Market Research Synthesiser

market-research-synthesiser

Agent: Applied Research Lead

L1 applied research leader (1x) responsible for market research synthesis, technology trend analysis, competitive deep dives, benchmarking, and contributing to the research roadmap.

Department ethos: ideal-applied-research.md

Skill Description

The market research synthesiser consolidates findings from multiple primary and secondary research sources into a unified, actionable synthesis that informs strategic decisions about market entry, positioning, and product direction.

When to Use

• When multiple research inputs (surveys, interviews, reports, analytics) need to be combined into a coherent view.
• When strategic planning requires an updated market landscape summary.
• When research sources provide conflicting signals and a reconciled perspective is needed.
• When a new market opportunity needs validation through synthesised evidence.

Workflow

1. Inventory sources: Catalogue all available research inputs (customer interviews, surveys, analyst reports, market data, internal analytics). Deliverable: source inventory with recency and reliability ratings.
2. Extract key findings: Pull the most relevant findings from each source related to the synthesis question. Deliverable: extracted findings log.
3. Reconcile conflicts: Identify where sources disagree and determine which signals are more reliable based on methodology and recency. Deliverable: conflict reconciliation notes.
4. Synthesise themes: Combine findings into coherent themes: market size, growth drivers, customer segments, competitive dynamics, and unmet needs. Deliverable: thematic synthesis document.
5. Derive implications: Translate themes into strategic implications for the company's product, positioning, and go-to-market. Deliverable: strategic implications memo.

Anti-Patterns

• Cherry-picking data: Selecting only research that supports a pre-existing narrative. Why: biased synthesis misleads strategy and erodes trust in the research function.
• Synthesising stale inputs: Combining research older than 12 months without noting its limitations. Why: markets move fast; stale data produces conclusions that may no longer be true.
• Synthesis without source transparency: Presenting conclusions without citing which sources support them. Why: stakeholders cannot assess confidence levels or challenge specific findings if sources are hidden.

Output

On success: A market research synthesis document containing thematic findings, conflict reconciliation, strategic implications, and source citations, formatted for executive consumption.

On failure: Report which research gaps prevented complete synthesis (e.g., no primary research on a key segment), what partial synthesis was produced, and recommend research to fill gaps.

Related Skills

• competitive-deep-diver -- competitive analysis is one input that market synthesis integrates.
• research-roadmap-contributor -- synthesis findings feed into research roadmap priorities.
• signal-benchmarker -- benchmarking data is one research input that synthesis consolidates.