How to make Marketing Research insights more Actionable

At SPARC we pride ourselves in our ability to connect Marketing Research to the reality of your Business Environment. Or, more precisely, using our Business Consulting acumen and background to approach your business challenges. On our website and in many of our presentations, we coin phrases like: ‘We turn data and insights seamlessly into real, measurable actions. And see actions through. That’s when the SPARC really happens’.

We review your Marketing strategy using sound and proven Marketing Research approaches. But given the ever-increasing volume of messages consumers are exposed to it’s now even more crucial that insight finds a way to cut through the noise to really impact behaviour and understanding.

Below are a couple of ways in which we at SPARC try to deliver on our promise.

1. Make the Marketing Research as compelling as possible

   This makes stakeholders listen and makes the research easier to digest. The better Marketing Research is tied in to the real business issues, the easier it’ll be to resonate with the stakeholders. Giving them actions based on insights, rather than just conveying customer feedback through respondents. Aim to deliver insight that gives the client a reason to believe that the research can help drive business change. Use Business Consulting skills to connect the two worlds that are often approached separately.

2. Messaging should be clear, concise and directly relating to the business issues.

   Always ask the ‘why’ question as well as the ‘so what’? In Marketing Research we tend to ask a little bit more than we need, to use an understatement, and once we get the results, we tend to want to show it all. Instead, we should focus only on the verbatim that really tells the story and the graphs that are supportive of the business question at hand. Less is more. Presenting concise information with relevant examples is an often underrated skill that can’t be stressed enough when making client presentations.

3. Business Consulting 101: ask to understand and don’t be afraid to challenge the status quo.

   This means the insight needs to be tangible and relate to the consumer, the client, their organisation and the broader product or service landscape. Consider ways that the insight can challenge perceptions or develop ideas, which can lead to better understanding of the consumer and new solutions to meet their needs. That’s the type of powerful insight Marketing Research should deliver, every time.

4. Insights and the art of storytelling.

   Much similar to Business Consulting, a framework should be created for the Marketing Research and findings should be presented back using that framework. Outlining the problem, possible solutions, recommendations and next steps. Throughout the story, it should be clear that there’s a need for action and clear, actionable steps should be given to facilitate and drive those actions. Not just for the insight team or key stakeholders, but (perhaps more importantly) for other teams within the organisation. So that they can also make use of the Marketing Research outcomes. In this way, you also help the Insight team to become an invaluable step in the chain to deliver business results.

5. Keep the consumer at the heart of Marketing Research.

   In spite of all developments in the (micro) world of Marketing Research and Business Consulting, consumers are still at the heart of our job. The importance of human interaction, the drive to understand key emotions and tell the client the real consumer story should never be underestimated. Clients and organisations work hard to make sure they are close to their consumers, so insight that maintains this closeness will always have an impact.