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Vive La Difference (With a Little Forethought!)

\"\"“Variety is the spice of life” – but that spice can prove to be a painful experience if you’re not ready for it! For instance, sales of a product can be influenced by the packaging. There will usually be a huge choice of options available - different sizes, shapes and colours. Manufacturers will choose the options that are most likely to attract their customers. However, if they haven’t thought this aspect through beforehand, the result can be poor packaging – which often leads to poor sales.
 
The same principle applies to insight. Customers vary considerably, and have different characteristics and needs. However, Insight teams often use just one type of approach when presenting a major piece of research or analysis. This can be very limiting. However, if you identify your customers’ different needs, you can develop a range of formats that will dramatically improve the overall impact of your findings.
 
Made to measure
The key lies in identifying the most suitable formats in advance wherever possible, which also makes it easier to prepare them. If you initially ask for just one type of presentation and later realise that you need the information in different formats, this will involve much more time and trouble.
 
One format that is very adaptable is PowerPoint, as you can produce different versions of a presentation fairly easily. Take a look at our ‘Tip of the Month’ for more information!
 
A range of factors will affect your decision about the most effective formats to use: 
  • The level of detail required – some customers may want all the detail, whilst others just want to see an overview that shows the key messages.
  • Just a part or everything? – although some people will need to see all of the analysis or research involved in a major project, other customers may only be interested in specific sections.
  • Facilitating onward communication – when deciding on a format, you may want to choose one that enables the initial audience to communicate your findings easily to their colleagues.
  • Face-to-face or indirect – in some cases, circulating a document with your results might be more appropriate than a direct presentation (and vice versa).
  • The personal approach – people respond differently to the format used: some prefer a visual approach; some like words, others like numbers. Some love humour, whereas others don’t (which is why it’s important to know your audience!).
The easiest way to find out which approach your customers are likely to find the most useful is to ask them! Offer them different forms of delivery, and let them choose their favourite. Obviously, it may be much easier to produce a single presentation at the end of a project. However, that may not do real justice to your results. Ultimately, spending a little extra time and effort can make a large difference in terms of impact.
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