How to Turn Complex Market Research Studies into Clear Reports
How do you turn complex market research studies into clear reports?
Start by writing a note to a friend.
The complexity of market research reporting
If you’re a corporate or supplier-side insights person, you’ve likely had to write reports about market research studies that are complex.
Maybe you’ve got an integrated study with multiple phases. Or maybe your insights are subtle and require a report that captures the nuance of what you’ve found.
In addition, you’re probably under pressure from your stakeholders or clients to report something new. And it needs to be concise and clear. They don’t have time for a 100-slide PowerPoint deck.
If you’ve been in this situation before and will be again, I’ve got a tip for you.
The best tip I ever got about turning complexity into clarity
Maria Braden was one of those teachers who had a profound impact on her students. She taught courses in news reporting, magazine article writing, journalism ethics, media diversity and more at the University of Kentucky School of Journalism.
She was the first woman to be promoted to full professor in the School of Journalism and Telecommunications at UK. And she taught with a warmth and genuine concern for her students that I’ll never forget.
Professor Braden taught us a lot about writing well. But one simple little trick she imparted to us stuck with me more than anything else.
When you need to write a complex, challenging story, put all your notes, documentation and data aside, and write a letter to a friend.
In your letter, explain what you’ve learned in your research and why it matters. Before you know it, you’ll have the foundation of your report.
Here’s how you do it:
- Write the greeting – Don’t skip this part. It’s important! (I’ll explain why below.) Start with the greeting and a quick introduction. “Dear so-and-so. I’m working on this interesting project. Let me tell you what I’ve found.” And then explain your insights, starting with the single most compelling new insight you’ve uncovered.
- Keep it simple and clear – Let it flow from there. Write in simple, clear language – the way you would in a note to a friend.
- Focus on the story – Resist the temptation to look at your notes, transcripts, documentation or data. A peak or two is okay. But if you’ve been immersed in your analysis, you should know what’s there. There’ll be time to fill in details and supporting material later. At this stage, focus on explaining what you’ve found in story form.
When you finish your note, remove the greeting and introduction, and you’ll find a clear, simple story about what you found and why it matters. From there, you can then flesh out your report, adding detail and integrating supporting materials such as data graphics and respondent quotes.
This little trick has a lot of huge benefits:
- It takes the pressure off – One of the biggest challenges of writing a complex report is getting started. Writing is hard work. Sitting down to write a research report can be intimidating, making it easy to procrastinate. Writing to a friend is much easier. It takes the pressure off. You feel freer to sit down, explain what you learned and not worry too much about perfection at this early stage.
- It encourages you to write simply and clearly – Writing a greeting and introductory sentence is not some gimmick. It’s essential. When you do this, you trick yourself into using clear, simple language. Market researchers often overwrite. Our industry is plagued by reports filled with big words, formal language, passive voice sentences and clutter. Some think this makes their reports sound authoritative and important. But this makes your story less clear. When you write a note to a friend, you write differently. Your language is clear and simple. That’s how your reports should be.
- It focuses your attention on the story – Many market research reports are little more than a series of pages or slides that summarize data tables or respondent quotes. Many are written in order of the questionnaire or the discussion guide. But when you explain your insights in a note to a friend, you don’t write this way. You tell a story. Humans are natural storytellers. We use this skill every time we write a letter or explanatory email to a friend or colleague. You should write your reports this way too.
- It forces you to begin with your most important and interesting “news” – When you write a note to a friend, you’ll naturally want to lead with the good stuff. After all, you don’t want to bore your friend. You want to capture their interest. You’ll want to tell them what makes your study interesting, right off the bat. This is especially important when writing about complex studies. After all your fieldwork and analysis, what is the single most compelling thing you want to tell someone? Your research report should lead with the same thing.
One other thing. You don’t have to actually send your note to your friend unless you want to. I write my notes to my spouse, Cheri. Over the years, I’ve written hundreds of notes to her about studies I’ve done. I’ve never sent any of them to her, which she is more than okay with. (I do send her other notes BTW!)
That’s all there is to it. It’s a simple method, but it works! At RealityCheck, we use this simple little technique all the time to turn complex market research studies into clear, simple insights stories. Over the years, we’ve earned a reputation for delivering great reports. Now you know our secret. Well, one of our secrets.
I hope this little tip helps you turn those complex market research studies into clear reports. Every time I do it, it helps me tremendously. And it reminds me of Professor Braden.
Thanks Maria.
