Turning Survey Research Into Thought Leadership

The Business Challenge

The client was a global consulting firm that serves middle-market and large firms across multiple sectors. They did qualitative research to learn what industry leaders thought they must address to ensure future growth.

They'd turned their 2019 survey, the third annual one for the firm, into a statistical report with a brief executive summary, the survey methodology, multiple charts and graphs with limited descriptive data, and a recommendations section. There also was a PowerPoint presentation that targeted the firm's senior executives and board of directors that contained additional analysis of the survey data.

The firm, now recognized as thought leaders in this area, needed these materials turned into one document that would tell the story of the data in a compelling way to their clients and prospective clients.

The Solution

The client wanted a business report that showed the two major challenges to growth the survey data revealed and conveyed the solutions leaders believed would address those challenges. They wanted the report to provide a robust analysis of the survey data, then organize it into a compelling narrative.

The Project Approach

I began by providing an outline to the member of the senior executive I worked with throughout the project. Since the client provided all the research, once the outline got approved, I wrote the business report citing the survey data.

I structured the statistical data into sections in the report based on the subject identified in the survey. I also wrote short, easily understandable paragraphs that considered the different executive audiences who would read the business report.

The Intended Outcome

The purpose of this business report was to put the survey data into a single document of 6-8 pages, with some visuals from the charts in the survey, the content for which I suggested to them. This made the data straightforward for readers and simple for the firm to distribute to their global audience.

It provided the research as thought leadership that executives could use to conduct further research based on their region or business needs. But it also helped leaders decide what growth methods from the report to implement to ensure they met strategic business objectives for their firms.

Work With Me

If you'd like to discuss a similar project for your financial institution or your consultancy or marketing firm clients, I offer a complimentary 30-minute introductory phone call for that purpose. Learn about that by reviewing my collaboration process. After that, contact me to establish a time to talk about your requirements.

(c) 2023-2024. Dahna M. Chandler for The Financial Communicator, a division of Thrive Media Collaborative, Inc. All rights reserved. This case story may not be reproduced or reposted in whole or in part, including for LLMs, without express written permission of the author.

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