Your business is swimming in data. You have analytics, sales reports, support tickets, and maybe even a freshly completed customer research deck. But when you look at it all, does it feel less like a goldmine and more like another overwhelming to-do list?
If so, you're not alone. Many leaders quietly worry that new research will just become another task that no one has time for. It's why the demand for "actionable insights" is everywhere. But what does that actually mean? Too often, it's a vague request for a magical set of instructions that never arrives.
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Let's be clear: an actionable insight isn't an interesting fact. It's a recommendation for a specific, measurable action that directly links what you’ve learned to a business outcome.
Research shouldn't just add more data to your plate; it should de-risk the decisions you need to make.
This article provides a practical framework for turning customer research from a source of clutter into a tool for clarity and confidence. We'll cover the simple three-part plan you need before you start, and a clear workflow to turn your findings into measurable, de-risked results.
The 3 questions to ask before you start
The most effective research isn't just about discovery; it's about a commitment to action. Before you begin, your plan must cover three questions:
1. What do we want to learn? (The Question)
All effective research starts with a specific business question. This focuses the work and ensures it's tied to a strategic priority. Instead of a vague goal like "learn about our customers," you have a sharp objective like, "Why have we seen a 15% drop in repeat purchases over the last quarter?"
- Generative (or Discovery) Research: This is broad and exploratory. The goal is to understand a problem space and uncover opportunities. The question is open-ended, like, "What are the biggest challenges our customers face when managing their finances?"
- Evaluative Research: This is specific and focused. The goal is to test a potential solution or a specific hypothesis. The question is closed, like, "Can users successfully navigate our new prototype to complete task X?"
2. How are we going to learn it? (The Method)
Once you have your question, you can decide how to answer it. The methods you choose will depend on your specific goal, but they generally fall into three categories. Each method should have a clear deliverable — the tangible output you'll create.
- Primary Research: Gathering new information directly through customer interviews or surveys. Outputs include customer personas, journey maps, or a "Jobs-to-be-done" framework.
- Secondary Research: Analysing existing information, like market reports, discussions in online forums, or competitor analysis. Deliverables can include a competitive landscape map or a market opportunity assessment.
- Internal Data Review: Digging into the goldmine you already own, such as website analytics, sales call notes, or customer support tickets. Deliverables include a prioritised list of customer pain points or a feature request backlog.
3. What are we going to do with what we learn? (The Action & Resource Plan)
This is where most research initiatives fail. Your plan must define not just the what, but the who and how.
- What decisions will this research influence? (e.g., website messaging, feature prioritisation).
- How will we measure success? (e.g., an increase in conversion rate by 10%, a decrease in churn by 5%).
- Who is responsible for acting? (Name the specific person or team, e.g., the Head of Marketing, the Product team).
- Who needs to be involved throughout the process? The people who will act on the insights (engineers, marketers, designers) must be involved from the beginning, helping to shape the questions. This creates shared ownership.
- What is our capacity to act? (Do we have the bandwidth, or do we need external help? What is the feasibility and cost of potential actions?).
Stop working in a silo: Share early and often
Insights that are delivered in a final, grand presentation are often ignored. To ensure your research is used, make the process collaborative.
- Kick-off with stakeholders: The decision-makers and implementers must be in the room from day one to agree on the research plan.
- Share raw findings: Don't wait for a polished report. Share interesting quotes, video clips, or early data in a shared Slack channel or a weekly email. This keeps stakeholders engaged.
- Create a central repository: Make your insights accessible to everyone by creating a central source of truth. While this can start as a simple spreadsheet, dedicated tools like Dovetail can help you organise, analyse, and share customer data and findings more effectively across your organisation.
Don't deliver a report, deliver a to-do list
With a solid plan, the final piece is to ensure your findings are delivered in a way that sparks action. Don't just present insights—present a to-do list.
1. Frame the insight as a "to-do" list
Move beyond the "why" to the "what's next." The best way to do this is to frame your recommendations as a literal to-do list for the relevant team.
- Observation: "Users are dropping off during onboarding."
- Insight: "The setup process is too long and asks for information they don't have yet."
- Actionable recommendations:
- For Product: "Cut the number of initial onboarding steps from seven to three."
- For Marketing: "Create a 'quick win' by showing users immediate value in the first 30 seconds."
- For Customer Support: "Build a CRM flow to target users who don't complete onboarding within 24 hours."
2. Prioritise ruthlessly
Your research will uncover multiple opportunities. You can't do everything at once. Use a simple "Impact vs. Effort" matrix to decide where to start. Focus on the high-impact, low-effort "quick wins" to build momentum and prove the ROI of your investment in research.
3. Act, test, and iterate
The final step is to close the loop. Based on your resource plan, assign ownership for each action, define what success looks like, and implement the change. Then, measure the results against the metrics you defined in your plan. This creates a powerful feedback loop that fuels a culture of continuous learning.
Wrapping up: It's a culture, not just a project
Becoming an insight-driven organisation is a cultural shift. It’s a commitment to staying curious, listening intently, and, most importantly, having a clear process to act on what you learn.
You can start this shift today. Pick one pressing business question. Ask your team to analyse the last 20 customer support tickets. By starting small and building momentum, you can transform customer knowledge from a static report into your most powerful engine for growth.
Ready to put this into practice? Download my free Research Toolkit, which includes a checklist for applying insights.
Need a strategic partner to help you turn customer insights into a clear growth plan? Get in touch to book a 20-minute intro call.