Insight teams have been trying to ground brilliant theoretical insights into the real world for decades now by increasing the amount of work put into activating insights among stakeholders. Powering decisions that make a tangible difference can be tough, especially when some stakeholders aren’t as engaged as they could be to make the most of the insights that insight teams generate. Encouraging insights activation has been a particularly stubborn challenge to overcome, but we have come a long way since we started.
There is a knowledge gap between client-stakeholders and insight teams when it comes to the value and impact of market research. This makes activating insights harder. The insight-led corporate cultures that exist are rare sparks that light the way to success, advocating insight use to drive real action through experience-based case studies.
When to Choose Curation over Collaboration
While some would say that collaboration is the key to engaging stakeholders in market research, sometimes it’s just not possible. Some stakeholders don’t have the time to get involved in the research process, or don’t feel confident enough with market research to get involved even with the help of the insight team. When this is the case, then curation is the best way we can communicate powerful insights to inform decision-making processes.
Even when some stakeholders are interested in engaging personally with market research, sometimes those collaboration experiences can provide stakeholders with overconfidence that means they try to interpret insights for themselves. This is despite not quite knowing what to look for, or are too close to the subject to overcome any internal bias towards the answers they want to find. This means they see the results they want to see rather than the insights that are actually present.
Research teams curate insights objectively, analysing data for true revelations that inform answers rather than searching for direct answers to the questions stakeholders seek. These insights are infinitely more valuable and directly actionable to decision-making processes than any insights that stakeholders too close to the subject could derive.
Tactics for Curating Insights
So now that you’ve chosen curation, what can you do to make sure the insights you curate is communicated, and more importantly received, by stakeholders across the organisation? First, insight professionals need to make sure that the method of communication is tailored to stakeholders throughout the research process, but especially at the end when the report comes into play.
If we present a report in a traditional manner with data tables, charts, and graphs to a stakeholder who isn’t experienced in market research and data, then they won’t have the skills to take the insights we deliver in the report and put them into action in the best way possible. In this case an executive summary or even a video report in plain language and engaging graphics might be a better choice.
Or a stakeholder who does have experience in market research and applying the right insight to the right decision might not like the glossed over executive summary, and might like a deeper, detailed report on a more regular basis. So, a weekly or monthly newsletter with the latest insights, interesting data and news from the insights team would be a better method of curating insights for those stakeholders.
In any case, there will be a mixture of stakeholders who like different reporting methods in any organisation, so it’s beneficial for insight teams to be versed in a few different ways of curating insights to suit each group of stakeholders.
Creative Reporting
Don’t be afraid to inject some creativity and innovation into your reporting methods. The days where written reports filled with data tables, charts and graphs prevail over more entertaining and invigorating methods are over, making way for new methods with more engaging storytelling techniques, narrative arcs, supporting dynamic graphics, and even a bit of interactivity to fully engage stakeholders in their contents.
Throwing the written report out altogether might seem like a hasty and risky business, but our experience shows brands might actually be willing to listen to insights when presented in new, exciting formats. For example, presenting insights collected on a brand as a singular unique work of art presented as in a postcard format, can capture stakeholders’ attention and interest.
Data Warehouse
For those stakeholders who take an active interest in insights and want instant access to data for quick decisions, then creating a singular place where all data, research project information, and actions taken after each insight is activated, might be a worthwhile investment. These data warehouses, or insight inventories, can be a huge task to undertake, especially if an insight team is set on compiling historical data and research projects into this warehouse too.
However, there are benefits to these data warehouses. The universal access to view the data recorded in this warehouse allows stakeholders to use historical, but still relevant data to inform quick, in-the-moment decisions without requesting for the same research to be conducted yet again by the insight team. This easy access also promotes insight activation to more stakeholders than would have used the data otherwise. The insight team also has a lot more time for the relevant and needed research projects if they can signpost stakeholders to the answers and insights already.
Insight Forums and Workshops
For insights to be used to their full potential, sometimes requires a bit of interactivity and/or face-to-face time with stakeholders. Insight workshops for those stakeholders who don’t quite know how to activate insights to their fullest potential could be worth the time it takes for researchers to educate them on the topic. This interactivity helps stakeholders engage in insights more thoroughly with the aid of researchers.
Once these stakeholders graduate to activating insights well on their own, insight forums could be a great way of keeping that face-time with stakeholders and good opportunities for stakeholders to ask questions, request more insights, and gain the insight of researchers themselves on how best to activate the insight.
Driving Real-World Action
Having multiple ways of curating insights to suit the situation and stakeholder doesn’t just help stakeholders activate insights, each decision made propels the business into current and future success. While a lot of decisions won’t produce many results that we can see or feel within the organisation, it doesn’t stop them from having real-world consequences, opening up tangible opportunities, and proving insight teams right.
Market research arguably benefits more than stakeholder organisations do when stakeholders make the right decisions with quality insights. With more good decisions made, more stakeholders will come looking for insights to help inform their own decisions. Those stakeholders will come with new funding, new ideas, and new opportunities for insight teams to drive real-world action within the client’s organisation.
