Ideas
Explore the world's #1 largest database of ideas and innovations, with 460,503 inspiring examples.
Trend Reports
Discover why 1,240 brands rely on our AI-powered Trend Reports to get better, faster insights.
Newsletter
Join 321,097 subscribers who rely on our weekly newsletter to keep up with need-to-know trends and insights.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
Consumer Insights
Uncover major shifts and emerging opportunities with our exclusive PRO research.
Trend Reports
Discover why 1,240 brands rely on our AI-powered Trend Reports to get better, faster insights.
Newsletter
Join 321,097 subscribers who rely on our weekly newsletter to keep up with need-to-know trends and insights.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
Advisory & Services
Accelerate innovation and ignite disruptive thinking with our award-winning programs and research.
Trend Reports
Get fast, customized trend reports, presentations and deep dives 20x faster than traditional research.
Plans
Get started today with a free consultation, our self-serve tools, or a dedicated program.
Articles & Magazine
Get inspired with our 4,210 innovation strategy articles, keynote, videos and innovation tools.
Innovation Awards
Trend Hunter’s Innovation Strategy Awards recognize the best innovation tactics gathered from our interviews with some of the world's most notable business leaders, authors and change makers.
Advisory & Services
Accelerate innovation and ignite disruptive thinking with our award-winning programs and research.
Innovation Assessment
Enhance your innovation potential with a deeper understanding of your unique innovation archetype and how your organization benchmarks.
FuturistU
Prepare for the years ahead with 100+ lessons, tactics, tools and frameworks with our full learning database.
Innovation Books
Join 20,000,000 people getting better and faster with our New York Times Bestselling books and keynote videos.
Jeremy Gutsche
Ignite your event or virtual event with our CEO, a NY Times Bestselling Author and one of the top innovation keynote speakers.
Our Team of Speakers & Virtual Presenters
Inspire your group with our most popular speakers on innovation, trends, change and futurism.
Custom Training & Events
Bring the Future Festival experience directly to your team or co-hosted custom event.
Custom Masterclasses
Join the world's leading brands who leverage our custom programs to accelerate innovation.
FuturistU 5-Day Program
Become a Futurist with our immersive 5-Day program at Future Festival World Summit.
Online eLearning
Learn the fundamentals of futurism and trends with 100+ online courses about innovation.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
Contact
Get in touch to learn more, ask a question or submit a tip.
About Us
Learn more about Trend Hunter and how we accelerate innovation.
Follow-Us
Join our 3,500,000 social media followers, on the cutting edge.
How to Hunt
Learn more about how to hunt megatrends, ideas, patterns and opportunity.
FAQ
Get answers to common questions about Trend Hunter.
Community
Stay on the cutting-edge with the help of the Trend Hunter community.
Team
Meet the team trusted by hundreds of leading businesses worldwide.
Jobs
Find opportunities to accelerate your career with the #1 Trend Firm.
News
Catch up on noteworthy Trend Hunter news and media mentions.
Join
Build a portfolio and put your trend-spotting abilities to the test.
Advertising
Supercharge your marketing by partnering with Trend Hunter.
Portfolio
Visit your public portfolio and browse your past articles.
Add a Trend
Write up an article and showcase your trend-spotting skills.
My Trends
Edit your articles and see how they stack up on the leaderboards.
Settings
Edit your profile, connect your social media accounts, and more.
Add a trend, customize your dashboard, or track topics.
Future Festival
Innovation Events
Join the world's top innovators at our in person events.
Free Webinars
Learn to innovate through chaos, navigate the new normal and maintain work culture from home.
Custom Training & Events
Bring the Future Festival experience directly to your team or co-hosted custom event.
Search our database of 460,503 cutting edge ideas.

Utilizing Storytelling in Business

Lisa Huck, Consumer Insights Leader, eBay
Sarah St.Jules
December 11th, 2013
In the world of giant online retailers, one company stands above the rest with their quality, standard and innovation. eBay has been the place to shop when you are looking for anything from cars, clothes or pieces of tech equipment since its inception in 1996. Lisa Huck, a Consumer Insights Leader at eBay, oversees market research for its core vertical businesses that span Fashion, Home & Garden, Motors, and Electronics as well as new, emerging verticals. Helping eBay stay inspired and on top of what’s new and noteworthy is a tough job, but with customer empathy and eloquent storytelling, Lisa has been an integral member of the team.

5 Questions with Lisa Huck

1. How do you identify trends? What resources does your team use to spot trends and consumer insights?

Personally, I look at trends in terms of macro, micro, and tech influences; exploring global and regional happenings first, and then focusing on shifts in commerce and technology, which eBay is either driving or leveraging. Keeping close to our customers is essential, but it also helps to tap into other influencer groups I call “interpreters.” These are external groups with similar audiences and goals who can help read the micro-trends impacting our lives. They are typically innovation experts, academia, associations, and specialists (anthropologists, trend spotters, etc.) Also, staying close with other corporate innovators, that aren't direct competitors, helps surface relevant trends to build meaningful customer stories.

2. How does your team generate new ideas?

Our global Customer Insights teams are particularly well harmonized. We meet monthly via video conference, and at least twice a year in-person for structured, team collaboration events to generate new ideas and help solve specific business problems. We also share research roadmaps, learnings, and recommendations via a global insights portal.

3. Has there ever been an instance where another industry has influenced the way you search for trends and insights?

When it comes to brand research, our techniques generally start broad and become more focused, revealing more context as they progress. The exercises that we use for story building (imagery and word associations and projective techniques,) are common in the fields of psychology and neuroscience. They help us discern what the brand elements we’re assessing communicate to our key audiences about eBay’s desired brand image and personality.

4. What makes an innovative culture? How do you create a culture of innovation?

I believe that an innovation team can be very powerful and effective, given the right conditions. It's a team that operates somewhat autonomously from the core business, with a lot of freedom to sail forward and experiment. The group has liberty to incubate ideas that are not only iterative, but truly disruptive. Our innovation team at eBay is championed by Steve Yankovich, our VP of Innovation and New Venture, who was recently named one of Fast Company’s “most productive people.” Steve has helped eBay become an e-commerce leader and will help take eBay to the next level.

5. Looking to the future, how will eBay continue to be a leader in research and innovation?

Our technology and e-commerce investments are enabling us to use Big Data to revolutionize the shopping experience for buyers and sellers around the globe. For example, with our purchase of “Hunch,” we’re using taste-based mapping algorithms to deliver more personalized and differentiated experiences that customers love. Aside from sophisticated algorithms, eBay is also changing the e-commerce landscape. In the area of same-day delivery, we’re answering the call for the “shop and drop-off,” not just in the same day, but in about an hour! This is also a great example of how we translate important customer insights (“instant gratification,” in this case) into actionable business results.
References: ebay, linkedin