I just wrapped up a big project (100 interviews), and it occurred to me that managers sometimes wonder what to expect in their final report.
If you get a report that begins by detailing all the project steps and how the consultant came to the findings, send it back for a rewrite.
You hire a market research consultant not only to compile data but to make sense of them. Whether analyzing census data or a communications audit, the final report should be accessible and relevant, and it should lead logically to recommendations for solving the problem that motivated you to commission market research.
Expect synthesis, the equivalent in writing of the so-called “elevator speech” that invites attention, followed by an engaging presentation.
Here is how I generally present final reports.
- Executive summary: Key categories of findings and recommendations, with a focus on the most interesting ones, so people are challenged to read and discover.
- Findings: A short presentation with examples of key findings, organized according to the issues underlying the research (not the questions asked in gathering the data).
- Recommendations: Next steps based on the findings. Of all the things that might be done, which are likely to work best for this organization, given its culture and resources? What steps are urgent, and what timeline should be followed?
- Appendices: Tidy up the raw data and let them speak for themselves, without analysis, for readers who want to see for themselves who said what.
- Sometimes I include the research instruments so the reader knows what was asked to elicit the feedback.
Client preferences differ. A good market research consultant should be able to adapt his or her style upon request. You may want an executive summary that contains the principal findings, or you may want it to function more like a book jacket blurb, which entices you into reading the report. Or maybe you want a little of both. Don’t be shy about asking for the format you want.
Whatever you request, you know you received a good report if you and your colleagues drop everything and read it on the spot. Market research is expensive, and managers commission it to learn something important. If you decide to read it at home over the weekend, it probably needs to go back to the consultant for a rewrite.
Ann Getman is founder and principal of Getman Strategic Communications.
