Julio Franco’s journey into the world of consumer insights isn’t what you’d call ordinary. While many professionals in the field admit they stumbled into it, Julio was practically born into consumer insights. Growing up in Colombia, he was immersed in a world where focus groups, data analysis, and market research were everyday conversations at the dinner table. His father, a pioneer in the consumer insights industry, helped introduce formal market research in Colombia. By the time Julio was old enough to grasp the concepts, he had already seen firsthand how data could influence business decisions.
“I was surrounded by focus groups, surveys, and data analysis from a very young age,” Julio recalls. “It became a part of my life long before I realized it was my passion.” With a background in psychology, he was naturally fascinated by understanding human behavior and how it could drive human-centric decisions. Working in consumer insights seemed like the perfect fit—a space where his academic passions intersected with practical impact.
His professional career began in Colombia as an analyst, where he developed a keen understanding of data and the power it holds in shaping business strategy. As he gained experience, he moved to the United States and joined Ipsos, where he tackled a variety of research projects, spanning different industries and specializing in global and U.S. Hispanic market research. Each role gave him a deeper appreciation of market segment nuances and how they inform consumer behavior.
A major turning point came when Julio transitioned from research to the brand side by joining AIG. There, he built the company’s first consumer insights function from the ground up. The role was eye-opening and incredibly rewarding. “I saw firsthand how insights could drive an organization’s strategic decisions,” he says. But this experience also unveiled a major challenge in the industry: speed. The traditional approach to market research, which often took six weeks or more, simply couldn’t keep up with the pace of real-time business needs. “We were losing influence because the data wasn’t available fast enough to guide real-time decision-making,” Julio explains.
That frustration marked the beginning of a quest for solutions. Then he discovered Zappi, a company that was addressing precisely the problem he had been grappling with. Zappi was transforming consumer insights through technology, offering high-quality data at the speed today’s businesses require. Julio had a pivotal choice to make: continue trying to transform what felt like a “Blockbuster model” or join a company that had the potential to be the “Netflix for consumer insights.” He chose the latter.
“I remember vividly a moment at AIG,” he recounts. “I had convinced a senior business leader to use consumer insights for a key decision. When he asked how long it would take, I said six weeks. His response was, ‘I can’t wait six weeks. The business can’t wait six weeks.’” That moment crystallized the problem for Julio. Insights had to be delivered faster; otherwise, the voice of the consumer would be left out of critical business decisions.
Joining Zappi was serendipitous and, in many ways, inevitable. The company’s use of automation to deliver high-quality insights in hours, not weeks, aligned perfectly with Julio’s vision. For the past eight years at Zappi, he has worked closely with other insights leaders to ensure the consumer’s voice is integral to decision-making processes. He’s also committed to representing customers’ needs internally, helping Zappi evolve to keep pace with market demands.
Reflecting on his journey, Julio’s motivation is clear. “If I could have offered insights in a few hours instead of weeks, it would have made all the difference,” he says. That realization drives his passion to advance the consumer insights field, a profession he was born into and continues to shape.
The New Era of Consumer Insights
One of the most significant challenges facing the industry today is driving behavior change. Julio recognized early on that the gap between market research and the real needs of businesses was not just an inconvenience—it was a major roadblock. “Many market researchers are naturally risk-averse and set in their ways,” he reflects. Yet, Zappi was determined to change this landscape by being the first organization to introduce technology into consumer insights. The idea of fast, high-quality insights was met with skepticism at first, especially from professionals used to traditional, slower methods. But as Julio puts it, “We’ve demonstrated that fast, high-quality insights are not just possible but reliable. Today, speed is expected, and digital insights have become table stakes.”
As the industry evolves, Zappi’s challenge has shifted to helping customers transform their approach to data, ensuring it becomes a valuable, accessible asset. Julio explains, “Having insights quickly is great, but being able to learn on demand from every insight across your organization is transformative.” To achieve this, Zappi has worked tirelessly to re-onboard long-term customers, restructuring their data assets for both immediate questions and broader, strategic ones. This work isn’t just about technology; it’s about guiding entire organizations—hundreds of them, in fact—through a paradigm shift in how they perceive and use data.
Julio’s role at Zappi revolves around ensuring customer success. He oversees teams that deliver value through various channels, including customer support, professional services, and survey delivery. His goal? To guarantee that customers have consumer insights at their fingertips whenever they need them. “As we drive this industry change, we’re also helping our customers shift their own operations,” he says. “We’ve essentially taken on a role that feels more like management consulting, mentoring our clients on how to incorporate technology into their workflows. It’s something we’ve embraced and excelled at.”
Julio’s passion for his work is evident. His position allows him to bridge two essential worlds: helping clients connect deeply with their consumers, and ensuring Zappi’s innovations are genuinely customer-centric. He describes himself as a translator, especially crucial in such a disruptive field. “It’s not about giving customers what they think they want,” he emphasizes. “If we did, we’d be delivering ‘faster horses’ instead of meaningful innovation. My job is to uncover their core needs and create solutions that truly add value.”
From Fast and Cheap to Competitive Advantage
What becomes evident quickly in business is that once a new company disrupts an industry, it opens the doors to new evolutions. For Zappi, it found that speed alone wasn’t enough to revolutionize insights. The company, in part to Julio’s strategic direction from working with customers, needed to go one step further.
For Zappi, this evolution was the idea of connecting a company’s entire data asset. Historically, market research is designed to answer questions at a point in time. But what happens if you put them together? This more systematic approach enables companies to leverage past research seamlessly, transforming consumer data into a long-term asset rather than a one-off resource. Imagine a consumer packaged goods (CPG) company looking to validate a product concept. Instead of conducting a new survey every time, they can tap into their existing data, seeing how similar ideas have performed historically. “It’s a game-changer,” Julio says. “Companies can ask questions and get answers using a rich, historical data layer, making decision-making faster and more efficient.”
To enhance data connectivity, Zappi began designing methodologies that directly serve business needs. Traditional market research methods were often disconnected from real-world consumer behaviors and business questions. To change this, Zappi collaborated with a network of customer-centric organizations, developing open-source methodologies that could address genuine strategic needs. “Our clients aren’t just getting data,” Julio explains. “They’re getting actionable insights that impact their strategies and performance.”
For Zappi, onboarding new clients means more than just familiarizing them with the platform. It’s about understanding their business outcomes and setting up data infrastructures that align with their strategic goals. Julio emphasizes the importance of customizing this process: “Because we’ve worked with about two-thirds of the Fortune 500, we can anticipate needs and provide tailored recommendations.”
The work isn’t always easy. It requires guiding clients to digitize and seamlessly embed data into their decision-making processes. However, the payoff is significant. “When we start working with companies,” Julio says, “we show them how to turn years of disorganized data into a streamlined, accessible asset.” By tagging data with business-relevant variables, Zappi ensures that teams can make informed decisions using existing insights. For instance, if a marketing team wants to explore new product packaging, they can look back at past consumer data rather than running a new study. As Julio sees it, “This way, we reduce waste and empower our clients to innovate confidently.”
The AI Revolution in Market Research
Artificial intelligence and large language models (LLMs) are reshaping countless industries, and market research is no exception. This field, inherently data-driven, benefits immensely from AI’s capabilities. Julio explains that at Zappi, the integration of AI isn’t new. “We’ve been leveraging AI and machine learning from the very beginning, building well-structured data long before it became mainstream,” he says. As a result, they find themselves ahead of the competition in harnessing AI’s full potential to drive analysis, insights, and innovation.
AI is indeed transformative. The speed and ease with which vast datasets can now be processed are revolutionizing how insights are generated. “The beauty of this transformation is that it’s increasingly user-friendly,” Julio observes. The market research industry, with its foundation in data interpretation and strategic questioning, is uniquely poised to maximize AI’s potential. Traditionally, researchers asked questions to consumers. Today, they can ask questions of the AI systems themselves.
“What sets market researchers apart is our unique skill set,” Julio explains. “We understand data deeply, and we’re experts at crafting precise, impactful questions.” This dual expertise is incredibly relevant in the age of AI and concepts like prompt engineering. With a robust data foundation, market researchers can use AI to gain insights that are both comprehensive and timely, a game-changer for the entire industry.
Empowering Decision-Makers Globally
In today’s dynamic business landscape, there are generally two types of organizational models. On one hand, some companies follow a traditional top-down approach where decisions flow from the top tier of leadership. On the other hand, there are organizations that embrace a more bottom-up model, one that empowers individuals at every level to make critical decisions. As Julio puts it, the latter approach is becoming increasingly common. “The top-down model is phasing out,” Julio notes. “Brands are now empowering their teams to act as autonomous decision-makers.”
For Julio and his team, the secret lies in creating a solid foundation that enables users worldwide to operate in a way that suits their local needs yet aligns with an overarching global strategy. It’s a delicate balancing act, but one that is driven by a relentless focus on simplicity and user needs. Their method involves addressing specific business needs, whether they vary by market, brand, or operational area. Yet, they also ensure there’s no dissonance when local insights coalesce into a global vision. “This requires a thoughtful approach,” Julio explains. “We often collaborate with proactive partners who understand the goal of establishing a connected system.”
For Julio and his team, customer success manifests in tangible outcomes. It’s about seeing their clients’ products and advertising resonate in the market. “It’s incredibly rewarding to witness a concept that was refined on our platform become a market hit,” Julio shares. This not only validates the importance of involving consumers in decision-making but also reinforces the value of a consumer-centric approach.
Success for their clients translates to growth and market impact. Julio is quick to point out that when their clients succeed in launching popular, well-received products, it confirms that the company’s consumer-centric model is working. “Our success is a mirror of theirs,” he explains, underscoring how deeply intertwined these achievements are.
Empathy in Business
For Julio, one core principle stands out: empathy. Whether it’s in the realm of consumer insights or customer success, the ability to understand and genuinely feel what another person experiences is fundamental. “Both fields come down to seeing the world from someone else’s perspective,” Julio explains. In consumer insights, it means understanding how consumers perceive a product, a brand, or an idea. It’s about seeing things through their eyes and using that perspective to inform business decisions.
The same holds true for customer success. “It’s right there in the name: Customer Success,” Julio points out. “Our role is to ensure our customers achieve their goals, and that’s only possible if you truly understand their world—their aspirations, challenges, and vision of success.” Real empathy, as Julio describes it, is more than a buzzword. It requires filtering every decision through the lens of the customer or consumer.
“When you genuinely consider their needs and perspectives, that’s when you’re set up for true success,” Julio affirms. In his experience, when empathy is practiced deeply and authentically, it becomes a transformative force that drives meaningful, consumer-centric innovation.
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