Turn market research into a visual strategy brief
Use focused research questions to collect market evidence and organize it into a strategy presentation.
How this works
A strategy brief should connect evidence to decisions, not compress a large pile of sources into attractive slides. Start with a small set of questions whose answers could change the chosen market, offer or route to customers. Separate directly observed facts, estimates, forecasts and the team’s own assumptions.
Maintain an evidence matrix behind the presentation. The visual story should show where sources agree, where definitions differ and what is still unknown. AI can organize findings and propose explanations, but source coverage and chart arithmetic require explicit checking.
Before you start
Decision brief
Identify the pending business decision, alternatives, horizon and audience. Exclude adjacent topics that cannot affect this decision.
Research boundary
Agree geography, customer segment, product category and observation period before collecting market figures.
Presentation format
Use the available slide or document tool; if absent, produce a slide-by-slide Markdown storyboard with chart data.
Prepare the inputs
- questions
- Required
Decision-linked research questions
Each question has a possible decision consequence and an owner.
- source_records
- Required
Dated primary records or supplied research
Record definitions, sample, geography and whether the evidence is measured or forecast.
- alternatives
- Required
Candidate strategic choices and constraints
Retain actual options rather than inventing a predetermined recommendation.
- analysis_units
- Required
Currency, time period, market definition and customer unit
Do not add or compare incompatible figures without a justified transformation.
Implementation, step by step
Translate the decision into evidence needs
- Map each strategic alternative to the assumptions it depends on. Prioritize the questions most likely to change the choice.
- Define what would count as relevant evidence and which gaps can remain unresolved in the first brief.
Checkpoint: A focused question-to-decision map guides collection.
Collect and classify evidence
- Read relevant primary or supplied sources and preserve dates, definitions and short supporting observations in a matrix.
- Label measured values, survey opinions, forecasts and internal assumptions separately. Exclude unsupported recycled numbers even when widely repeated.
Checkpoint: Every substantive finding has an evidence type and traceable record.
Reconcile comparisons
- Normalize units only when the conversion is justified and reproducible. Explain overlapping market segments instead of adding them twice.
- Investigate disagreements through definitions, periods and samples; retain unresolved ranges rather than averaging incompatible estimates.
Checkpoint: Comparable tables distinguish true disagreement from different measurement scopes.
Build the strategy narrative
- Organize slides around decisions: context, evidence, implications, alternatives and open questions. Give each visual one clear analytical purpose.
- Generate charts from the verified table, label axes and uncertainty, and identify which conclusions are inferences. Avoid illustrations that imply nonexistent quantitative evidence.
Checkpoint: The storyboard links each recommendation to its supporting and contrary evidence.
Review the brief and hand off
- Check rendered charts against their data and read the deck at presentation size. Verify that source limitations remain visible in summaries.
- Deliver the editable brief, evidence matrix and prioritized follow-up research. Mark the recommendation provisional where missing evidence could reverse it.
Checkpoint: The audience can inspect the basis and limits of every decision-relevant conclusion.
Decisions along the way
Two sources define the market differently
Show separate estimates with definitions; do not present their average as a precise market size.
A forecast is the only available demand evidence
Label it a forecast and explain which assumptions need validation before investment.
The research does not favor one alternative
Present the tradeoff and the next discriminating evidence instead of forcing a winner.
What you will produce
strategy-brief.md or editable slides
Presentation/storyboardAn evidence-led narrative suited to a strategy review.
Include: decision · findings · visuals · alternatives · implications · open_questions
market-evidence.csv
CSVThe auditable basis for tables and recommendations.
Include: question_id · finding · evidence_type · date · definition · source_ref · limitation
Check the result
- Match each chart point to the underlying table and verify units and denominators.
- Check source dates and distinguish observation period from publication date.
- Retain contrary evidence and material limitations in the decision summary.
- Verify that every recommendation addresses a stated alternative or constraint.
When something goes wrong
Important source is inaccessible
Record the coverage gap and avoid claiming a complete market review.
Figures overlap across segments
Create a reconciliation note or show segments separately; do not sum them blindly.
The rendered chart misleads
Correct axis, scale or annotation and reinspect the exported slide before delivery.
A worked example
SYNTHETIC EXAMPLE · NOT A REPORTED BUSINESS RESULT
Request
Prepare a strategy brief comparing two market segments.
Inputs
Synthetic study A measures 120 active buyers in one region. Forecast B projects 500 potential buyers across three regions next year. The team must choose a near-term pilot region.
Expected result
Keep 120 observed buyers separate from the 500 forecast. Recommend evidence needed for regional comparison and show why the two numbers cannot establish growth or a winning region by themselves.
Run a small pilot
Start small
Answer a few questions for one concrete strategic choice.
Record the baseline
Record preparation time, source-verification effort and corrections from the last comparable review.
Agree success criteria
Judge whether decision owners can trace implications and resolve the intended questions.
Stop or revise
Stop a quantitative conclusion when definitions or source coverage cannot support it.
Keep the scope clear
- The brief proposes decisions; it does not authorize spending, hiring or market entry.
- Keep restricted internal documents in approved locations and separate public evidence from confidential assumptions.
Check before using
Verify source dates and distinguish measured demand from speculative forecasts.
Business activities
- Research customers and markets
- Plan products and business changes
FROM A RECIPE TO YOUR WORKFLOW
Bring the company context together.
This workflow needs reliable inputs before it needs a better prompt. Moat8 Vault brings working information into a readable archive for the AI tools you use.
For this recipe: Market questions · Relevant public sources
Start with one recurring task, agree which sources to use, and review the first result with your team.
Discuss this workflow