This is a post from our guest blogger Mark Dengler, President and Owner of Research & Marketing Strategies – a market research firm in Syracuse, NY.

You’ve invested money into market research and the results are in. What’s the next step?

Create a plan to put your results into action! All research is time bound – the longer you sit on the information, the more obsolete the information becomes. Market research takes a snapshot of the market today and, often due to the fickleness of various markets, that perception can drastically change in a short period of time. So the need to develop an immediate action plan is great; otherwise you risk wasting your company’s resources and opportunity window.

Too often companies will sit on received market research results rather than creating and implementing an action plan in a timely manner. In some cases, research findings are presented and the studies are placed on bookcase shelves never to be used again. This is comparable to buying a car and never putting gas into it – over time the value will depreciate and you will never have done anything with it. Put some gas in your data – use it and make a plan.

Implementing an action plan essentially takes the data gathered and turns it into useful information for decision-making. Once the research is delivered, put together a working team to develop action steps based on recommendations from research or key findings that lend to particular activities. This will ensure you maximize your company’s resources. In order to complete the cycle, additional research and monitoring of the action plan needs to be conducted to validate the actions being undertaken are having the proper result.

RMS will be your consultant in the market research process and help you take those next steps.  Commissioning market research is important, but acting on the results is even more important.  If you have any questions about RMS can help you with your market research needs, contact us at 1-866-567-5422.