The final presentation, when we deliver market research project results, feels like a huge accomplishment. The project is finally done! Or is it? Alas, our goal is not to deliver the results, it is to make sure our audience actually uses them.

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A Research Rockstar Article
Market Research Results & Audience Retention:
Lather, Rinse, Repeat
The final presentation, when we deliver market research project results, feels like a huge
accomplishment. The project is finally done! Or is it? Alas, our goal is not to deliver the results, it is
to make sure our audience actually uses them.
As we consider the audience’s needs, bear in mind learnings from the education and training sectors.
Sharing MR results is essentially training people to apply new information. What lessons from these
other sectors can we apply?
 Repetition is important. Just like when we’re teaching kids how to spell, practice makes
perfect. The first time people hear information it has a certain amount of impact, but if they
hear that information two or three times it greatly improves retention.
 Multiple modes are important. We’re more likely to retain information if we read it, hear it,
and see it in visual displays like graphs and charts. Better still, if we get to apply it through
practice quizzes, role-playing, or other interactive exercise. In contrast, if we only read
something, we retain far less.
What does this mean? It means we can’t just email out a research report and assume the project
has now been delivered. If we expect people to retain and apply research results, we have to create a
more comprehensive delivery strategy. Presentations, email follow-ups, executive endorsements,
podcasts, custom follow-ups, 1:1 briefings, posters, and internal blogs are some of the options that
can be combined to make sure we reach our audience multiple times using multiple modes. Lather,
rinse, repeat.
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Original publication date: 6/3/2011