How to
How to turn insight into action
July 4, 2020

The worst-case scenario for a research project is that it becomes an academic exercise rather than a catalyst spurring action.
So how does Adience ensure that insight always leads to action? We have three guiding principles:
- Involve internal stakeholders
- Go beyond the interviews/survey
- Tell a story
1. Involve internal stakeholders
2. Go beyond the interviews/stakeholders
3. Tell a story
1. Involve internal stakeholders
At the beginning of a project, we involve those who will approve, or execute, decisions coming out of the research. Typically, this is done using a short internal survey or a workshop. This approach is essential because:
- It allows us to understand what questions the full team want to ask
- It helps us to identify some internal hypotheses that we need to validate
- By consulting them, they’re more likely to put their weight behind the result.
2. Go beyond the survey
Conducting interviews with the target audience is critical to any B2B research project, but typically it only tells part of the story. Often there is even more information available that could help us to obtain a better understanding of the problem. For example:
- Publicly available information, such as: the opinions of industry analysts; customer reviews; macro-economic data (e.g., business demographics); context on competitor activity
- Information that is proprietary to the client, such as: sales trend data; data on customer behavior
3. Tell a story
Research findings are often dry and inaccessible, but shouldn’t be. We use a variety of techniques to make our presentations memorable and easy to digest:
- Our proprietary approach to building presentations incorporates key principles of story-telling and visualization
- We use tools such as vox pop videos and case studies to bring the findings to life
Summary
1. Involve internal stakeholders.
Engage those who will approve or execute business decisions coming out of the research.
2. Go beyond the interviews/survey
Use publicly available information, as well as information that is proprietary to the client, to give a more rounded view of the issue.
3. Tell a story
Use story-telling and visualization techniques to make presentations memorable and easier to digest.

Author
Chris Wells
Chris Wells is a B2B marketing researcher and strategist. He was previously on the management team at B2B research specialist Circle Research, winners of the Best Research Agency at the 2016 MRS Awards. Chris has helped to deliver hundreds of research and strategy projects for B2B organizations.