Andrea Belk Olson Translating research into Actionable Strategy
I’ve seen hundreds of customer and competitive research documents, with pages upon pages of excellent data, qualitative feedback, facts, and figures. These documents are often presented to organizational leadership, who skim through the pages and pull out a few key questions on specific points for clarification and discussion. Those meetings always go well, with the executive team complimenting the thoroughness and value of the research, noting the time and effort put in, and everyone leaves on a proverbial high. We now have the information we need to develop a clear strategy – or do we?
The problem comes post-meeting. Those documents are pushed to the side in the weeks to come, where strategy meetings and discussions continue to churn on those biggest pain points in the organization, and new ideas are tossed about. Maybe the data is referred to here and there but isn’t directly put into action. Why? Maybe stakeholders don’t see the true value of the research, or they don’t make the best decisions with the data given, or they automatically assume the fault lies with the data itself. I’d argue, it’s not the data, and it’s not the leadership. It’s the gap between them.
Now maybe you’d say a reason why stakeholders might not translate information into action is that these reports aren’t the most engaging of materials to read, and when stakeholders need to make a decision at the moment, leafing through a long wordy report to find the right data point to help just won’t happen. No question this is an influencing factor, and in the last few years, research reporting has undergone a substantial revolution. There are now multiple ways of reporting that capture stakeholders’ attention: for example, using video, newsletters, and posters to create bite-sized delivery systems so stakeholders can quickly read them and easily find specific data points.
However, this improved delivery of information is only one piece of the puzzle. The real problem is that of insight. Research primarily provides information on “what is”, or the current state of affairs. 60% of customers prefer this product. 26% of customers surveyed want digital rather than in-person options. The number of applications has increased 15% year over year. Ok, this is all good and well. The question is, so what? What does that mean, and more importantly, what do we do with it?
The gap is insights. Insight is the understanding of a specific cause and effect within a particular context. Data isn’t insights. Commentary isn’t insights. Product comparisons aren’t insights. It’s information. Insights are much harder to produce, and many times, executives expect their research teams to generate insights, while the research teams believe it’s the leadership’s responsibility to draw insights from the data. It’s like a Mexican standoff.
Consider this scenario. A book publisher is looking to grow its readership base. This is their “high level” objective. Wonderful! So they have their team conduct research on other publishers, identifying trends in genres and best-selling titles. They also dive into customers’ reading habits, including where/when they read, how they read, how they pick a book, and so forth. Fantastic! The data is presented to the executive team, where there’s active discussion and commentary about some interesting facts, such as almost 40% of readers still prefer printed books. Interesting!
Now what? Where does the company go from here? This is the insight problem. We’re looking for some eureka moment that doesn’t come. The research alone cannot generate a specific understanding of a cause and effect or draw connections between disparate data points. We need to generate insights and this requires human intervention.
What separates the winners from the losers is the ability to transform data into insights and to turn those insights into an actionable strategy. Insights can’t be created by a recipe or rigid methodology. Insight requires thinking holistically, exercising creative, right-brain skills as well as left-brain analytics – in short, whole-brain thinking. Insight must also be business-focused, always considering ways and means for generating organizational growth.
This begins with scenario-telling. Walking through experiences as a customer would, exploring behaviors, their catalysts, and barriers. For example, instead of simply reporting how, say, seniors struggle with products, articulate and simulate a scenario of how hard it might be to read the label on a product, such as toothpaste. This provides both leaders and researchers with a better understanding of human behaviors and obstacles people may face. This connection arc helps make all the difference. Instead of reading a report outlining X% of consumers prefer brand A over brand B, examine scenarios. Dive into behaviors and discuss perceptions. Gleaning insight isn’t simply about examining information on current behaviors, but understanding the why behind those behaviors.
Going back to our book publisher example, the team utilized scenario-telling to identify that readers were often interrupted throughout their day, and had difficulty blocking out long chunks of time for reading, even though they enjoyed it. While the research alone uncovered topics, authors, and genres of interest, it couldn’t uncover this behavior. In turn, the company created a series of serialized stories, one short 600–5,000 word episode at a time, to reach a whole new audience of mobile-first, on-the-go readers. Readers could follow the stories they’re invested in, let the author know they liked it with “thumbs up”, and redeem tokens to unlock future episodes.
Now that’s creating real insight and turning it into business generation.
About the Author:
Andrea Belk Olson is a speaker, author, applied behavioral scientist, and customer-centricity expert. As the CEO of Pragmadik, she helps organizations of all sizes, from small businesses to Fortune 500, and has served as an outside consultant for EY and McKinsey. Andrea is the author of The Customer Mission: Why it’s time to cut the $*&% and get back to the business of understanding customers, No Disruptions: The future for mid-market manufacturing, and her upcoming book, What To Ask, coming in June 2022.
She is a 4-time ADDY® award winner and host of the popular Customer Mission podcast. Her thoughts have been continually featured in news sources such as Chief Executive Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine, The Financial Brand, SMPS Marketer, Rotman Magazine, and more. Andrea is a sought-after keynote speaker at conferences and corporate events throughout the world. She is a visiting lecturer and startup coach at the University of Iowa, a TEDx presenter, and TEDx speaker coach. She is also a mentor at the University of Iowa Venture School.
More information is also available on www.pragmadik.com and www.andreabelkolson.com.
