If you are preparing a Report (eg a Research Findings Report) and wonder how the content for Conclusions should differ from Recommendations, then this may help.

1. ©2021 Steven Litt. All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.
Marketers!
Professor Steven Litt
@StrategySteven
Ready to create a ‘Findings Report’?
‘Conclusions’ & ‘Recommendations’ sections:
PRACTICAL TIPS

2. Findings Reports
Conclusions and Recommendations are not the same thing.
• Conclusions relay the critical learning of what the data tells us
• Recommendations are the implied next steps for a business
PREPARE accordingly!
Conclusions are unlikely to be hotly contested in a Findings
Report or presentation, as long as data analysis is done fully &
responsibly and it’s presented without bias (eg hyperbole) or
presented too selectively (truncated scales, etc).
Recommendations, on the other hand, are often a ‘hot’ area of
discussion; they may instigate territorial battles, laying blame,
denial, resource disputes, etc. Tread especially carefully here!
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.

3. Findings Reports: CONCLUSIONS
Conclusions recap/state the Most Important Findings.
They answer the question: what did the data tell us?
Don’t just make statements; quote the data!
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.

4. Findings Reports: CONCLUSIONS
Example of Conclusions from a student Findings report:
eg for a client with an entertainment business:
Women surveyed are willing to attend up to 6-9 entertainment events/
month. Majority prefer to attend a professional ice hockey game with
friends & family. Main reason: have a good time, be entertained and
support their favorite team. Biggest expectation is to attend a well
organized event.
The awareness of special women centric events is moderate with 41% of
respondents saying they know about them.
How the most of them found out about the special events is through
ClientA’s own website and on social media.
There is a high interest of participating in this type of women centric
events, with 66% of the women surveyed expressing an interest in
attending them.
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.

5. Findings Reports: RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendations (the ‘Reco’) involve what to do next.
This may include:
• suggested Business Actions
(word these carefully! The Research Dept does not ‘command’
Marketing or Sales departments etc); and
• further Research
eg who/what the results indicate is worth studying further, in
more detail, or a related topic, for a related project or category,
etc
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.

6. Findings Reports:
Be wary with RECOMMENDATIONS
• A wise Research Department ‘walks on eggshells’; staffers
typically have less power, are viewed as more expendable than
eg Brand Managers, Account Managers, etc.
• What protects a Researcher (if anything): the fact that
Researchers speak for respondents. We bring objectivity.
We are merely the medium, not the message.
A researcher’s best job protection?
• Keep suggestions grounded in data (don’t overstep); and
• use careful/ diplomatic wording.
Avoid Hyperbole in the wording. Measured wording is best.
Don’t hesitate to quote the data, even in Recommendations.
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.

7. Findings Reports:
RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendations involve what to do next suggestions!
Wording Tip:
“We recommend that …” is softer – and more appropriate - than
“Pantene should…”
“Pantene may benefit from…” is wiser than “Pantene must..”
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.

8. Findings Reports: RECOMMENDATIONS
The wording of a Recommendation is key!
Have you ever heard a TV weatherperson ‘take responsibility for’
or ‘take a bow for’ a period of agreeable weather?
Did that imply …. narcissism? …a lack of objectivity?
They didn’t create the weather- they relayed it!
and similarly
Researchers don’t create the data – we relay it!
Be objective & humble in wording of Recommendations; the
Research Dept is not responsible for an opportunity, only for
shining a light on it. Avoid Self-congratulation! (if warranted, you may
congratulate Ad Agency, Sales, Marketing Dept, Product Development, etc).
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.

9. Findings Reports:
RECOMMENDATIONS: student ‘mock data’ report examples
These students’ Reco’s were backed with extensive data support
not included here, yet they do give an idea how to word a Reco
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.
Targeting women through social media, specifically Instagram & Facebook by
creating special content. Generate women specific content, create #hashtags,
create ClientA run Facebook groups for women
Introduce special promotions to generate awareness of ClientA’s women centric
events. Ticket discounts, Buy One Get One on women special nights, Free drink or
snack with ticket purchase
Have special hospitality nights, for example -“Women´s night”, “Mother and
Daughter event", "Power by female fans night”.
We recommend further research into creating partnerships with entertainment
organizations where women like to go like concerts, festivals and films to promote
hockey games in their web pages, blogs and online apps in order to create
awareness of ClientA’s women centric events.

10. Findings Reports:
CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS need
not feel like “cats & dogs… living together”
In a longer or multifaceted study, it may be wise to group
related Conclusions and Recommendations.
There’s no one way to structure this; different methods are
used by different agencies.
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.

11. Findings Reports: My ‘mock’ Example
CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS grouped together
Conclusions: Majority (64%) of CUV owners are ‘highly committed’ to their brand,
yet MerzdaTM CUV owner commitment is lower (40%) suggesting a risk of losing
share to competitors, at time of repurchase.
A main barrier to Merzda CUV sales is low awareness. 40% of CUV buyers were
unaware Merzda had a CUV, yet 15% of CUV owners were ‘open to considering’
Merzda. The main areas of attraction in this segment: Eco-Mode savings,
Comparatively High Resale, and High-Touch interior materials.
Recommendations: 71% of owners learn CUV brand options on 3d party sites;
Merzda may have an opportunity to advertise more on such sites, &/or send
promotion kits to raise awareness at the time when owners create a short list.
74% of all CUV dealers found Sales Dealership experience a “Very Important”
contributor to a buying decision, yet 37% of CUV buyers admitted leaving at least
1 dealership without getting into a vehicle. While some Merzda advantages are
POS friendly (Dealer POS to convey Eco-Mode savings, comparative Resale value),
a key advantage, High Touch interior, requires not just tactile POS displays but
getting dealership visitors into floor models, or on a test drive.
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.

12. SOURCES
● StrategySteven.com accessed February 5, 2021
strategysteven.com
● Litt, Steven ‘Applied Marketing Research: A Grad Student
Reader’; 5th Edition, TopHat, 2020
● ‘Project 8: Research Report’, April 5, 2019 MKM701. ‘Team
MLSE (individual contributor names withheld by request).
● Email 7/27/ 2020 from Annie Pettit: author, consultant,
savvy good-hearted industry professional. @lovestats
©2020 Steven Litt . All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated or posted publicly to a website in a whole or in part.