Highlighting the power of research and insights on the bottom line
Editor’s note: Horst Feldhaeuser is group services director for market research firm Infotools.
As researchers, we love data – and lots of it. But the insights we generate from data mean nothing if they don’t have any impact on the business. To prove the value of market research, we must facilitate its use in achieving business outcomes through positive action. This may seem obvious, but if we look at the fragmented way traditional market research is done, there are many points along the way where proving ROI can get lost in the shuffle.
In one classical scenario, we see a tedious, time-consuming process: a client or internal stakeholder needs to understand something; the researcher comes up with a research methodology to help gain that understanding; the research is implemented, data is sorted and findings are analyzed; and results are reported back to the client or stakeholder in a static format. If the stakeholder wants to use the data, explore the data or ask more questions of it, they must return to the researcher and nearly start the process over. This is time-consuming and inefficient. Insights are not being used to their full potential.
Let’s face it. Budgets are always tight and, in most organizations, many initiatives are vying for dollars. If you have simple ways that highlight the contribution that insights are making to your business’s bottom line, you have taken a big step in the right direction.
Focus on the human element of your insights function.
I maintain that, up until the insights are used for good action within the business, there is nothing but cost – the expenditure of time, resources and money. While technology and the right tools can help you become more productive and efficient, I am a believer that we need to first focus on our most important asset – our team members.
Create cross-functional teams within your organization that include insights experts so that you are basing business decisions – across the company – on real data. These kinds of collaborations can not only drive positive action but can also open the door to deeper insights and knowledge finding. This approach also enables us to draw on the best skills of each individual, whether these be internal staff members, external consultants or experts that are helping you get over the finish line. Two (or 10) heads are always better than one when it comes to the robust collection, analysis and smart on-the-ground use of your consumer insights.
Communicate the value by becoming a consummate storyteller.
Everyone loves a good story. If you want your discoveries to be memorable and valuable, learn how to present them in a way that captivates. You can think about this the way that you would a case study. First, cover what question you were trying to answer or what problem you were trying to solve with the research. Briefly touch on the methodology, and ultimately place your largest focus on the outcomes. Be concise, focus on key takeaways and convey a good “catch” up front to capture attention.
Most of us who make our home in the market research field are curious by nature, so we like to dig into the data to find the novel, notable, new “gold nugget” in the insights. Often, this nugget gives you an opportunity to wow your stakeholders. But it needs to be presented in the right manner. It is well past time to leave those outdated slide decks behind and present your story in a dynamic way – such as an online dashboard or portal with instantly updated data and visualizations – that fits with today’s tech-enabled expectations. If your work is telling a story that is fit for the bestseller list, and it is presented in an engaging way, the people who matter will see all the good work and be interested.
Facilitate buy-in by letting others find their own story.
There are tools and technology out there that make it incredibly easy to share up-to-date insights with everyone who needs them. By making interactive reports available online, tech can move us away from the delivery of those static, out-of-date reports we need to leave in the past. You must be able to keep up with rapidly changing target audiences, and the rapidly changing data they produce. The only way to do this is if your report is dynamically updated with data as it comes in.
To take it a step further, I suggest that when your stakeholders – the people using your insights – can actively participate in finding the gold nuggets they need, you have something truly powerful on your hands. Most individuals need regular reports as part of their jobs and have to go through the tedious process of asking someone else to generate it, every time. Using tools that allow others to find the stories in the data is just one way to create efficiencies, as they can get the insights into play more quickly in their own world. They can take ownership and power in the process. Far from making the researcher’s job redundant, the right, permissioned, user-friendly tools can simply make the process more efficient and further prove the value of insights to the business.
Future-proof your insights function
Look at the steps in your research process. Are you just doing things the way they’ve always been done because it doesn’t rock the boat? Implementing new technology or processes doesn’t have to be disruptive. Actively seek out the places where the right solution can speed up your workflow and implement in stages. Technology is moving at rapid speed. It’s time to make it work for you, so you can act on insights more effectively and more quickly and future-proof your insights function.