Understanding Stakeholder
Perspectives and Organizational
Opportunities Through
Landscape Research
In today’s dynamic operating environment, understanding the perspectives of multiple stakeholders about an organization or an issue is a critical step for effectively building or maintaining a corporate brand, or developing an effective stakeholder engagement strategy.
At Orangefiery, we use landscape research to help our clients address multiple types of business challenges and gain insights to inform their strategy development. By using this approach, our clients gain insights into the types of issues, barriers, opportunities and priorities surrounding an issue or a landscape. This in turn can help them develop winning strategies for driving change, engaging stakeholders and responding to emergent issues.
Our Approach
Desk Research
We start by doing desk research on an issue, reviewing research reports, expert perspectives, organizational websites, public statements and media coverage to chart the key issues and positions in a space. This process allows us to create a preliminary picture of an issue, describing priority stakeholders, their positions on issues and their ability to influence a given topic.
In-depth interviews
Using structured interview techniques, we conduct primary research with key stakeholder representatives to understand the various perspectives and desired outcomes among stakeholders. These stakeholder groups may include:
- Third-party advocacy organization leaders
- Influencers and Key Opinion Leaders
- Employees
- Customers
- Suppliers
- Investors
- Competitors
- Policy Influencers
Focus groups
We can also field focus groups with key constituencies to gain an in-depth understanding of the issues, priorities, pain points and decision criteria with which these audiences approach key issues and decisions. Focus groups allow us to present various stimuli and get preliminary feedback on strategic organizational issues and plans, to gain insights into the expected outcomes from various communications or engagement activities.
Deliverables
Our landscape research yields a robust deliverable that characterizes the operating landscape of various issues or opportunities. These insights are typically delivered via internal presentations to organizational leadership as part of a facilitated strategic exercise. Such research outputs are a powerful tool for driving the right strategic discussions, aligning executives and driving action for the greatest impact.