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September 2002
Helpful Hints for the Small Research Department
Many papers understand the value of research yet have little in-house help to analyze and distribute information to clients both internal and external.
In some cases there is no research department at all. Someone is assigned the extra task of being the "research guru" even if that is not quite his/her niche or typical job responsibility!
Belden understands this challenge – here are some ideas for the small or understaffed research department to provide the necessary services to clients. Even if not your forte, these will help take charge of research responsibilities.
Tip 1: Have a general "market" presentation that tells about market strengths.
Data such as population growth, job growth and the total retail sales of your area are general market indicators that give advertisers an idea of the economic strength. Of course strengths will vary based on market size, geographic area and other key factors. For instance, some small markets are hot tourist attractions or resort areas. These can be considered economic strengths.
When using data to support such strengths, find a credible source and stick with it. Using the same sources each time you need to update the presentation will allow you to track and see the changes. It will also eliminate distribution of inconsistent data and sources coming from your department.
Tip 2: Prepare "canned" presentation shells basedon advertiser categories and when you need to present data to an advertiser, "plug in" the specifics.
Belden designs your PowerPoint management summaries in a manner allowing you to choose slides separately or in a series to create shells. Simply take what we have given and use it "as-is" or doctor it up for your needs.
A shell allows you to have all the information ahead of time to reference easily when needed. Create a series of shells for different advertiser categories such as home electronics, department discount stores, etc.
Use the shells when presenting to prospective advertisers to give them an idea of how your market area is performing in their particular retail category. Use information such as:
- The description of the study
- The definition of the market area
- Demographics of the market
- Your newspapers readership
- Market share of the category. For example: 60% of adults shop for home electronics the "General Area" in a 30-day period.
- Market share of the stores.
- Cross shopping: Which shows where else a store’s shoppers shop.
- Your reach of that retail category: For example newspaper A reaches 75% of those who shop for home electronics in a 30-day period.
Once created you can use the shells when putting together presentations for specific advertisers. Use the shell with the appropriate advertiser category and plug-in the advertiser’s data where appropriate. For home electronics, if you are presenting to "Electronics Store A," you would show your newspaper’s reach of those who shop at "Electronics Store A" rather than the whole category. In addition to showing your market’s demographics, you may also show how "Electronics Store A’s" shoppers compare to the total market.
There are many ways to show the data, but the key is to take the time to create PowerPoint shells ahead of time for easy access and use later.
Tip 3: Use one-sheeters with key information for those who don’t want a whole presentation.
For example, if you feel your contact at Electronics Store A will not pay much attention to a presentation, minimize a couple of key charts that support your sales pitch and put them all on one page with headings explaining the main selling points.
Tip 4: Keep track of all outside supportive data that may strengthen your presentations.
Information from organizations such as the Newspaper Association of America or a business source such as Hoover’s should be filed whether its hard copy or saved as a "favorite" on the Internet. Supportive data can be incorporated into your presentations to give them more muscle.
Tip 5: Keep internal clients posted on any information that may be useful to them.
If there is an opportunity to give them something in-person and explain why the information is important, that works best. This way they will be sure to see and acknowledge it.
However, with a "one person" or understaffed department this may be a little difficult at times, so you may want to keep an e-mail list of those who should be on a "need to receive" basis such as managers, directors, and sales teams, and send them an "FYI" on the information you found with bullet points in the e-mail explaining why the information is important.
These are just a few tips to help organize your sources. Some newspapers already are following these tips and some need to start. If you are already on this path or have been for some time, great!
If not, try to start organizing your research information for easy access so that you can effectively and efficiently service your clients.
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