During our recent webinar on “How to Develop a Compelling Data Story for Retailers,” Jordan Moore, a seasoned expert with five years of experience at NielsenIQ (NIQ), shared her valuable insights on how to have a successful pitch meeting. Keep reading for some key takeaways.

When creating a retail pitch deck, there are a few pitfalls that you will want to avoid:

1. Neglecting Retailer’s FocusTailor your pitch deck to each retailer’s target demographic.
   1. Acknowledge their consumer needs and demonstrate how your product aligns with their overall product assortment strategy.
   2. Generally, you will want to ask your buyer what their strategy is prior to your meeting, so your presentation aligns with their strategy.
2. Avoiding a Know-It-All Attitude
   1. Even if you have extensive industry knowledge, engage in a collaborative conversation with the retailer. Don’t criticize; suggest how your brand complements their goals.
3. Lengthy and Overwhelming Presentation
   1. Keep your pitch deck concise and visually appealing. If it appears overwhelming to you, it is overwhelming to the retailer as well. Focus on delivering key information in a clear and concise manner.

The reality is shelf space is expensive. Retailers love to bring in emerging brands for many reasons, but it is ultimately a risky choice. It’s important to keep this in mind as you are creating your data story. You want to show why your product deserves the shelf space over a competitor. Even if you’re not on the shelf yet, looking at competitive sets to understand trends and opportunities is imperative.

When we start talking about data, a few concerns will typically come up:

• I understand I should have data, but where do I get it?
• What does this data look like?
• I can’t afford data
• I don’t have a team of data experts to pull and analyze data

To bridge the gap and empower emerging brands with comprehensive data insights, Byzzer by NIQ offers a competitive edge at an affordable price. With Byzzer, you gain access to a comprehensive data platform that provides actionable insights, customizable reports, and an AI-powered presentation creator. Byzzer’s aim is to make reliable data and insights accessible to emerging brands, regardless of their size or resources.
It can take a lot of time to accrue data, glean valuable insights from it, and then put it in a usable format. That’s why NIQ has created the new Stories feature on the Byzzer platform. It’s a way for CPG manufacturers to automate the creation of presentations for retail category reviews and internal business reviews. All you need to do is define your objective, preview your story, and select your data inputs, and Byzzer will use these inputs to provide a multi-page presentation-ready report that could take an analyst 3-5 days to complete. See the image below for Story options and an example of a Brand Review deck.

Jordan Moore’s expert insights remind us of the importance of thoughtful and tailored pitches when engaging with retailers. By avoiding common pitfalls like neglecting the retailer’s focus, maintaining a collaborative attitude, and presenting information concisely, brands can enhance their chances of securing valuable shelf space. Further, Byzzer by NIQ stands out as a game-changer, offering accessible and comprehensive data insights along with the innovative Stories feature, which streamlines the creation of impactful retail presentations. This tool not only saves time but also empowers emerging brands to compete effectively and make data-driven decisions in the highly competitive retail industry.

Best of all, Startup CPG members can get free, instant access to the Byzzer platform, where you’ll be able to run three complimentary reports. Byzzer even has support baked into the platform with reference documents that break down what every metric means, as well as live chat support. Sign up for your complimentary account now and schedule a demo with an expert!