INSIGHT on INSIGHT: Utilizing Multi-Phase Research Designs
WHAT AND WHEN: Proper usage
Companies that use insight as a core part of delivering their corporate strategy need to develop a learning plan each year to identify where, when and how insights are needed to help deliver those strategies.
These learning plans typically include multi-phase research. They recognize that standalone projects are not appropriate or sufficient to address many of the bigger business challenges companies face. They recognize the value of iterative learning that builds on itself.
Multi-phase research projects require a significant investment of time and money, which limit the number of companies that use this approach. It is this decision point that often separates the fate of small companies searching for ways to increase sales and those that go on to sustainable profit and market share growth.
WHY: The benefit and value
The overall scale of multi-phase insight plans makes them the most strategic and comprehensive approach to insight. With multiple components, this approach can address numerous and assorted needs through the integration of both qualitative and quantitative elements.
The duration of projects allow for iterative learning, where one component informs or shapes the design of a subsequent component. When appropriate (or to accelerate the timeline) components can be done concurrently and not just sequentially.
When designed well, the multiple phases can create a single dataset allowing concise tabulation or comparison across the entire project. This approach can create a single path to understand the current situation, identify opportunities, and develop/qualify new products or programs to take advantage of those opportunities.
HOW: Tips to guide a basic approach
Multi-phase insight projects depend on picking the right components and doing them in the right order. This is accomplished by having a clear understanding of what the overall plan needs to accomplish while being creative and flexible with determining what paths are best to get there.
Some things to consider include:
- Gather questions, hypotheses, and assumptions from as many people as possible.
- Cluster these questions, hypotheses and assumptions into bigger themes or topics that can begin to shape the project components.
- Decide how broad the project should be at the beginning. Too narrow of an initial focus can cause big ideas to be overlooked.
- Consider how quantitative and qualitative insights should interact throughout the project. A classic approach is to gather qualitative perspective to guide quantitative learning, which is then further understood through more qualitative. Final direction is validated through more quantitative work.
- Identify the right people to be involved in doing the interpretation and identification of implications from the insights.
- Find ways to maintain continuity across components as different team members engage at different points and different third-party provides help with different components.
- Consider what key external decisions or lead times need to be considered. This includes retailer line review dates or package development and production lead times.
APPLICATION: What to do with the results
By design, the investment and scope of multi-phase insight projects generally ensures the client is heavily invested in and focused on the application. For this reason, projects typically have high-level sponsors and support for implementing the learning.
Other ways to ensure application of this work is successful include:
- Find opportunities to act on preliminary results and not wait for the entire project to be finished.
- Focus on how learning that goes beyond education and translates to specific changes or improvements to existing products.
- Create a way to consistently capture and compile insight across components to make sure larger themes can be recognized and the learning is stored in a single location for future reference.
- Include clear and concise recommendation statements based on what the results indicate.
- Consider how much additional information to include as context (before it becomes a distraction)
- Determine how important it is to dispel conclusions that any other answer or conclusion could be correct.
- Compile a list of new questions or hypotheses that are beyond the scope of the existing project, but can guide what work is done in year two.