A Brief Brief on Briefing

I hate surprises.

Birthday presents? Let me give you a list of possible ideas.

Surprise holiday? Can we talk about it first so we know what a good holiday looks like?

Irrelevant research results? Wait! Didn’t we talk about what it was you wanted to know, before we did the research? No? Oh, so that’s why the conclusions are full of “nice-to-knows”, and don’t really address the problem you had in the first place.

If only we’d developed a decent brief. You’d get some useful results, I’d have a nice holiday, and I won’t need the receipt for the present.

Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Well, actually, do worry – if you’re not writing good research briefs, you’re very likely going to waste some money. But at least you won’t be alone, because a well thought out research brief is quite a rare thing.

Why this is I’m not sure. Maybe it’s because we’re all in a constant rush to “get things done”. It feels better to be actually developing questionnaires, talking to consumers, and sending stimulus around the country, than to be sat in a quiet place thinking about the problem you’re trying to solve, and what you’ll do with the results you get from any research.

I remember a long while ago, the business I was working for sent someone over to Japan for a month to research potential innovative ideas to launch into  the UK market. Said manager came back with loads of ideas… for launching products into Japan. Maybe the brief should’ve been clearer.

Research briefs shouldn’t take that long to write. Set aside an hour or so and you’re most probably good to go with a decent document.

Yes, I said document. Your brief needs to be written down, not hastily shouted down the ‘phone to a hapless researcher in the 2 minutes before you enter speedy boarding for your next flight. Getting it down on paper makes you confront your thoughts and evaluate them properly: “Is this what I mean? Is this what I need to know? Does this make sense to someone else?”.

So, let’s agree that, although we’re all up for some stimulating conclusions and new learnings from our research, we aren’t going to be happy with the “surprise” that our research results don’t help us solve our business problem. So, write a proper brief.

A good research brief isn’t complicated. Let’s run though what needs to be included.

Background

What is the business problem you want to resolve? What is the context? What has been done so far? Why now? How does this fit with other things happening in your business? This section is also a good chance to explain any technical terms or acronyms used in the business or project.

Business Objectives

What is the business trying to do? Grow Sales? Stop a decline? Innovate? Try and be specific. What business objective is this research aiming to support?

Project Objectives

Be specific about the project you are working on. What is the project trying to do? How will the research help the project?

Key Decisions To Be Taken

This is one of the most important bits. What will you actually do with the answers you get? How will the answers affect what you do next. Answering this helps you and the researchers weed out the “nice-to-know-but-not-really-relevant” questions that take up time and money you can’t really afford.

If it’s a big/risky decision that needs taking (investing in new kit for a new product, say) then you are most likely going to need robust quantitative research ranking various options. If it’s a preliminary investigation of consumer behaviour to help decide on concept development, then maybe you need more on attitudes and behaviour.

Research Information Needs

List out the questions that you need answering if you are to take the above decisions (check that the questions you ask relate to the above objectives and aren’t just “nice to know”).

Think about whether you are looking for understanding (more qualitative), measurement (quantitative), or both. Which questions are which?

Stakeholders

Be clear as to who is involved with the project, and who needs to sign off decisions. Do they need to sign off the brief?

Scope and Guidelines

This is where you can outline:

• Target markets (Who do you need to research, and where)

• Priorities vs nice-to-have

• What stimuli is needed or is available? (e.g. copy, designs, packs, product, media etc.).

• What will be the criteria for decision- making – e.g. Clear statistical evidence of a preference, consistent responses across groups etc.

• What format would you like to receive the research in? e.g. presentation/PowerPoint, Word document, film, infographics, data tables, etc.

If you are working with a research agency, you might want to run through this with them.

Timings

When do you need results by? Any seasonal factors? (e.g. researching Christmas in summer isn’t a good idea!).  Any lead times to be aware of (e.g. for stimulus, samples etc.).

Budget

How much money do have to spend on this research? This helps the research agency develop the best affordable solution.

So there you have it. A brief brief on briefing.

If you have a project and you’re struggling with developing the brief, give us a call. Maybe we can help. You can read more on how Levercliff can help with your research needs here.

To get the best research results, you need to start with developing the best brief you can.

No surprise there.

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