70 percent of in-house marketers now expect primary research in new business pitches. Why? With so many strategies and tactics to choose from, businesses need to know that the proposal you’re pitching is backed by robust data and analysis of digital trends. That it isn’t just “a hunch”.
But with little time to conduct research on prospects and trends that you aren’t necessarily an expert on, how can you incorporate data into your pitch effectively?
Using our new Quick Search platform, I’m going to share 5 tips on how to quickly collect and present data for a pitch using the example of a digital trend that everybody is talking about, almost every business interested in and most agencies are looking to pitch to: blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
(FYI here's a quick explainer video...)
Tip #1 - Present the big picture
WHY
Using data to highlight the bigger picture of an industry or brand presence is a good way to show that you have an overall understanding of the landscape and provide a platform from which you can dig deeper to present the key elements of your strategy.
HOW
Trend trajectory
The graph above shows the overall mentions of the term “blockchain” online over the last 13 months. The time frame and figures help to highlight the scale of growth of digital trends and the continued upward trajectory of buzz about this topic. Explaining the reasons behind surges in growth will win you extra points.
Competitive landscape
This chart shows the relative buzz around three of the world’s biggest crytopcurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin. This kind of graphic gives a clear indication of the market leader and helps challengers to understand their comparative position from a brand awareness perspective and who their closest competitors are.
Tip #2 - Understand the key discussion drivers of digital trends
WHY
In order to win your prospect’s trust and business, you’ll need to prove that you are an expert in their sector - even if you aren’t. Being able to accurately highlight the key drivers of discussions around digital trends in your prospects niche will go a long way toward helping you establish credibility.
HOW
Linked topic analysis
The above “theme cloud” highlights topics linked to potential applications of blockchain technology discussed most over the last year. Smart contracts - a way to authenticate transactions without a third party - appear as a key driver of discussions online over the last 13 months. This kind of graphic can be used to reinforce why you are focusing on a particular subject in the strategy you are presenting.
Key channel identification
Being focused on the right topics is important but as impactful is the media and channels you are focusing on. The above chart shows the key arena’s for discussion on the topic of smart contracts. Again this data will help you to justify the reasons you are focusing on Twitter influencers or targeting specific forums.
Tip #3 - Analyze the target audience and community
WHY
For any marketing strategy or campaign to be successful, you’ll need to know who your target audience is: what interests they have, age ranges, occupation, etc. New digital trends like blockchain and cryptocurrencies have so many niche communities online that this task has become more difficult, but businesses expect even more accuracy.
HOW
Pinpointing vocal communities
The conversation around the topic of cryptocurrency is vast and you may expect that it is traders and “experts” driving the discussion. But, analysis shows that it is actually software developers that are the most vocal on the topic. Proving that you understand the make up of your prospect's audience in this way will not only help you to formulate your strategy but also validate your approach.
Influencer impact
Above are influence metrics for key accounts in the cryptocurrency trader community and the cryptocurrency expert community. As you can see, the accounts don’t overlap, so you’ll need to adapt your strategy depending on your core target audience. Such information can then be used to highlight the impact of building relationships with these influential voices.
Tip #4 - Link marketing data to business metrics
WHY
Ultimately, for your pitch to be successful you’ll need to prove that your work is going to make a tangible impact on your prospect’s business. To do that, you can’t just rely on marketing metrics. You’ll need to incorporate business data or at least business indicators that demonstrate the impact your proposal will make.
HOW
To buy or to sell?
A key performance indicator for any listed business (or any cryptocurrency, in this case) is how much people are talking about buying or selling your shares/currency. The graph above highlights the levels of buy/sell discussion that surrounds three major cryptocurrencies over the last month. Highlighting this kind of data shows the potential impact a campaign can have on customer actions that will directly impact revenue.
Tip #5 - Don’t forget to jazz up your pitch...
Of course, the key element of any great pitch is being able to show exactly how your work is going to benefit your prospect. But when it comes to data visualizations a little bit of “relevant” showing off can’t hurt.
So here are a couple of flashy graphics you can share in your pitch. Because, why not?
The Virality Map - To show how key posts spread
This is how a recent post from a key cryptocurrency/blockchain publication, Bankless Times, spread across the world. While the graphic is eye-catching, including graphics like this helps you show that you are able to track post performance at a granular level when it comes time to measure results.
Topic spread videos
The video above shows how news of social betting application Bethereum developed on the Ethereum blockchain spread across the world on March 3rd. With new blockchain based companies appearing (and also disappearing) at incredible speed, this kind of graphic is a simple way to demonstrate how certain campaigns have fared on a global or regional scale.
(…48 hours later)
Account Director: “I didn’t realize you were such a blockchain expert? You said you didn’t know anything!”
Junior Account Exec: Thinks - "Well I certainly know a lot more than you..." Says - "Well you’ll be amazed at how quickly you can find insights about digital trends these days.”
Account Director: “How did you do it?”
