Research, Uncomplicated. Make Objectives Matter: The Importance of Setting an ROI Compass for Research A 20 20 WHITE PAPER
Introduction It is critical to define and develop clear business objectives every time we conduct market research. Clarity on objectives helps ensure research is more than just interesting it ensures that findings positively impact the business and provide a tangible return on investment. Applying the approaches outlined here will help researchers link their work more directly to the success and growth of brands and businesses. What is an ROI Compass? We like to think of the ROI compass as a way to keep a project focused and as a tool to prevent scope creep. At 20 20, it s the foundation for all the research we do. Setting up an ROI compass can be daunting it s that thing we all know we need, but as researchers may not feel comfortable enough, informed enough or brave enough to set up. That said, we are researchers and business people, and that means we re all focused on growth. Success means delivering results that drive an increase in revenue and tangible returns on investments. We believe everything should tie back to this guiding principle this ROI compass. Without it, research is not valuable. Why is this step so often left out of our research? Unfortunately, there is frequently a disconnect between what we know we should do and what we have the time and license to do. With so many research tools, approaches and technologies available, it s easy to become overwhelmed and skip this step. That can allow business needs to tumble down long lists of priorities and drift away, leaving us with research that has only loose or abstract ties to our business goals. 1
Why an ROI Compass is Critical In our fast-paced world it can feel almost impossible to put business needs front and center every time, which is why having an ROI compass is so critical. Insights are meaningless if they don t inform confident decisions. Consumer insights are meaningless outside the research department if we can t help other stakeholders understand what to do, what to sell and what to change with the information. Many in the industry underplay the shift that s occurred in the last 10-15 years. The research value chain has become incredibly diversified. You might see the marketer and agency working together, but this is often just the tip of the iceberg; in today s world there are sometimes 3-4 additional partners and suppliers involved, providing everything from multi-source sample to digital platforms to project management and even report writing. Every one of these players makes countless micro-decisions every day on projects, and if we do not clarify research objectives for everyone who plays a role, we risk getting way off course. Those who tend to discount the importance of a clear ROI compass are many of the same people who are frustrated with their current research programs and disappointed in the outcomes of their studies. Without communicating clear business objectives, projects are full of risk from inception. Hence, the ROI compass, which provides a common point of reference for all involved. Insights are meaningless if they don t inform confident decisions. 2
Identifying True Business Objectives Setting an ROI compass always starts with clearly defining objectives. It s easy to think we have defined an objective when we have not, especially at the beginning of a project. So, how exactly do we create strong, clear objectives? UNDERSTAND THAT QUESTIONS DO NOT EQUAL OBJECTIVES It s important to remember that research questions do not equal research objectives. Research questions are how we achieve our broader project goals. These questions are important, but they are a part of a larger whole. The research objective is why we are conducting the work; an objective should encapsulate the entire project. Anyone consuming the results of our research should easily understand the reason we did this work because our objectives are clear and straightforward. The most impactful research studies have one, or maximum, two key objectives. It s ok and normal that underneath our objective, we may have many research questions to answer, but they are supporting actors and our objective is the star. PRESS FOR DETAILS Do you have all the information you need at the outset? Those of us in the insights or research department are usually pretty good at understanding people, so our stakeholders trust us and often assume we know exactly what they re thinking. This is a mistake. Assumptions get exponentially worse as a project evolves, usually ending with that awful realization that something was lost in translation. To avoid this, it s necessary to press stakeholders for details well before work begins. It s a grace period we all get a magical but very short window when we re allowed not to know. We re talking a couple of hours or maybe a day. Once that window closes, you re expected to know what s going on and probably ashamed to go back and ask if you don t. Sometimes it helps to act like an investigative reporter in this stage do you have every piece of information necessary to write the story? The answer to that question must be yes. These details are critical not only for accuracy, but for building the solid foundation for everything that follows. Confidence in the details translates to quality results. 3
GET CLOSER TO THE BUSINESS DECISION How close are you to the business goals and objectives? Every time we start a project, we ask how the results will be used to help the business grow. Sometimes, the answer is I don t know, or I m not that close to what the executive team will actually do with this I just deliver it. And that s ok; we know that not everyone gets access to boardroom decisions and high-level initiatives. But, we always ask and we always press our partners to push for more access to the team, department or executive who will see and ultimately use this research to make a decision. Not only is it an effective way to foster personal professional growth and build business acumen, it develops a stronger cross-functional bridge and frankly, creates better research. Research should supplement, augment and enhance the business it serves the closer research goals are to business goals, the better chance of staying on course to true growth and increased profits. DEFINE SUCCESS An effective way to define true business goals for the research is to work backwards and define what a successful outcome looks like. Frustratingly, this question is usually very easy to answer at the end, when something goes wrong, and very hard to answer at the beginning when we still have time to do things right. Defining success so early is not meant to limit the ways a project may grow and evolve, but it helps put an intention to the work. It s one of the best ways to set your compass bearings. What I view as a successful project outcome may vary wildly from what my stakeholder has in mind, and if we wait to talk about this until we re close to the end, or worse, once the report is written, we waste everyone s time and resources. Better to talk this through even in hypothetical terms early and often than be left with a report that misses the mark or requires a re-write. Let a mutual understanding of success become true North as you navigate the project. It s true following these steps and asking these questions can be challenging what if you can t get close enough to the business to set clear objectives? Sometimes just shifting the way you speak about research as something closely tied to the business objectives changes the way others in the organization see you and your contributions. If you don t have a seat at the table, ask for one. If you re uncomfortable sounding like you don t know everything, lean on your vendor/partner to play dumb while you shine as the expert patiently helping them understand. This list is not exhaustive, but we know that if you separate research questions from objectives, press for details, get yourself closer to the business decision and define success, you ll be well on your way to using clear business objectives to set up an ROI compass every time. 4
Applying Objectives in the Field Of course, our work is not done once we ve defined clear business objectives. As the project moves forward, we must often fight to preserve the integrity of our carefully set objectives. These must not wane as we shift our focus to fielding and project execution. Here are a few tips for keeping the objectives front-and-center in every project. 5
FOLLOW THE PROJECT STORY First up is something we like to call the project story. It s a few sentences explaining the business objectives, some critical markers for success, and some unique or different attributes about this project you might not see from reading the specs, written in plain language. At 20 20, we use the project story to prepare for kickoff calls, and it s available to anyone on the research team throughout the life of the project. When there s a question about a priority, about any one of many microdecisions, we consult the project story for clarity. It s an amazingly simple and powerful way to keep everyone in the value chain aligned. Learning the Hard Way In some cases, we ve learned the hard way what can happen when you skip the project story. For example, several years ago 20 20 was brought in as a supplier for a big multiphase study about bathroom faucets. This was one of those stop-and-start projects that didn t take the time to clarify the study s objectives. It went on hold once or twice, was rescoped, and many of the contributors both internally and externally were a bit fatigued by the time it started. This created a perfect storm to skip over the concept of refreshing and restating the project story with all the suppliers the client had lined up. No one shared business objectives. There was no project story and therefore no ROI compass. We had a bunch of specs, demographics, dates for fielding, and that was it. We recruited around 50 participants to do a digital shopping journal, buy the product at a couple of the big box stores, and of course capture the whole at-home install experience. We continued fielding and were feeling good about the recruits and their feedback. A few days into data collection we got a direct call from the client, furious about the video we were collecting. This was made worse by the fact that, from our perspective, it was going well. When we followed up, the client revealed they didn t care at all about the install process they wanted to focus on the in-store display, brand new information to us and our team. The client had recently rolled out a nationwide set of in-stores displays rather expensive displays requiring lots of employee training. We ended up having to re-recruit many respondents so we could capture the data that was actually relevant to the client. In this case, we learned the hard way that insisting on a project story from the beginning can save major headaches as a project progresses. 6
CHECKING THE MAP Another great tip is something we ve seen more and more of as we begin to integrate things like agile thinking into research. This one is something we call checking the map. It s building intentional check-in points into a project to stay accountable to where things are going and make sure there is an opportunity to get ahead of issues proactively. It sounds simple, but again this takes a discipline we ve not witnessed universally in the industry. You build in a pause in the action, an opportunity for everyone to recalibrate and get on the same page. Often, this is just prior to a turning point, like just before you approve the final quant survey script, but before you ve locked the process into a path. A key representative from each level either gets on a phone call, or sometimes there is a group communication or project management tool, and everyone s re-exposed to the business objectives. It s rare that during the intervening time between go and that first big step in fieldwork that nothing changes. Perhaps someone notices a business objective that addresses several audience segments, but one of those segments isn t represented in the sample. Or perhaps when we take this time to check-in, we discover we ve bloated a whole section of questions that aren t critical and gone light on some areas that are. This can feel bulky when striving for an agile, streamlined processes, but done correctly we have seen firsthand how these check-ins lead to material changes in the outcome of the overall insights process. There will be changes, there will be re-work but done sparingly and intelligently these check-ins can be some of the most critical moments in the success of a project. PLAN FOR KNOWNS AND UNKNOWNS One benefit we see from projects that have developed an ROI compass upfront is the presence of something unique stated unknowns. Researchers who have the discipline to clearly lay out business objectives and communicate them using a project story end up stating their assumptions or outlining where there might be known unknowns. This creates opportunities for supplier partners to give feedback up the value chain on some of these assumptions and to share incremental fieldwork data that might help deepen context and understanding. 2 0 2 0 R E S E A R C H. C O M 7
Putting It All Together In summary, we believe strongly that market research matters and that establishing an ROI compass for each project maximizes the value of that research. Clear objectives, intentional processes and smart research form a solid foundation for impactful insights and tangible growth every time. Want to learn more about these tips or other best practices to ensure you get the most ROI from your research? Contact 20 20 today at advice@2020research.com or 1.800.737.2020. 8