When you’re trying to scale your business, it’s important to get in front of investors for financial support in getting your company off the ground. But in order to secure that golden nugget— funding— you’ll need to plead your case. Why are you starting your business? What gap are you filling in the market? How do you plan to monetize? What are your goals and projections? Has the company seen growth? All of these questions are things you’ll need to present in your pitch. Painting a picture of what you’ll do, how you’ll do it, and why you’ll be profitable can help investors decide whether they want to back your brand or not.
When it comes to your pitch, numbers speak louder than words. The proof is in the data. As such, data visualization becomes an essential pillar of your presentation. In this blog we talk about all things data visualization, explain what it is, and share data visualization examples that can help your business secure funding.
The proof is in the pudding
And said pudding is your data. Data can be used to map and track your company’s performance, improve the customer experience, inform decisions, predict industry trends, and solve problems. But it can also be used to tell the story of your success. Data visualization is so important when it comes to a pitch because it backs the brand you’re trying to sell. If you can prove your growth, or growth projections, you’ll have a better chance of convincing your audience that your product or service is worth investing in. By sharing these numbers with investors, you’re showing them exactly what they’re putting their money towards and how the funds will be used to further the business.
Data is a story, so let’s tell it.
What is data visualization?
Data is defined as “facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis.” The definition itself is boring, so we don’t blame you if you think data is a total snooze. However in the business world, data is how you measure growth and success, which is important. So, like it or not, it’s safe to say that data is here to stay. We’d even go so far as to say that we’re all data storytellers in some capacity.
It’s incredibly difficult for audiences to process, and simply exposing it to them does little to help them understand it. But if you can frame your data as a story, you not only make your slide simpler—you also make it more persuasive. Including data visualization reports in your presentation helps your audience understand the point you’re trying to drive home. Data and report visualization is simply communicating your data in a new, visually appealing way. It makes your analysis more digestible in bite-sized chunks of information.
Data visualization examples include charts, tables, graphs, maps, infographics, or videos.
Presenting your data to investors
Once you’ve run the numbers, gathered the data and analyzed the results, you’ll want to share the information with stakeholders, partners, and investors. How you format the data is vital to their understanding, which is where data visualization comes in.
Graphs and charts
Graphs and charts like Beautiful.ai’s bar graph or line chart templates are good data visualization examples that are both visually appealing and easily digestible. Images, colors, and patterns can represent various values, and the combination creates an easy-to-understand presentation.
Tables
Data tables like this Beautiful.ai slide template are another popular way to share numerical data, and they can be created automatically by inputting data into a spreadsheet and relying on the software to tabulate the totals.
Infographics
Infographics like Beautiful.ai’s thermometer template or arrow slide are an eye-catching and attractive way to communicate data to an audience. Humans are visual creatures, and infographics are incredibly effective at showcasing analysis through the combination of images, icons, numbers, and text.
Control the narrative
Regardless of which form of data visualization you use, it’s important to control the narrative. One simple solution is to emphasize the key data points in your bar chart, either by changing the color of the bars or adding the data values to points of interest. You can also illustrate the percent change between points to demonstrate the "right" way to evaluate growth. With these simple moves, you’ve now told your audience what to care about and what to ignore—and helped ensure that they draw the same conclusion as you.
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