Robert F. Siegmund, PhD MBA

As a leading institution in the AI field, I look no further than the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. MIT is rightly considered the birthplace of AI because two key figures, John McCarthy and Marvin Minsky, founded the world's first dedicated AI research lab there in 1959. Their work, along with MIT's continued contributions, has shaped the field of AI from its very beginnings. The MIT Sloan school has a variety of AI courses that I can recommend. I have just started their 6-week course "AI in Healthcare" taught by Prof. Dr. Barzilay. Prof. Dr. Regina Barzilay is a prominent Israeli American computer scientist at the forefront of AI and healthcare. She's a professor at MIT and leads the AI efforts at the MIT Jameel Clinic.

In terms of visualising market research results, that is results from large surveys and/or results from analysing real-world data sets, according to my experience, currently (2024) the best and most used data visualisation applications in the biopharmaceutical industry are Microsoft Power BI and Tableau (part of Salesforce.com). I imagine generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications to enter this field and transform it in the coming months and years.

Resilience is essential in market research, where several challenges can emerge. The first issue is incorrect project framing—without clearly defined business objectives, the research foundation is weak. Secondly, selecting the wrong interview target group can skew results, such as understanding patient motivations by interviewing caregivers instead of patients. Lastly, ideal research designs may falter if the necessary sample size is unreachable. In the first two scenarios, a return to the planning stage is required to address design flaws. In the last case, consider adjusting the screening process or changing the fieldwork agency to meet sample requirements.

Customer feedback is the number one role of market research for any organisation, whether a start-up of or a multi-billion-dollar corporation with thousands of employees. Market Research IS the the voice of the customer. For start-ups it is especially valuable and important to test their product or service in market research. Market research does not need to be expensive, a qualitative primary market research project, for instance in-depth interviews with a small sample of key customers per market will generate insights that will help shape further service or product development and marketing and sales strategy. It is truly surprising some companies launch products without proper market research, leading to inevitable product failures.

In terms of narrative, there are two main structures you should follow, either it is a linear flow: A follows B, B follows C and so on, like in an academic paper. This is the linear storyline structure. For management presentations it is often better to use what I call "The Pyramid". You start with the conclusions as the top of your pyramid, and then deliver more and more of the evidence step by step, which underpins the conclusions. In the end you repeat the conclusions and follow on with recommendations. Have a conversation with your audience first to find out if they prefer the linear storyline or the pyramid structure. Also make sure to keep the whole presentation short (30 min) and to the point.