The SEED approach to data visualization: drive action

Finally, we’ve reached the last letter of SEED – “D.” For those who are just joining us, The SEED approach is a series of challenges (you have tasks to complete!) that leads you to create a guide to building your own data visualization strategy.

This 4-part blog series explains the approach – and we’ve reached post number 4. If you’ve missed any of the past posts, be sure to go back and review them so you will understand the entire process of successful data visualization in Market Research.

For now, however, let’s dive into “D: for Driving Action.   

Theoretically, when you’ve told your data’s story the right way and visualized insights in a way your clients can understand (refer to the previous step, Educate), they will be inspired to take action on the information you’ve presented. Unfortunately, like many theories, this doesn’t always play out in reality. There are, however, things you can do to help drive action.

But before we dive into how you can help to drive action, let’s talk about why it matters. After all, you are researchers; your job ends with uncovering insights, right? Wrong! If your clients aren’t taking action on the insights you present, they will not see any value or ROI from the research.

So, let’s talk about driving action!

The first thing you need to consider about taking action on insights is that one-size-does-not-fit-all! Some insights will require follow-up that can be completed in minutes – think a single customer complaint that can be satisfied with a 10% off coupon. We refer to these as Tactical actions.

Other insights, however, may reveal a massive pack of hairy, blood-thirsty werewolves that are undermining major business systems, processes, or integral strategies. Solving for these big, hairy werewolves can be a beast, requiring months of preparation, multiple departments, and significant expense.  We refer to these as Strategic actions.

• Tactical Actions: This refers to following up on minor individual customer complaints. These are quick wins, but the return on investment is generally relatively small.
• Strategic Actions: These are significant deep-rooted issues that require sizable organizational change with cross-functional groups. While these take more time, the return on investment is generally much larger!

While it’s generally easier to only focus on one or the other, the best practice is to have a healthy mix of both tactical and strategic actions in play at any given time.

Regardless of the mix, the key to success is managing and tracking the necessary actions. You can provide technologies for your stakeholders to manage, track, and measure the impact of actions. Solutions like these keep your clients on track to achieve ROI by acting on insights.

This is big stuff with potentially big returns. You’ll want to get this right. If you aren’t sure that you’ve covered all necessary elements, don’t have the resources, or are just paralyzed with fear of big, hairy, werewolves – give us a call. We can help!