What should be included in a market research report?

There is nothing more embarrassing for a researcher than to hear a client say "...this doesn't really address the business questions that we set out to answer." This is more common an occurrence in research reporting than most of us would care to admit. But unfortunately, much report writing these days falls short of expectations for those on the client side. This is likely due to more emphasis on methodology or analytic technique at the expense of clear graphics, creative story-telling and actionable direction.

What often happens during the report-writing process is that market researchers have their direct research client in mind. They neglect the fact that their direct contact must present these findings to the ultimate stakeholder in the process -- someone in senior management or the head of marketing who does not function in the research realm.

We need to take conscious steps to break out of our little bubble to avoid some of the lingo that is prevalent in research circles. You know what I mean if you've ever found yourself presenting your findings to marketing folks. While peppering them with terms such as "mean," "monadic," "DK/NS," "latent class," and the like, you suddenly notice the deer-in-the-headlights reaction. Worse yet, your audience's eyes glaze over completely. These terms are foreign to many marketers and, frankly, most of them couldn't care less about such things. They simply want a viable solution to the particular business need they set out to address.

So, when writing a research report for my clients it helps me to keep a few things in mind....

Speak to Marketers in Their Language

Focus on what marketers care most about -- getting customers, keeping customers, and increasing their share of the customer's wallet. So tell them what is meaningful to them....

• How to position their brand
• How best to price it
• Who their best prospects are and how to reach them
• What message should they be communicating
• Who are their most loyal and valuable customers
• How do they keep them loyal to their service or brand

Net, net -- put some Marketing-Speak into your report, and leave out the Research-speak.

Tell a good story

A good report tells a good story. So, how do you tell a compelling story? Start by getting organized!

• Develop an analytic plan that focuses on business issues and objectives -- the questions that need to be answered.
• Outline how the questions will be.
• Once the data is in, all team members should know how the data relates to those question, and they can craft the best story together.
•  

Remember, every page in the report should contribute to the story! If something doesn't contour well with your story, stick it in the Appendix. How many hundred-page reports have you been subjected to where the charts are all in the same order as the questionnaire? Where is the story?

It's also important to stick closely to your analytic plan when crafting your story. The analytic plan is what helps to keep everyone focused on why the research was conducted in the first place.

Insightful Headlines and Bullets

What I also find helpful in getting my arms around the story is to write effective bullets and headlines for the data presented. Too many people think an insight is reiterating the numbers that are in the charts. Remember, anyone can read the numbers on a chart - our job, as researchers, is to pull the deeper insights from seemingly obvious data.

Be Creative and Have a Llittle Fun

Creativity also comes into play! Package the story in a creative way. No one wants to see rows and rows of data. Make the report visually appealing so you don't intimidate those who are going to be using the findings to help drive strategy. Avoid too much text and too many numbers.

And, don't be afraid to insert some humor here and there. It reminds your clients that you are human and helps to lighten the tone and keep things relaxed.

Get to the Heart of It

And finally, probably the hardest part of the report process for any researcher is to get straight to the heart of it... what is the story - conclusions, implications, and recommendations. Go to the next step to tell them what the data MEANS, and what they might consider doing to maximize their investment.

And there is nothing sweeter to a market researcher's ears than to hear a client voice saying, "Thanks, this really addresses the business questions that we set out to answer!"

To answer the question, “how can I get the answers I need to solve the new business challenges I face every day?”, there are two answers that go hand in hand: good exploitation of your analytics, that come from the results of a market research dashboard. 

Market research analyses are the go-to solution for many professionals, and with good reason: they save time, they provide new insights and clarification on the business market you are working on and help you to refine and polish your strategy. Besides, they also add more credibility to your work and add weight to any marketing recommendations you would give to a client or executive.

But, today’s business world still lacks a way to present market-based research results in an efficient manner – the static, antiquated nature of PowerPoint makes it a bad choice in the matter, yet it is still widely used to present results. Today, there are online data visualization tools that make it easy and fast to build powerful market research dashboards. They come in handy to manage the results, but also the most important aspect of any analysis: the presentation of said results, without which it becomes hard to make accurate, sound decisions. 

Here, we consider the benefits of conducting research analyses while looking at how to write and present market research reports while exploring the value of market research analysis and, ultimately, get the very most from your research results by using professional market research software.

Let’s get started.

What Is A Market Research Report?

A market research report is an online reporting tool used to analyze the public perception or viability of a company, product, or service. These reports contain valuable and digestible information like customer survey responses, social, economic, and geographical data.

On a typical market research results example, you can interact with valuable trends, gain an insight into consumer behavior, and visualizations that will empower you to conduct effective competitor analysis. Rather than adding streams of tenuous data to a static spreadsheet, a full market research report brings the results of market-driven research to life, giving users a data analysis tool to create actionable strategies from a range of consumer-driven insights.

With digital market analysis reports, you can make your business more intelligent, more efficient, and, ultimately, meet the needs of your target audience head-on, This, in turn, will accelerate your commercial success significantly.

How To Present Your Results: 3 Market Research Report Templates

When it comes to sharing the most important information, research dashboards are invaluable.

Any market analysis report example worth its salt will allow everyone to get a firm grip on their results and discoveries on a single page, with ease. These dynamic online dashboards also boast interactive features that empower the user to drill down deep into specific pockets of data while changing demographic parameters, including gender, age, and region, filtering the results swiftly to focus on the most relevant information for the task at hand.

These 3 market research reports examples are different but equally essential and cover key elements required for market survey report success. You can also modify each, and use it as a client dashboard.

While there are numerous types of dashboards that you can choose from to adjust and optimize your results, we have selected the top 3 that will tell you more about the story behind them. Let’s take a closer look.

1. Market Research Report: Brand Analysis

Our first example shares the results of a brand analysis study. To do so, a survey has been performed on a sample of 1333 people, information that we can see in detail on the left side of the board, summarizing the gender, age groups, and geolocation.

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On the center of the dashboard, we can see the market-driven research results concerning first the brand awareness with and without help, as well as themes and celebrity suggestions, to know which image the audience associates with the brand.

Such dashboards are extremely convenient to share the most important information in a snapshot. Besides, being interactive (but it cannot be seen on an image), it is even easier to filter the results according to certain criteria without needing to produce dozens of PowerPoint slides. For instance, I could easily filter the data by choosing only the female answers, or only the people aged between 25 and 34, or only the 25-34 males if that is my target audience.

Primary KPIs:

a) Unaided Brand Awareness

The first market research KPI in this most powerful report example comes in the form of unaided brand awareness. Presented in a logical line-style chart, this particular market research report sample KPI is invaluable, as it will give you a clearcut insight into how people affiliate your brand within their niche.

As you can see from our example, based on a specific survey question, you can see how your brand stacks up against your competitors in terms of awareness. Based on these results, you can formulate strategies to help you stand out more in your sector and, ultimately, expand your audience.

b) Aided Brand Awareness

This market survey report sample KPI focuses on aided brand awareness. A visualization that offers a great deal of insight into which brands come to mind in certain niches or categories, here, you will find out which campaigns and messaging your target consumers are paying attention to and engaging with.

By gaining access to this level of insight, you can conduct effective competitor research and gain valuable inspiration for your products, promotional campaigns, and marketing messages.

c) Brand image

When it comes to research reporting, understanding how others perceive your brand is one of the most golden pieces of information you could acquire. If you know how people feel about your brand image, you can make informed and very specific actions that will enhance the way people view and interact with your business.

By asking a focused question, this most visual of KPIs will give you a definitive idea of whether respondents agree, disagree, or are undecided on particular descriptions or perceptions related to your brand image. If you’re looking to present yourself and your message in a certain way (reliable, charming, spirited, etc.), you can see how you stack up against the competition and find out if you need to tweak your imagery or tone of voice - invaluable information for any modern business.

d) Celebrity analysis

This research report template KPI is powerful, as it will give you a direct insight into the celebrities, influencers, or public figures that your most valued consumers consider when thinking about (or interacting with) your brand.

Displayed in a digestible bar chart-style format, this useful metric will not only give you a solid idea of how your brand messaging is perceived by consumers (depending on the type of celebrity they associate with your brand) but also guide you on which celebrities or influencers you should contact.

By working with the right influencers in your niche, you will boost the impact and reach of your marketing campaigns significantly, improving your brand awareness in the process. And this is the market research report KPI that will make it happen.

2. Market Research Results On Customer Satisfaction

Here we have some of the most important data a brand should care about: their already-existing customers and their perception of the relationship they have with the brand. It is crucial when we know that it is 5 times more expensive to acquire a new customer than to retain one.

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This is why tracking metrics like the customer effort score or the net promoter score (how likely are consumers to recommend your products and services) is essential, especially over time. You need to improve these scores to have happy customers who will always have a much bigger impact on their friends and relatives than any of your amazing ad campaigns. Looking at other satisfaction indicators like the quality, the pricing, and design, or the service they received is also a best practice: you want a global view of your performance when it comes to customer satisfaction metrics.

Such research results reports are a great tool for managers who do not have much time and hence need to use it effectively. Thanks to these dashboards, they can control data for long-running projects at any time.

Primary KPIs:

a) Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Another pivotal part of any informative market research presentation, your NPS score will tell you how likely a customer is to recommend your brand to their peers.

Centered on overall customer satisfaction, your NPS Score can cover the functions and output of many departments, including marketing, sales, customer service but also serve as a building block for a call center dashboard. When you’re considering how to present market research effectively, this balanced KPI offers a masterclass. It’s logical, it has a cohesive color scheme, and it offers access to vital information at a swift glance. With an NPS Score, customers are split into three categories: promoters (those scoring your service 9 or 10), passives (those scoring your service 7 or 8), and detractors (those scoring your service 0 to 6). The aim of the game is to gain more promoters. By gaining an accurate snapshot of your NPS Score, you can create intelligent strategies that will boost your results over time.

b) Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)

The next in our examples of market research reports KPIs comes in the form of the CSAT. The vast majority of consumers that have a bad brand experience will not return. Honing in on your CSAT is essential if you want to keep your audience happy and encourage long-term brand loyalty.

This magnificent, full market research report KPI will show you how satisfied customers are with specific elements of your products or service. Getting to grips with these scores will allow you to pinpoint very specific issues while capitalizing on your existing strengths. As a result, you will be able to take measures to improve your CSAT score while sharing positive testimonials on your social media platforms and website to build trust.

c) Customer Effort Score (CES)

When it comes to presenting market research findings, keeping track of your CES Score is essential. The CES Score KPI will give you instant access to information on how easy or difficult your audience finds it to interact or discover your brand based on a simple scale of one to ten.

By getting a clear-cut gauge of how your customers find engagement with your brand, you can iron out any weaknesses in your user experience (UX) offerings while spotting any friction, bottlenecks, or misleading messaging. In doing so, you can boost your CES score, satisfy your audience, and boost your bottom line.

3. Market Research Results On Product Innovation

This final market-driven research example report focuses on the product itself, and its innovation. It is a useful report for future product development and market potential, as well as pricing decisions.

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Using the same sample of surveyed people as for the first market-focused analytical report, they answer questions about their potential usage and purchase of the said product. It is good primary feedback on how the market would receive the new product you would launch. Then comes the willingness to pay, which helps in setting a price range that will not be too cheap to be trusted, nor too expensive for what it is. That will be the main information for your pricing strategy.

Primary KPIs:

a) Usage Intention

The first of our product innovation KPI-based market research examples comes in the form of usage intention. When you’re considering how to write a market research report, including metrics centered on consumer intent is critical.

This simple yet effective visualization will allow you to understand not only how users see your product but also whether they prefer previous models or competitor versions. While you shouldn’t base all of your product-based research on this KPI, it is very valuable, and you should use it to your advantage frequently.

b) Purchase Intention

Another aspect to consider when looking at how to present market research data is your audience’s willingness or motivation to purchase your product. Offering percentage-based information, this effective KPI provides a wealth of at-a-glance information that will help you make accurate forecasts centered on your product and service offerings.

Analyzing this information regularly will give you the confidence and direction to develop strategies that will steer you to a more prosperous future, meeting the ever-changing needs of your audience on an ongoing basis.

c) Willingness To Pay (WPS)

Our final market research analysis example KPI is based on how willing customers are to pay for a particular service or product based on a specific set of parameters. This dynamic visualization, represented in an easy-to-follow pie chart, will allow you to realign the value of your product (USPs, functions, etc.) while setting price points that are most likely to result in conversions. This is a market research presentation template that every modern business should use to its advantage.

Why Do You Need Market Research Reports?

As the adage goes, “look before you leap“ – and that is exactly what a research report is here for. As the headlights of a car, they will show you the pitfalls and fast lanes on your road to success: likes and dislikes of a specific market segment in a certain geographical area, their expectations, and readiness. Among other things, a research report will let you:

• Get a holistic view of the market: learn more about the target market and understand the various factors involved in the buying decisions. Getting a broader view of the market lets you benchmark other companies you do not focus on. This, in turn, will empower you to gather the industry data that counts most. This brings us to our next point.
• Curate industry information with momentum: whether you’re looking to rebrand, improve on an existing service, or launch a new product, time is of the essence. By working with market research reports created with modern BI reporting tools, you can visualize your discoveries and data, formatting them in a way that not only unearths hidden insights but also tells a story - a narrative that will gain a deeper level of understanding into your niche or industry. The features and functionality of a market analysis report will help you grasp the information that is most valuable to your business swiftly, pushing you ahead of the pack in the process.
• Validate internal research: doing the internal analysis is one thing, but double-checking with a third party also greatly helps in not getting blinded by your own data.
• Use actionable data and make informed decisions: once you understand consumer behavior as well as the market, your competitors, and the issues that will affect the industry in the future, you are better armed to position your brand. Combining all of it with the quantitative data collected will allow you for more successful product development. To learn more about different methods, we suggest you read our guide on data analysis techniques.
• Strategic planning: when you want to map out big-picture organizational goals, launch a new product development, plan a geographic market expansion, or even a merger and acquisition – all of this strategic thinking needs solid foundations to fulfill the variety of challenges that come along.
• Consistency across the board: collecting, presenting, and analyzing your market research data in a way that’s smarter, more interactive, and more cohesive will ensure your customer communications, marketing campaigns, user journey, and offerings meet your audience’s needs consistently across the board. The result? Faster growth, increased customer loyalty, and more profit.
• Better communication: the right market research analysis template (or templates) will empower everyone in the business with access to valuable information - the kind that is relevant and comprehensible. When everyone is moving to the beat of the same drum, they will collaborate more effectively and, ultimately, push the business forward thanks to powerful online data analysis techniques.
• Centralization: building on the last point, using a powerful market research report template in the form of a business intelligence dashboard, will make presenting your findings to external stakeholders and clients far more effective, as you can showcase a wealth of metrics, information, insights, and invaluable feedback from one centralized, highly visual interactive screen. 
• Brand reputation: in the digital age, brand reputation is everything. By making vital improvements in all of the key areas above, you will meet your customers’ needs head-on with consistency while finding innovative ways to stand out from your competitors. These are the key ingredients of long-term success.

How To Present Market Research Analysis Results?

Here we look at how you should present your research reports, considering the steps it takes to connect with the outcomes you need to succeed:

• Hone in on your research:

When looking at how to source consumer research in a presentation, you should focus on two areas: primary and secondary research. Primary research comes from your internal data, monitoring existing business practices, the effectiveness of sales, and the tools used for communication, for instance. Primary research also assesses market competition by evaluating the business plans of the competitors. Secondary research focuses on existing data collected by a third party, information used to perform benchmarking, and market analysis. Such metrics help in deciding which market segments are the ones the company should focus its efforts on or where the brand is standing in the minds of consumers. Before you start the reporting process, you should set your goals, segmenting your research into primary and secondary segments to get to grips with the kind of information you need to work with to achieve effective results.

To give your market research report data more context, you should segment your customers into different groups according to the preferences outlined in the survey or feedback results or by examining behavioral or demographic data.

If you segment your customers, you can tailor your market research and analysis reports to display only the information, charts, or graphics that will provide actionable insights into their wants, needs, or industry-based pain points. 

• Identify your stakeholders:

Once you’ve drilled down into your market research analysis and segmented your customer groups, it’s important to consider the key stakeholders within the business that will benefit from your information the most. 

By looking at both internal and external stakeholders, you will give your results a path to effective presentation, gaining the tools to understand which areas of feedback or data are most valuable, as well as most redundant. As a result, you will ensure your results data is concise and meets the exact information needs of every stakeholder involved in the process.

To start with, keep in mind that your reports should be concise and accurate - straight to the point without omitting any essential information. Work to ensure that your data is clean and organized, with participants grouped into relevant categories (demographics, profession, industry, education, etc.). Once you’ve organized your research, set your goals, and cleaned your data, you should set your KPIs to ensure your report is populated with the right visualizations to get the job done. Explore our full library of interactive KPI examples for inspiration.

To complement your previous efforts, writing an executive summary of one or two pages that will explain the general idea of the report is advisable. Then come the usual body parts:

1. An introduction providing background information, target audience, and objectives;
2. The qualitative research describing the participants in the research and why they are relevant for the business;
3. The survey research outlining the questions asked and answered;
4. A summary of the data used to draw the conclusions, the research methods chosen, and why;
5. A presentation of the findings based on the research you conducted and an in-depth explanation of these conclusions.

• Use a mix of visualizations:

When presenting your market research results and data, you should aim to use a balanced mix of text, graphs, charts, and interactive visualizations.

Using your summary as a guide, you should decide which type of visualization will present each specific piece of market research data most effectively (often, the easier to understand and more accessible, the better).

Doing so will allow you to create a story that will put your research information into a living, breathing context, providing a level of insight you need to transform industry, competitor, or customer data or feedback into actionable strategies and initiatives.

• Use professional data dashboards:

To optimize your market research-centric data and discoveries, you must work with a dynamic business dashboard. Not only are modern dashboards presentable and customizable, but they will offer you past, predictive, and real-time insights that are accurate, interactive, and yield long-lasting results.

All market research report companies or businesses gathering industry or consumer-based information will benefit from professional data dashboards, as they offer a highly powerful means of presenting your data in a way that everyone can understand. And when that happens, everyone wins.

Did you know? The interactive nature of modern dashboards like datapine also offers the ability to quickly filter specific pockets of information with ease, offering swift access to invaluable insights.

• Keep on improving & evolving

Each time you gather or gain new marketing research reports or market research report intel, you should aim to refine your existing dashboards to reflect the ever-changing landscape around you.

If you update your reports and dashboards according to the new research you conduct and new insights you connect with, you will squeeze maximum value from your results data, enjoying consistent development in the process.

Types of Market Research Reports: Primary & Secondary Research

With so many market research examples and such little time, knowing how to best present your insights under pressure can prove tricky.

To squeeze every last drop of value from your market research information and empower everyone with access to the right information, you should arrange your data into two main groups: primary research and secondary research.

Primary research

Primary research is based on the acquisition of direct or first-hand information related to your industry or sector and the customers linked to it.

Exploratory primary research is an initial form of information collection where your team might set out to identify potential issues, opportunities, and pain points related to your business or industry. This type of research is usually carried out in the form of general surveys or open-ended customer Q&As. 

Specific primary research is definitive with information gathered based on the issues, information, opportunities, or pain points your business has already uncovered. When carrying out this kind of research, you can drill down into a specific segment of your customers and seek answers to the opportunities, issues, or pain points in question.

Secondary research

Secondary research refers to every strand of relevant data or public records you have to gain a deeper insight into your market and target consumers. These sources include the trend reports, market stats, industry-centric content, and sales data you have at your disposal.  Secondary research is an effective way of gathering valuable intelligence about your competitors. 

You can gather very precise, insightful secondary market research data from:

• Public records and resources like Census data, governmental reports, or labor stats
• Commercial data resources like Gartner, Statista, or Forrester
• Internal sources like individual insights and knowledge or your existing consumer data sources

By understanding both types of research and how they can offer value to your business, you can carefully choose the right informational sources, gather a wide range of intelligence related to your specific niche, and, ultimately, choose the right market research report sample for your specific needs.

If you tailor your market research report format to the type of research you conduct, you will present your visualizations in a way that provides the right people with the right insights, rather than throwing bundles of facts and figures on the wall, hoping that some of them stick.

Dynamic market research is the cornerstone of business development, and a dashboard builder is the vessel that brings these all-important insights to life. Once you get into that mindset, you will ensure that your research results always deliver maximum value.

Bringing Your Reports a Step Further

Even if it is still widespread for market-style research results presentation, the use of PowerPoint at this stage is a hassle and presents many downsides and complications. When always busy managers or short-on-time top executives grab a report, they want a quick overview that provides them with an idea of the results, the big-picture that addresses the objectives: they need a dashboard. This can be applied to all areas of a business that needs fast and interactive data visualizations in order to support their decision-making.

We all know that a picture conveys more information than simple text or figures, so managing to bring it all together on an actionable dashboard will convey your message more efficiently. Besides, market research dashboards have the incredible advantage to always be up-to-date, since they work with real-time data: the synchronization/updating nightmare of dozens of PowerPoint slides doesn’t exist for you anymore. This is particularly helpful for tracking studies performed over time, that recurrently need their data to be updated with more recent ones.

In today’s fast-paced business environment, companies have to identify and grab new opportunities as they arise, while staying away from threats and adapt quickly. In order to always be a step further and make the right decisions, it is critical to perform market research studies to get the information needed and make important decisions with confidence.

We’ve asked the question, “What is a market research report?”, examined the dynamics of a modern market research report example, and one thing’s for sure: a visual market research report is the best way to understand your customer and thus increase their satisfaction by meeting their expectations head-on. From looking at a sample of a market research report, it’s also clear that modern dashboards help you see what is influencing your business with clarity, understand where your brand is situated in the market, and gauge the temperature of your niche or industry before a product or service launch. Once all the analysis and studies are done, you need to present them efficiently to ensure everyone in the business can make the right decisions that result in real progress: market research reports are your key allies in the matter.

To start presenting your results with efficient, interactive dynamic research reports and win on tomorrow’s commercial battlefield, try our dashboard reporting software and test every feature with our 14-day free trial!