Heart-ignited innovation
Our mission is to encourage you to face challenges by exploring from the heart on a deeper level to generate truly great ideas.
Through curiosity and psychological safety, we teach innovators to innovate with heart minded thinking.
Facing challenges is easier when you explore from the heart on a deeper level first. This is where great ideas are truly generated. Our process is meant to purposefully slow down and let the heart guide innovation. This intentionality produces more sustainable results over time due to greater inspiration and a deeper connection with yourself, your team, and your audience.
Learn More
“You are simply the best!"
“I can count on you to:
a) help me design the best methodology to answer my questions
b) manage all the details so the research is seamless for my team and
c) deliver actionable findings.
Thanks for all that you do!”
Brinker International
“My experience with April Bell has been nothing short of exceptional.”
“After outstanding results from a one-time research project this summer, April Bell Research has become an intrinsic part of our marketing team, helping us strategically grow our vision to better understand our customers and the market.”
Senior Research Manager, First Choice Power
“It was a pleasure to work with April Bell on this project.”
“In conducting qualitative research for a new packaging concept, April’s knowledge of the research process and overall consumer insights was invaluable. I look forward to working with her again in the future.”
Cargill
“April was just an amazing facilitator/moderator on my projects.”
“She came up to speed so quickly on my products, my issues, and our objectives. She was also incredibly flexible in terms of my continually changing priorities and always remained incredibly professional. And the best part – not only is she very talented and an expert in her field, she is absolutely fun to work with – I would partner with her on another project in a heartbeat!”
Customer and Channel Insight, Hewlett Packard
If you are feeling overwhelmed or stuck while trying to innovate or solve a big problem in a new way, we are here to help you along your journey.
Most decisions are made logically, which feels safe. However, logical thinking, when trying to innovate, is actually unsafe and will only keep you repeating the same mistakes both within your organization and within your personal life. Learn to use empathy as the foundation of your discovery process when innovating to gain the courage to take safe risks along the way and develop greater connectivity with others.
Explore on a deeper level to generate new possibilities for your users, each other, and yourselves.
Using Empathy Co-Creation to Create Mass Brand Appeal & Purchase
Case Studies
TM
global snack consumer packaged goods company
global skincare consumer packaged goods" company
GLOBAL CASUAL DINING RESTAURANT BRAND
GLOBAL SNACK AND BEVERAGE ORGANIZATION
TOP 10 GLOBAL BANK AND CREDIT CARD CORPORATION
ABOUT THE PROJECT:
WHAT THEY THOUGHT:
*Note: Due to confidentiality concerns, specific brand names have been removed.
next case study
When a salty snack brand wanted to co-create with a quick serve restaurant, they had to build a completely innovative product. Two teams had to align to create a win/win solution for their target audience. The result: the creation of a novelty taco with the brand’s well-known seasoning experience, becoming an immediate customer favorite and selling more than a billion tacos the year it launched.
“April and her team were able to not only help us navigate through complex research objectives, but also facilitate the dynamics of multiple teams working together successfully.”
Sr. Marketing Manager, Food Manufacturing Company
When a face care brand needed to reposition themselves for a new target audience using existing technology, the team needed to gain a better understanding of their target audience before they could successfully move forward. The result: 200% year over year market share increase, resulting in it becoming the fastest growing brand in the global corporation’s skincare portfolio.
“April has the ability to strategically guide the brand team to a place that allows us to achieve our future goals.”
Senior Manager, Global Facial Skincare Brand
When a casual dining restaurant needed to solve a supply chain issue for an ingredient no longer readily available due to COVID, they had to ensure the quality and taste experience for consumers was maintained while holding margins firm as they sourced the new ingredient. The result: they discovered a new ingredient that improved experience and created a more profitable bottom line, saving the company millions in the first year alone.
“April helped us create the best methodology to develop new ideas, which helped us present our story to leadership, which moved us forward in an aligned direction.”
Director, Global Casual Dining Restaurant Brand
When products produced at multiple manufacturing plants needed guardrails to maintain consistency based on consumer desires, they had to innovate an existing product to maintain the most important attributes, ensuring products across each system were coherent. The result: Individual manufacturing facilities collaborated to create a systemized, balanced approach for manufacturing based on consumer preference.
“Thank you for the innovative work you helped us create to ensure alignment and overall success. It has been a pleasure to work with you again!”
Sr. Manager, Global Snack and Beverage Organization
When the beliefs about what small business owners needed had not been refreshed in years, sales to the target audience had decreased over time. The team needed to understand the current desires, behaviors, and habits of this target audience to develop a new service for small, business-specific needs. The result: a new, sustainable solution was created using current capabilities, saving the company money while increasing sales by 25% the following year.
“This process helped us better understand our consumers and allowed us to better serve them.”
Senior Manager, Top 10 Global Bank and Credit Card Corporation
Hello, my name is April Bell, Owner and Founder of Made with Empathy
“My mission is to fuel inspiration and solutions by providing a fresh perspective on how empathy can ignite creativity and peaceful prosperity for the greater good.”
Facing challenges is easier when you explore from the heart on a deeper level first–this is where great ideas are truly generated. Our process is meant to purposefully slow down and let the heart guide innovation. This intentionality produces more sustainable results over time due to greater inspiration and a deeper connection with yourself, your team, and your audience.
I would love to help you next!
Learn More
Get a fresh perspective on empathy
“The Fire Starter: Igniting Innovation with Empathy”
I have used my experience and education to help build brands and innovate products for Fortune 500 companies for nearly two decades. This publication has been inspired by my observations on the impact of empathy to impact personal and organizational transformation. My book discusses the importance of empathy in solving big problems while addressing the struggle to successfully innovate both personally and professionally.
buy now
download a free chapter
Want to know what kind of collaborative innovator you are?
Unlike popular opinion has us believe, we are all hard wired for empathy and innovation. But we have unique styles and strengths when innovating together.
Click here to take the quiz developed from 18 years observing and facilitating collaborative innovation with the world’s leading brands and teams.
take the quiz
Different ways to work with us:
Full Service Insights for Innovation
Partial Service Insights for Innovation
Guidance for DIY Research
Empathy Education Consulting
Empathy Co-Creation™ Institute
Retreat to Connect
Book to Speak
Learn More
Gain inspiration and solutions from a new perspective on how empathy can ignite creativity and prosperity for the greater good.
On the Blog
view the entire blog
“Thank you for your patience and flexibility.”
“Our project involved many stakeholders - April and her team were able to not only help us navigate through complex research objectives but also facilitate the dynamics of multiple teams working together successfully!”
Sr. Marketing Manager, Frito Lay
“April is an excellent moderator, market researcher, and business strategist.”
“I have used her services on many occasions and she has always performed beyond my expectations. A top-notch resource and a great person as well!”
Director, Consumer Insights and Strategy, Tyson
“I’ve had the pleasure to work with April Bell for 10 years.”
“April has been an outstanding partner over the years from providing strategic input on key projects to helping guide insights. April is very adept at creating a space where people feel comfortable brainstorming to lead to productive ideas. It is always a pleasure to work with April Bell and her team!”
Marketing Director, Tyson Foods
“Fantastic job!”
“From the recruit, pre-briefs, making sure respondents were all ready and able to do all the interviews, being flexible from day to day, and guiding the team through valuable learning, April Bell Research is always a delight to work with. The quality of respondents, especially on Day 1, were fantastic! We also had great show rates throughout!”
Senior Brand Manager, Global Strategy
TM
Empathy Co-Creation
The Process
desire
Create based on heard-led clarity
DISCOVER
Expand knowledge by listening to learn from the heart
DISCERN
Connect dots to see emotional patterns for design inspiration
DESIGN
Ideate and create passion-led possibilities
DECIDE
Determine direction from a holistic understanding
