Market research projects can be a long and grueling task, requiring extreme dedication in order to obtain all the information you need to move your company in a positive direction. Market research allows organizations to get a better and deeper understanding of the market that surrounds their products so they can adjust their strategies accordingly. Even with the difficulties that market research can create, the hardest part isn’t until the end of the process: the market research presentation.
Presenting your market research results is arguably the most important part of the process. There are many different presentations you might have to do throughout your career. I am going to focus on general internal presentations you might have to do for a board, such as a bid offer or a market research conclusion, and external presentations you might do, such as a presentation for a group of investors. Whether internal or external, there are some basic guidelines that all presenters should follow to make sure they are prepped and ready to go.
Preparing for your Market Research Presentation:
“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.” – John Wooden
- Outline: Create an outline of the things you know you must say during your presentation. When you rehearse beforehand, you can use the outline to make sure you don’t forget anything important.
- Executive Summary: As with market research reports, your presentation should include an executive summary to explain why the research was done, what was found, what the findings mean, and what management should now do. Within your own company, those who paid for your research are going to be looking for a result. Use this section to focus on your key findings, and don’t explain all the results at once.
- Visuals: Present graphs or charts with important numbers and findings. Remember, not every data set needs a graph, but do emphasize the information that is going to be needed to encourage a change or action. Visuals are extremely useful to communicate results if they are designed appropriately.
- Draw Conclusions: No matter what your presentation is on, have a conclusion. What are you going to do now that you have this information from your research? Have an idea that you can present in order to show others that you were able to find a solution through obtaining data on the market.
- Bring Copies: You might want to consider bringing copies of anything from the above mentioned materials. With detailed market research projects, you can bring entire copies of the report you write after your research is done. But, having copies of anything you chose to present can allow your audience to follow along with your presentation.
Internal Market Research Presentation:
If you are presenting your market research findings internally to your supervisors or upper management, there are a few main issues you want to address. Consider these questions when you begin prepping for your presentation:
- What does the data really mean?
- What impact does it have?
- What have we learned from the data?
- What do we need to do, given the information we now have?
- How can future studies of this nature be enhanced?
- What could make this information more useful?
When presenting to those within your organization, particularly with a single user license for your reports, you must always remember to cite your source correctly according to the reports' market research licenses. Remember, those in your organization want to be assured that the marketing team did not waste money and that your research was related to the needs of the organization. This is your chance to show them that the research they invested in was worthwhile and how the conclusions are going to positively impact the organization.
External Market Research Presentation:
When you present to those you either don’t know, or those you want to invest in your organization, it is very important to be well equipped and know your information. But, there’s a difference in presenting market research to your organization and to investors.
When you are trying to get investors or venture capitalists, you might be trying to encourage them to invest in your new product or idea. There is a chance that there is nothing like your product out on the market, so there is little market research that can be done on your product, or little research you can do to test customer’s opinions through focus groups or other means. Most investors are looking for metrics that validate market success. Because of this, using market research as a base to demonstrate that your product will do well in the market is extremely important. Knowing the market you are looking to enter is going to show the investors you know what you are getting into and that you are prepared.
With all these tips in mind, there is a basic reminder all presenters should remember: be confident. Doing market research allows you to become more aware and knowledgeable in your industry, which in turn gives you the information to know what might be best for your organization. Sharing this information with others only spreads knowledge.
To learn more about using market research for your business, download our free white paper.
