Creating actionable insight is an ongoing challenge for both qualitative and quantitative researchers. Given the ever-increasing volume of messages we’re exposed to it’s now even more crucial that insight finds a way to cut through the noise to impact behaviour and understanding.
During this year’s AURA conference, when research and insight professionals shared perspectives on industry trends, we captured thoughts on how to help insight lead to action. We’ve translated this into 5 tips for communicating insight effectively.
“You need to make it compelling, clear, motivating and impactful.”
Bob Cook | Head of Innovation and Inspiration and Regional MD, Firefish
1. Make the research as compelling as possible, as this makes stakeholders listen and makes the research easier to digest. Respondent feedback and data cannot always be convincing in its own right, so this means it’s important to deliver insight that gives the client a reason to believe that the research can help drive business change.
2. Keep it clear and concise by extracting the meaning and the ‘why’. The sheer volume of respondent feedback or data makes it tempting to support a point using three quotes instead of one that sums it up perfectly, or using a graph to make a point that isn’t salient to the objectives. Presenting concise information with relevant examples can demonstrate a mature and skilled approach to insight delivery.
“It is about us cutting to the chase…be concise, and really act on bringing things
to the point and know what needs to happen…”
Harry Mirpuri | Head of Research and Insight, London and Partners
3. Impact, relate and challenge. 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 a better understanding of the consumer and new solutions to meet their needs.
4. Insight should tell the full story. This means research should be presented using a framework that outlines the problem, the solution, the recommendations and next steps. The narrative should create a clear call to action based on the implications of the story, and paint a picture of what the future could look like.
“Storytelling is the bit that you need to get your insights to land…we have to convince other people to make decisions and to use that to turn it into business value… get them engaging with it…then they are going to take it away…and action it.”
Helen James | Head of Marketing, Npower business
This action shouldn’t just apply to the insight team or key stakeholders, but it’s important to consider how other teams can make use of the research outcomes as well – from a training resource, to a sales and marketing asset and beyond. The research has the ability to communicate different messages to different audiences and appeal to their needs, so it is key to clearly convey what the change in behaviour is, or what the desired action is, from a perspective that they can understand and use.
5. Keep the consumer at the heart of it. Despite tech developments driving the new qual era it is important not to undervalue the importance of human interaction, to tap into key emotions and tell the client the real consumer story. 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.
“Customer centricity is the most important area of any business…you have to understand what the customer is saying…while all the technology is great we still need to have that person who really feels what the customer is saying.”
Tina Dorrington | Domestic & General how does film help drive impact?
Video can help pack a punch. If done properly it can engage, excite, motivate and create emotional connections.
At VPI we’re experienced in helping insight and research teams drive impact through film – we know how to use your insight to tell a compelling, clear story and communicate key messages to drive change.
Let’s talk about how we can make your insight more impactful.
