Over the years, I’ve worked with insights teams around the world, from small startups to global brands, and one challenge keeps coming up: teams doing smart, strategic work, but struggling to get the visibility and influence they deserve. The research is there, the data is sound, but too often it doesn’t land where it needs to.

That’s because delivering insights isn’t just about methodology, it’s about connection. If stakeholders aren’t engaged, even the most sophisticated work risks being overlooked. I’ve seen it happen and I’ve also seen what’s possible when insights are woven directly into the decision-making process.

With the surge of new tools and technologies, it’s easy for insights professionals to focus on data collection and analysis while overlooking that critical factor: stakeholder engagement. However, without buy-in from key decision-makers, insights remain underutilised.

To raise their profile and influence, insights teams must position their work as indispensable, seamlessly integrating into strategic conversations, fostering cross-functional collaboration, and demonstrating how insights directly drive business success. By breaking down silos and ensuring joint ownership, they can shift perceptions and transform market research from a support function into a business-critical asset.

Optimising influence

Building trust and overcoming scepticism require proactive education. Rather than overwhelming stakeholders with raw data, insights professionals should prioritise actionable key messages that align with leadership and business goals.

Tailoring insights to specific stakeholders ensures relevance and impact. For instance, when working with marketing teams, professionals can translate research findings into compelling narratives about shifting consumer sentiment and competitive benchmarks. Similarly, for product teams, insights drawn from user feedback and qualitative research can guide feature prioritisation and innovation. By aligning insights delivery with stakeholder priorities, research teams reinforce their value and drive meaningful engagement.

In my experience, it’s often not the flashiest presentation that moves the needle, it’s the one that speaks the language of the room. Early in my career, I learned that success comes from listening first, then delivering insights and recommendations that feel specific, timely and actionable. That lesson holds true across industries and roles.

Prioritising organisational objectives

Demonstrating how research supports and advances key business objectives is essential. Insights teams must clearly articulate how their work addresses specific business challenges, tests hypotheses and informs decisions, linking findings to revenue, cost savings, or market share.

A consultative approach strengthens strategic alignment. Collaborating with stakeholders early to define key performance indicators ensures insights remain relevant and actionable. Whether presenting findings to c-suite executives or cross-functional teams, framing insights in terms of business impact reinforces their value.

I’ll never forget watching tennis player Rafael Nadal come back from two sets down in the 2022 Australian Open final, with just a 4% chance of winning. No algorithm predicted the outcome: it was his grit, intuition and refusal to quit that turned the match around. More recently, Carlos Alcaraz achieved a similar feat at the 2025 French Open final. The same applies to elevating insights; our job isn’t just about models and metrics, it’s about reading the situation, understanding the people in the room and having the perseverance to show why insights matter.

This crucial part of the insights to action process is one that cannot be outsourced to restech tools – it needs us, the insights professionals, to ‘win the game’.

The power of storytelling

Storytelling techniques, supported by clear visualisations, make complex data more accessible and highlight direct business impact. Seasoned insights professionals know their effectiveness lies in translating data into compelling narratives that inspire action.

Research should be clearly applicable to day-to-day operations. Proactively engaging cross-functional partners, building relationships and identifying allies are critical to success, yet often overlooked.

One of the things I’ve carried with me from my personal life as a musician is the idea that structure matters, but so does feel. You can have every note written down, but unless you deliver it with clarity and intention, it won’t connect. Neither does hitting the right notes if you don’t get the timing right. Insights are the same. A good story, simply told, achieves more than a 100-page deck.

Elevating insights teams

Professional development strengthens the insights function. By fostering mentorship, equipping teams with cutting-edge tools, and creating opportunities for showcasing expertise, through leadership presentations, cross-functional projects or quarterly updates, teams establish themselves as influential contributors.

Opportunities for learning and growth also drive job satisfaction. According to research by the Market Research Institute International (MRII), professional development is one of the most significant factors distinguishing highly satisfied market research professionals.

Collaboration as a strategic driver is key

Collaboration is the foundation of a successful insights team. Breaking down silos ensures insights remain central to decision-making. With organisations accessing more data than ever, insights professionals must help make sense of it all by becoming data interpreters.

Technology plays a crucial role, automating routine tasks and enabling high-impact strategic work. Automation reduces manual effort while generating polished reports and dashboards. However, technology should enhance, not replace, the human element. Insights professionals provide context and expertise that automation alone cannot replicate.

Democratising access to insights through centralised, user-friendly platforms fosters organisation-wide collaboration. When stakeholders outside the insights function can independently explore and interact with data, they become more invested. After all, the days when only product, marketing or research teams are responsible for consumers are long gone, everyone needs to understand what it takes to succeed. Different stakeholders have different reporting needs; we need to ensure to share the information to the right people in the right format.

Establishing insights teams as strategic partners

Fostering trust and credibility goes beyond delivering great research, it requires demonstrating partnership. By educating leadership, aligning with business objectives and presenting insights in compelling, actionable ways, insights professionals position themselves as invaluable allies.

Raising the profile of insights teams isn’t easy. It requires collaboration, strategic alignment, technological support and compelling narratives. When research functions break down silos, empower stakeholders and prove their value, they establish themselves as indispensable partners in business success.

Horst Feldhaeuser is group services director at Infotools