Last week I delivered a recap for a popular consumer foods company. It was a pilot program that could potentially be much bigger in the future. My Client wanted to use the recap for the pilot program to sell the importance of incorporating research into the larger program. I thought I would share what we did in the event that you are ever in the same situation.
Where do we start?
First, we added a condensed methodology section to the beginning of the deck. It was a total of three slides that focused on the reasons the research was conducted, why it is important, and the potential goals to be achieved from collecting the research. This section also included a copy of the survey and listed the goals each question was set to achieve. The last of the three slides we included was a “Dictionary Page” that listed out terms that we frequently use in our research decks and their definitions. The goal was to ensure the Client would clearly understand the process and terminology of the report.
Ok, then what?
Second, we added a couple of slides that introduced our value model, which happens to be a Return On Investment Model. If you use something else, that is fine, this will still apply. In this section, we explained what we needed and where the information was captured. We also included a visual presentation of the formula. Finally, we included a simplified example of our value model to walk the client through. This is beneficial because it allows the client time to grasp the theory without being distracted by their own numbers.
We now have the "Why" and the "How", what else do we need?
Lastly, we used Benchmarks not only as a performance measure, but also as a way to showcase the Client team’s vast experience with food sampling. We provided in-depth details on the number of programs the Client team had executed and the brands that were served (Disclaimer: Check with your legal team before you name drop. This type of thing can also be very effective blinded). The number of consumers sampled (over 600,000), samples distributed (just under 2 million), and surveys collected (over 29,000 were also included. You can see the numbers for something like this can really bolster your validity as an experiential manager and the data you use.
There you have it!
In conclusion, if you are in the position to grow an experiential program, it helps to use research to do it. Research can be a key selling tool especially when it is clearly understood and helps accentuate your experience and the value that you are providing the client.