Insights open doors and drive sales. They educate. They do much more. They evoke. They connect two points not connected before to create a deeper understanding, trigger thinking, and challenge the status quo.

The power of insights to drive sales has not escaped the ambitious company Uber, the car service that uses an app to connect customers to drivers in a matter of minutes, allows customers to track and talk to drives to give special pick up instructions, and is one of the world’s most valuable start-ups.

Uber’s image was sullied when its CEO told its New York City customers who complained about price gauging during a snow store “to walk.”  But it seems Uber in its quest to become a global force is changing gears from being antagonistic to customers to caring about their safety. It is using an insight to educate and win more customers.

They have mastered the art of insights as the e-mail I received from them shows:

Linda, 

Ridesharing helps make cities safer. A new study we conducted with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) shows just how powerful choice can be: Since we launched UberX in California, drunk-driving crashes decreased by 60 per month for drivers under 30. That’s 1,800 crashes likely prevented over the past 2-½ years. 

When empowered with more safe, reliable and affordable transportation options like Uber, people are making better, smarter choices that are making our roads safer for everyone. Learn more on our blog. 

To promote safe rides home during the weekend of the Big Game, Uber will donate $1 to MADD for every trip taken on Sunday, February 1, 2015 between 3:00 PM and 12:00 AM ET when riders enter the promo code THINKANDRIDE. 

Uber and MADD will keep working to ensure a safe ride is always within reach and drunken driving crashes become a thing of the past. 



Sincerely, 


David Plouffe 
SVP of Policy & Strategy

Uber

Let’s analyze that insight against an insight model. Uber’s is not complete but as an email it does the job and tells a compelling story for changing the status quo.

Insight Model

  • Position the Challenge—Position a relevant and important challenge to set the context. Uber laid the foundation that a serious problem exists.
  • Share the Insight/Validate with Research—Provide compelling proof. Uber shared supporting research.
  • Support with a Success Story—Bring the data to life with an example to show impact and create identification. Uber’s example drove the outcome home.
  • Ask for the Customer’s Perception/Experience—In dialogue this is vital. Uber did not ask for my perception. Instead Uber went straight for the close to get me to take the action and feel good about it.

Of course, a sales conversation is not the same as an e-mail promo but insights are a powerful engine to help you rev up opportunities across multiple sales tracks.

It’s time to take insights on the road to your customers.