Define the executive decision the landscape must support
45-60 min
45-60 min
Build: Write a research brief that names the business decision the report should inform, such as market entry, category positioning, acquisition screening, product expansion, annual planning, or competitive investment.
Set up: In Google Sheets, create fields for Decision Owner, Audience, Decision Date, Market Question, Geography, Buyer, Time Horizon, Required Confidence, Deliverables, Budget, Research Owner, and Approvers. Distinguish exploratory questions from decisions that require stronger evidence or external validation.
Scope: Define what the report will not answer, including precise market size, market share, revenue, or forecast questions that cannot be supported by the available sources. Set the required company coverage, buyer evidence, source recency, and executive output length.
Output: Record existing internal hypotheses separately so researchers can test rather than unconsciously confirm them. Obtain agreement from Strategy, Product Marketing, Marketing Leadership, and the decision owner before discovery begins.
An approved landscape research brief with decision, scope, audience, evidence threshold, exclusions, deliverables, owners, and deadlines.
A landscape without a decision question becomes a directory. Start with what leadership must decide differently after reading it.