7 Defining Strategic Insights

The goal of conducting research for a non-profit organization is to arrive at actionable insights that may be used to better allocate its resources. The research data alone will not answer the questions “What” or “Why” something is happening (Reichelt, 2018), thus it is up to the manager or the marketing team to interpret the collected data.

How to Gain Strategic Insights

Preparation: Primary & Secondary Research

Identify the problem your organization needs to solve and collect data from primary and secondary research.  For example, if your problem is low brand awareness then data to collect could include results from consumer surveys, focus group interviews and industry statistics.

Analysis: Finding Meaningful Connections

Look for the relationship between all the data you are gathering. Find connections and questions that relate to your objective. For example, what pieces of the data are most important to your organization? Organize this in order of priority and interpret it. Identify the areas that align with your objectives for further improvement. Apply technology and human resources in this step.

Brainstorm: Encouraging Teamwork

Think about the questions you’ve developed as a group and share your conclusions with each other. Discussing with a team will help your organization identify important insights. Such as what resources are available to solve your problem statement. Here it will help to have a variety of department members to discuss what your organization is capable of.

Communicate: Working as a Unit

Explain the situation to your organization and provide further detail in order to spread the information and gain more insight. Communication is key throughout any organization aiming to achieve their business goals. The more you communicate the need for insight gathering the easier it will be to fully understand potential solutions for the problem you are aiming to solve.

Re-evaluation: Managing Strategic Insights

Once you’ve identified key strategic insights the next step is to build your strategy, your action plan, to solve your problem statement and once completed, testing and evaluating will be a vital part to continuous insight gathering. Consider adding a CRM system for efficient data management throughout your marketing plan.