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February
2007 |
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There is often a lack of clarity that exists in the presentation of
pharmaceutical marketing research information. Given the complexity
of the information that we, as marketing researchers, must communicate,
it is critical that we pay more attention to excellence in our presentations.
However, it is not uncommon in our profession that more effort and attention
is given to the design of the research screener than is put into the
actual presentation of the research results.
Here we will strive to provide you with at-a-glance information you
can use to improve the clarity of the marketing research results you
present to colleagues and managers based on:
- Implementing the proper flow of information upon determining the
purpose of the research project
- Utilizing the proper type and order of building blocks of information
that make up the presentation.
It is important to note that we are not talking about improving presentations
in terms of PowerPoint font selection or slide aesthetics, color and
formatting, but rather we are discussing how to go about improving the
actual presentation of information by applying the principles of Information
Design.
For a much more robust and detailed exploration of the concepts outlined
here, we encourage you to reference the works of Edward R. Tufte, the
premier thought leader in Information Design. Tufte is heralded for
his books including Envisioning Information, Visual Explanations
and The Visual Display of Quantitative Information.
The most important guidance for improving the presentation of marketing
research information is to start by determining the purpose of the
marketing research project, i.e., what are we trying to communicate?,
because it is from the purpose that the proper order of information
will flow. Specifically, it is the purpose that drives
the emphasis of the information you will present, which
in turn determines the design of the presentation that
will ultimately lead to providing the appropriate insights
to your audience.
Below we examine the various purposes for five common pharmaceutical
marketing research project types, their characteristics and the subsequent
emphasis that should drive the particular information design of the
presentations:
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Project Type: Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Studies
Purpose: To provide general background, e.g., on a treatment area,
issue, etc.
- Can be qualitative and/or quantitative
- Needs to reflect:
- Emphasis typically on findings, not conclusions and recommendations
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Project Type: Commercial Viability Assessment
Purpose: To assist in making go/no go decisions for product development/launch
- Usually quantitative
- Often involves base case plus variations,
e.g., best case, worst case
- Extremely helpful to know go/no go criteria
in advance
- Usually “Recommendations” section
especially important
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Project Type: Business Information
Purpose: To provide data about sales, prescribing level, etc.
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Project Type: Promotional Testing
Purpose: To evaluate and/or improve upon promotional message/materials
- Typically deals with special parameters, e.g., extent to which
message is:
- Recommendations for modifications often the most important
part of the presentation
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Project Type: Tracking Studies, e.g., ATU
Purpose: To keep finger on pulse of key variables over time
- Multi-wave
- Major presentation focus is change
- Format should be consistent
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Regardless of the marketing research project type, the building blocks
of information elements that make up the presentation are the same. It
is only the emphasis and order of these elements that can vary across
the types.
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Building
Block: Background |
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- Ties to previous work done, market issues, etc.
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Building
Block: Overview |
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- Synopsis of study and its findings
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Building
Block: Business/Marketing Research Objectives |
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- From the mouths of your information customers
- As concrete as possible
- “Go find out about” not a business or research objective
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Building
Block: Methodology |
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- Source(s) of data
- Exploratory or confirmatory
- Generalizability
- Timing of data collection
- Research “to know” vs. research “to show”
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Building
Block: Key Findings |
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- Three at most
- Driven by objectives
- Presented from general to specific
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Building
Block: Findings in Detail |
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- Drill down from key findings
- Level of detail depends on purpose/audience/logistics
- Additional information to provide
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Building
Block: Conclusions (Note: Not “Conclusions and Recommendations”)
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- Respond to business objectives
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Building
Block: Recommendations |
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- If objectives and audience call for them
- Action points to be taken following presentation
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We hope that applying the guidance from these two simple, but important,
lessons will help in your endeavor to be more thoughtful about the organization
of the information in your presentations. Asking yourself, “What
am I trying to communicate?” and remembering the rule of thumb that
simpler is often better will enable you to more clearly impart your valuable
information and, ultimately, provide your audience with the insights needed
to facilitate the decision-making process.
If you would like to experience a more detailed exploration of this topic,
including a discussion and demonstration of both good and bad information
design examples, drawn from actual presentation slides, we will send you
a DVD of a workshop conducted by Richard B. Vanderveer, Ph.D., Group CEO
of GfK U.S. Healthcare Companies, called The “Presentation”
of Pharmaceutical Marketing Information. It is the very same presentation
for which Dr. Vanderveer was awarded “Best Presentation” as
voted by the audience at the annual meeting of EphMRA (the European Pharmaceutical
Marketing Research Association).
In addition, we would be pleased to send you Edward R. Tufte's booklet
titled, The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint, which further explores
how to improve presentations.
To receive a complimentary copy of this DVD and the booklet, please fill
out the form below:
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