Organizations invest a lot of time and money in conducting market research. Objectives are outlined, questionnaires are developed, and data are collected, processed, and analyzed. However, when it comes time to presenting insights, research reports often fall short. Poor reporting can cast doubt on the entire process and diminish executive confidence in the insights gathered. While there is no single “best” way to prepare a report, there are pitfalls to avoid and principles to follow.

Earlier we had made you aware of the pitfalls of “no story” and how you can avoid this mistake. Presented below is the second common mistake researchers make in reporting insights – and how you can avoid it.

Second Common Mistake: “Information Overload”.

A related problem is information overload. Many researchers feel obligated to include every question – and every possible breakout of that question – in their report. When this happens, the audience may lose interest and/or get side-tracked (pages may also become too dense to be easily read and understood).

Solution: Focus on findings rather than just data. Tell the audience what you think is important for them to know, instead of reporting all available information (this does NOT mean that you should leave out any “bad” news). Provide a complete set of tabulations/statistics in an appendix or an accompanying document for reference purposes.

Example: In the “Before” slide below, the researcher has laid out all findings on a single slide. While it presents potentially valuable data, it is too overwhelming for the reader to understand and digest easily. In comparison, the “After” slide succinctly and clearly shows the key findings without the earlier “information overload”.

Gold Research Inc. has extensive experience in journey mapping, path-to-purchase research, deploying customer intercepts and mobile surveys for concept testing, marketing testing, satisfaction research, shopper insights, and mystery shopping. We can also act as an extension of your research team in helping with data processing, analysis, report development, and survey programming. Contact us at 1-800-549-7170 or send us an email for a free 30-minute consultation on this topic.