and pollster.  In an attempt to increase his youth support, the team decides to utilize the candidate’s previous jail term to appeal to this market….
Read More Using Your Dog Whistle

Relevance Mapping: Using Data to Uncover the Real Motivations of Your Target Audiences

I hope you enjoy the presentation on quantitative attitudinal audience segmentation research I gave this week at the BOLO 2010 conference.  It’s on Prezi, which is a new technology for me but I’m very happy with the flexibility and visual interest it provides.  I’ll post more on my thoughts about the conference and what I…
Read More Relevance Mapping: Using Data to Uncover the Real Motivations of Your Target Audiences

Speaking at BOLO 2010

This week I’m privileged to be presenting a session on the importance of true attitudinal audience segmentation research to digital agencies at the BOLO 2010 Conference. I am also proud to be regular contributor to AgencySide, the organization that presents the annual BOLO conference and a terrific resource for agencies “going digital”. My posts for…
Read More Speaking at BOLO 2010

A Quick Plan Check

Whether you’re starting up a new business, launching a new product, or simply making adjustments to what you’ve been doing all along, a little planning can go a long way. Now, I’m a marketing strategist. I believe a marketing plan should start at the beginning — with your audiences — and do a thorough job…
Read More A Quick Plan Check