Almost every company does some kind of market research, which can range from the most basic email customer satisfaction survey to massive global studies with half million dollar price tags. But no matter the budget or the scope, the sad truth is that a large percentage of consumer and market research is vastly underutilized within most companies. I’ve heard more stories than I can tell—studies commissioned by one person that their successor never even glanced at, stacks of dusty research reports that no one has any idea what they contain, research conducted for a specific objective and the rest of the learning ignored. You get the idea.
The fact is that the majority of companies have an untapped asset in their already conducted or purchased consumer and market research studies. There may be missing links between qualitative, quantitative and syndicated research. There may be a lot of great consumer research data, but it hasn’t been adequately translated to conclusions and recommendations for the business. There may be research in one part of the organization with broader application that no one else even knows exists. And sometimes organizations just don’t know what they don’t know. Whatever the specific situation, there is something that can help—an insight audit.
An insight audit involves reviewing existing consumer research learning for a few different objectives: 1) to glean new insights for a new project or objective from existing data, especially across multiple sources 2) to translate data into action by connecting the dots to develop actionable conclusions and recommendations for the business, and 3) to shape future research efforts by identifying what’s already known and where the gaps in knowledge are to develop a new learning plan.
To learn more and see some specific examples and approaches, read the full article here.
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