Research Designed for Decisions

Any research project has the potential to inform decisions. When faced with new information, it is natural to consider how it might shape the choices we make in our lives or our work.

Decision support research does this more deliberately. Its design is exclusively focused on supplying robust, rigorous data to facilitate evidence-based approaches to strategic decision-making. It supplies specific information to answer questions that are well-defined. Crucially, we know exactly how the information will be used, which sharpens analysis and reporting for immediate actionability.

There much to be said for intuition and bold decisions that defy conventional wisdom. But usually that intuition emerges from insights and a depth of information that organizations are quick to harness and act upon.

A single study often provides information for decision-making across an organization. For a company extending brands into new markets, strategic research can quantify opportunities, barriers to entry, and the unique brand permission that a new entrant may leverage. This provides decision support for both product design and marketing strategy.

Expect your Versta team to ask pointed questions about your objectives, and to offer a clear discussion about the research methods available and their implications for issues like precision, reliability and cost. Transparency in methods is always a priority, and never more so than when research is in service of critical strategic decisions.

You can read about one popular method used in decision support in a newsletter from our archives: The ABCs of CBC: Understanding Conjoint for Market Research.