Every communications strategy deck includes a slide about research. Every planning meeting nods to “audience insights.” Every proposal promises to be “data-driven.”
Yet most organizations never actually embed research into their work.
According to Forrester Research, 74% of organizations claim they want to be more data-driven. Only 29% successfully implement analytics for tangible business results. The gap between saying research matters and actually using it is massive, measurable, and costing organizations more than they realize.
The problem isn’t lack of data. Gartner reports that 97% of organizational data remains unutilized, and 87% of organizations fall into the low maturity bracket for business intelligence capabilities. Organizations commission surveys, run focus groups, analyze analytics, and produce reports full of findings. Then those findings sit in a folder somewhere while the team makes decisions based on gut instinct, internal politics, or whatever the CEO said in last week’s meeting.
Research has become performative rather than operational and many leaders just want the credibility research provides without the inconvenience of letting it shape their decisions.
The issue isn’t that research is too expensive or too slow (though we all know it can be!). Most organizations don’t know how to make it actionable. They commission big studies when they need small answers. They ask broad questions when they need specific direction. They generate insights but lack the infrastructure to translate those insights into strategy.
Four Ways to Actually Embed Research
If you’re serious about making research operational rather than decorative, here’s where to start.
Start small and specific. You don’t need a comprehensive audience study to begin using research. Start with one question you actually need answered. Who opens our emails but never clicks through? Which messages resonate with donors versus volunteers? What do people misunderstand about our work? Small, targeted research yields more useful answers than sprawling surveys nobody knows what to do with. According to communications professionals, 30% identified consistently measuring and reporting on their multichannel communications effectiveness as a top goal for 2025.
Build feedback loops, not one-off projects. Research shouldn’t be an annual event. It should be a recurring practice. Monthly check-ins with key stakeholders. Quarterly message testing. Ongoing monitoring of how audiences actually talk about your work. Publishers investing in audience research teams report that organizations with regular research cadences (monthly or quarterly) are 3.5 times more likely to report that insights influence strategy compared to those conducting annual studies.
Make someone responsible. Research fails when it’s everyone’s job and no one’s priority. Assign ownership. That doesn’t mean hiring a full-time researcher. It means designating one person to ask the research questions, synthesize findings, and ensure those findings actually inform strategy. Without accountability, research becomes an expensive afterthought. Companies that thoroughly utilize data analytics are 5% more productive and 6% more profitable than their competitors, according to MIT Sloan Management Review.
Close the loop between insight and action. The most common failure point is the gap between “here’s what we learned” and “here’s what we’re doing about it.” Every research initiative should end with explicit decisions: What will we change based on this? What will we stop doing? What will we test next? McKinsey research indicates that small and medium-sized businesses implementing data-driven decision-making achieve 6% higher profits than competitors. If research doesn’t change behavior, it wasn’t worth doing.
What This Actually Looks Like
A nonprofit client came to us saying their messaging wasn’t landing. They’d done a major brand study two years earlier full of useful insights. But when we asked how those insights shaped their current work, they couldn’t point to anything concrete. The research had been informative, but not operational.
We started smaller. We ran a simple message test with 50 of their most engaged supporters, asking them to explain the organization’s work in their own words. The results revealed a fundamental disconnect: the organization talked about “systems change,” but supporters thought they funded individual programs. Armed with that specific insight, we rebuilt their messaging framework in three weeks.
Six months later, their donor retention had improved by 18%. Not because the research was groundbreaking, but because it was actionable.
The Bottom Line
Are you set up to use your research?
Most organizations aren’t. They commission research to feel credible, not to inform decisions. They generate insights but lack the discipline to let those insights change their behavior. Over 48% of employees indicate they tend to follow their gut instinct rather than relying on data-driven insights, according to Accenture research.
If you’re going to invest in research, invest in the infrastructure to use it. Start small, make it routine, assign ownership, and close the loop between insight and action. Otherwise, you’re just producing expensive reports no one will read.
📊 Forrester Research reports that while 74% of organizations claim they want to be data-driven, only 29% successfully implement analytics for tangible business results—highlighting a massive execution gap between intention and implementation.
📈 PoliteMail’s Internal Communications Trends survey found that 30% of communications professionals identified consistently measuring multichannel effectiveness as a top goal for 2025, signaling growing demand for research infrastructure in strategic communications.
🔍 Gartner revealed that 97% of organizational data remains unutilized and 87% of organizations fall into the low maturity bracket for business intelligence capabilities—demonstrating that most organizations struggle to operationalize the research they already have.
🎯 Deloitte’s 2025 Digital Media Trends research shows media organizations are increasingly investing in real-time audience insights and AI-powered analytics to understand shifting consumer behaviors across platforms—emphasizing the growing importance of continuous rather than periodic research.
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Mimosa Ryan
Jamie Lopez
Heatherly Frances Ruth Neukuckatz
