Insights: why isn’t market research delivering them?
A key word in today’s market research is ‘insight’. Market research must deliver new insights. Let’s have a closer look at what is meant with this term.
Erik de Kort - May 2018
Erik de Kort - May 2018
From data to information to insights to action
Market researchers collect data. Data needs to be transformed into information. Information is everything that adds new knowledge. The design and execution of research must ensure that the information, laid down in conclusions is solid, in other words: reliable and valid: the rigor element of research.
One step further, information can be transformed into insights. An insight can be defined as a relevant piece of new information. Relevant meaning that it can help to make a decision about a specified issue, the step towards action. In a research report this should come back in the recommendations.
Any experienced business researcher will understand this, but do we in practice deliver insights or do we still merely deliver information? Recently a very interesting article was published about the future of the 'insights' field: "The future of insights project”. The good news: there is consensus on what market research should be all about. Helping marketers to take the right decisions. The bad news: researchers believe they deliver insights, but marketers do not agree. In their eyes researchers still merely deliver information, while they are expecting to get insights.
Why do researchers deliver information instead of insights?
The research world has realized that they need to deliver not only solid information and embraced the term ‘insights’. However, how is this realized? Still too often the transformation from information into insights is done at the end of the research process. After the collected data have been transformed into solid information the researchers look back at the decision(s) that have to be taken and recommendations are formulated. The problem owner is impressed by the well-executed and well-presented research results. But, after evaluation of these fine results, the client often comes to the conclusion that these results do not help much to make the right decision.
So , there is an issue, a challenge. In order to tackle this challenge let us have a look at the causes of the problem. What are the forces that caused this situation?
The basic cause lies in the fact that limited attention is paid to the problem analysis. The phase in which the management issue, the decision to be taken, is translated into measurable research questions. In order to do so one should fully understand the situation in which the decision maker is operating, the right arguments for the decision and the possible, realistic solutions. Understand the problem in the relevant context. Marketers and researchers seem to point at each other expecting that the other side should do this.
This is partly a cost issue: a solid problem analysis costs time and who is paying for this time? Agencies focus on efficiency to enable them to offer the lowest budget for a research project. What is forgotten is that proper problem analysis can save costs in the execution of the research. Time spent in the problem analysis should be seen as an investment in effective research, delivering insights instead of pure information.
An underlying cause is that researchers are educated and trained to have their focus on the rigor element of research. Take any handbook about market or business research and you will see that nearly all the text is about designing and executing research that assures reliable and valid results. Join any market research meeting or training and you will see that they mostly talk about new methods and techniques, the rigor, not the relevance.
What should researchers do to deliver real insights?
The direction of the solution for the challenge to deliver real insights lies in more focus on the problem analysis or in other words solving the right problem. To ensure that research results really help in taking the right decisions, the process of designing the research project should start from the decision(s) to be taken: the problem analysis. From the decision(s), relevant research questions are formulated and from these the research strategy is determined.
Obviously, focusing on relevance should not mean paying too little attention to the rigor element of research. A research result cannot be relevant if the result do not pass the test of reliability and validity. But we know for sure that increasing the focus on relevance from the start of the research process will increase satisfaction and loyalty of problem owners.
What will be the benefit for researchers?
The first benefit of paying good attention to the problem analysis comes from the problem owner by showing that you understand the complexity of his/her problem or challenge and really can help to take the optimal decisions. You will be rewarded for this in the short and long run.
A second benefit will be that your research will be more efficient. A solid problem analysis is an investment in a smoother process of designing, executing and reporting the research. Believe me, the investment will pay off.
Market researchers collect data. Data needs to be transformed into information. Information is everything that adds new knowledge. The design and execution of research must ensure that the information, laid down in conclusions is solid, in other words: reliable and valid: the rigor element of research.
One step further, information can be transformed into insights. An insight can be defined as a relevant piece of new information. Relevant meaning that it can help to make a decision about a specified issue, the step towards action. In a research report this should come back in the recommendations.
Any experienced business researcher will understand this, but do we in practice deliver insights or do we still merely deliver information? Recently a very interesting article was published about the future of the 'insights' field: "The future of insights project”. The good news: there is consensus on what market research should be all about. Helping marketers to take the right decisions. The bad news: researchers believe they deliver insights, but marketers do not agree. In their eyes researchers still merely deliver information, while they are expecting to get insights.
Why do researchers deliver information instead of insights?
The research world has realized that they need to deliver not only solid information and embraced the term ‘insights’. However, how is this realized? Still too often the transformation from information into insights is done at the end of the research process. After the collected data have been transformed into solid information the researchers look back at the decision(s) that have to be taken and recommendations are formulated. The problem owner is impressed by the well-executed and well-presented research results. But, after evaluation of these fine results, the client often comes to the conclusion that these results do not help much to make the right decision.
So , there is an issue, a challenge. In order to tackle this challenge let us have a look at the causes of the problem. What are the forces that caused this situation?
The basic cause lies in the fact that limited attention is paid to the problem analysis. The phase in which the management issue, the decision to be taken, is translated into measurable research questions. In order to do so one should fully understand the situation in which the decision maker is operating, the right arguments for the decision and the possible, realistic solutions. Understand the problem in the relevant context. Marketers and researchers seem to point at each other expecting that the other side should do this.
This is partly a cost issue: a solid problem analysis costs time and who is paying for this time? Agencies focus on efficiency to enable them to offer the lowest budget for a research project. What is forgotten is that proper problem analysis can save costs in the execution of the research. Time spent in the problem analysis should be seen as an investment in effective research, delivering insights instead of pure information.
An underlying cause is that researchers are educated and trained to have their focus on the rigor element of research. Take any handbook about market or business research and you will see that nearly all the text is about designing and executing research that assures reliable and valid results. Join any market research meeting or training and you will see that they mostly talk about new methods and techniques, the rigor, not the relevance.
What should researchers do to deliver real insights?
The direction of the solution for the challenge to deliver real insights lies in more focus on the problem analysis or in other words solving the right problem. To ensure that research results really help in taking the right decisions, the process of designing the research project should start from the decision(s) to be taken: the problem analysis. From the decision(s), relevant research questions are formulated and from these the research strategy is determined.
Obviously, focusing on relevance should not mean paying too little attention to the rigor element of research. A research result cannot be relevant if the result do not pass the test of reliability and validity. But we know for sure that increasing the focus on relevance from the start of the research process will increase satisfaction and loyalty of problem owners.
What will be the benefit for researchers?
The first benefit of paying good attention to the problem analysis comes from the problem owner by showing that you understand the complexity of his/her problem or challenge and really can help to take the optimal decisions. You will be rewarded for this in the short and long run.
A second benefit will be that your research will be more efficient. A solid problem analysis is an investment in a smoother process of designing, executing and reporting the research. Believe me, the investment will pay off.
