Search Smart and Get Ahead: Find All the Information You Need (Your Fast-Track to Business Success)

224 Pages·2000·0.71 MB·English

by  Susan Shelly

SEARCH SMART
AND GET AHEAD
by Susan Shelly
®
NEW YORK
Copyright © 2000 LearningExpress,LLC.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conven-
tions.Published in the United States by LearningExpress,LLC,New York.
Shelly,Susan.
Search Smart and Get Ahead / by Susan Shelly.
p. cm.
ISBN 1-57685-202-4
1.Business—Research—Methodology I.Title. II.Series.
HD30.4.S5 1999
650'.07'2—dc21 99-20289
CIP
Printed in the United States ofAmerica
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
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ISBN 1-57685-202-4
CONTENTS
Chapter 1: What Exactly is Business Research?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter 2: Making Sure You Understand What You’re Researching . . . . 11
Chapter 3: Choosing the Right Method of Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Chapter 4: Getting Started with Your Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Chapter 5: Identifying the Kind of Information You’ll Need . . . . . . . . . . 43
Chapter 6: Using the Library for Your Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Chapter 7: Pick Up the Phone and Start Dialing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Chapter 8: Take a Walk Down the Hallway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Chapter 9: Get on the ‘Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Chapter 10: Mail and Telephone Surveys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Chapter 11: Conducting a Great Interview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Chapter 12: Focus Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Chapter 13: Digging In: Sometimes You’ve Got to
Roll Up Your Sleeves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Chapter 14: When Do You Need to Consider Outside Help?. . 149
Chapter 15: What Does All This Data Mean?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Chapter 16: Figuring Out Where and How to Store
Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Chapter 17: Show Me the Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Chapter 18: Even if Your Results are Boring, Your
Presentation Doesn’t Have to Be . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Chapter 19: Tying it Together: Measuring the Success of
Your Business Research Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Chapter 20: Here’s How it Works. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Appendix: Additional Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
CHAPTER 1
WHAT EXACTLY
IS BUSINESS
RESEARCH?
O
h,and the day had started off so well.You came to work—the job
you’ve had for just six months but are doing really well at—with a
big smile.You were feeling just great.
Your boss has been telling you how happy he’s been with your work,
and promised that today you were going to get a special assignment.You’re
thinking that if you do a good job at whatever this mystery assignment
might be,you’ll probably be considered for a raise.Ifyou get the raise,you’d
be able to move to a better apartment,and ...well,no point in thinking
about all that now.
There’s no point because it’s not going to happen.You’re sure you won’t
be getting that raise because you’re sure you’ll never be able to do the assign-
ment your boss just gave you.Your good mood had evaporated when you
heard the words uttered from your boss’lips:business research.
“I’d like you to conduct some business research for us,Linda,”was what
your boss had said.“I’m confident you’ll do a fine job.”
v
VI SEARCH SMART AND GET AHEAD
Business research?
You’ve barely even heard of business research,and now you’re supposed to be
doing it? Wherever will you start? Who will help you? Who will even tell you what
it is?
You know it’s going to be impossible.Your boss will never give you another
assignment more important than refilling the office coffee pot. This is so
depressing!
CHEER UP! HOW BAD CAN A LITTLE BUSINESS
RESEARCH BE?
Hold on,there.Before you start looking for a new job (which,by the way would
involve business research),take a deep breath,and continue reading.
Granted,business research sounds terribly complex and intimidating.It’s one
of those phrases,like “mutual fund”or “managed care program,”that just makes
you want to run to another room and tune in the I Love Lucyreruns.
Actually,though,business research isn’t all that complicated.True,there are
many intricacies and nuances that people who conduct research for a living work
for years to master.They talk ofthings like stimulus presentation,psychographics,
and multivariate analytical techniques—phrases guaranteed to drive you to your
remote control.The basics of business research,however,are relatively easy to
understand and to put to use.
And that’s what we’re going to do in this book.We’ll present to you the basics
of business research in easy-to-understand,useable steps.We’ll start at the very
beginning—examining possible objectives of business research, the types of
research you’ll most likely be asked to conduct,and why business research is so
important to so many companies.
Then we’ll take you step-by-step through the process of business research.
You’ll learn where to go for help,and some of the different methods of research.
You’ll learn how important it is to be able to think on your feet and use some inge-
nuity; you’ll learn that some of the information you need for your business
research might be much closer than you imagined.
So,give your boss a big smile,and tell him you’ll be delighted to take on the
business research project he has in mind for you.After you read this book,you’ll
be able to apply the skills you’ve learned,and he’ll never know how you panicked
when the assignment was first mentioned.
WHAT EXACTLY IS BUSINESS RESEARCH? VII
Soon,the only thing left for you to do will be to start picking out furniture for
your new apartment.
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT
Without even realizing it,you’ve probably conducted dozens of research projects
already.Some of them concerned work,while others were personal.Consider the
following:
• Over a period of several years, you wore five different brands of jeans.
Finally,you decided that Gap jeans were the ones for you.
• You served pork for dinner, and one of your friends couldn’t eat it. You
grilled a steak,and someone objected to red meat.You broiled some salmon,
but two people didn’t like fish.Finally,you roasted a chicken,and everyone
was happy.
• You went to four informational interviews while you were job searching,
because you wanted as much information about different jobs and busi-
nesses as you possibly could find.
• When you heard that Heather was going out with Kevin, you were pretty
upset.You’d been seeing Heather pretty regularly for a couple of months,
and thought things were getting kind of serious. You didn’t know much
about Kevin, who hadn’t been in town too long, so you got on the phone
and called up Dave,who knew Kevin before he moved to Greensburg and
started hanging around with you and your friends. Dave gave you all the
information he had about Kevin,and suggested that you call Heather’s best
friend,Sarah,to find out what was going on.
In case you haven’t guessed,each ofthe above scenarios involved research.
• In the first instance, you were testing a product—jeans. You acted as the
consumer and the researcher,trying various types of jeans to find the ones
you liked best.You no doubt considered things such as fit,comfort,price,
availability, and so forth. Finally, after testing available products, you
decided which one you liked the most.
• When you made dinner for your friends, you were the manufacturer and
the researcher and they functioned as the consumers. By trying different
dinners, you were able to gather information regarding their likes and
VIII SEARCH SMART AND GET AHEAD
dislikes. Eventually, you were able to find something—the roasted
chicken—that made everyone happy,and ensured a successful dinner party.
• In the third example,you were the researcher.The people with whom you
had the informational interviews served as your focus groups.You targeted
them in order to get specific information about jobs in which you thought
you might be interested.Hopefully,you used the information you gathered
to make a decision concerning the job you wanted. And, hopefully you
made a good impression during the interviews and landed a job as a result!
• And,in the last example,you were researching your competition,something
that businesses do all the time.You relied on Dave and Sarah to give you the
information you were looking for about Kevin and Heather,and,presum-
ably,used the information to draw conclusions concerning the situation.
So you see,research isn’t as complicated or difficult as you might think.It’s
conducted—formally or informally—all the time,in all kinds of businesses,and
for personal reasons as well.
IT’S QUIZ TIME!
Just when you thought this book would be a piece of cake,we throw in a quiz.
Well,the purpose ofthe quiz isn’t to ruin your day—it’s just to assess your knowl-
edge ofbusiness research.
You don’t even have to tell anybody how you scored.You might be pleasantly
surprised,however,to find out you know more about business research than you
thought you did.Just hang in there.How hard can 10 true-or-false questions be?
1. All business research is done in the same manner, but the results vary
depending on the type of company conducting the research.True / False
2. Many large companies use business research, but small companies usually
can’t because it’s too expensive and time-consuming.True / False
3. Common goals of business research are to assess the chances for success of
a new product,locate competition within the market,and find out who is
buying (or might buy) your product.True / False
4. The best way to conduct business research is to go door to door and ask
people what they think about a specific issue or product.True / False
WHAT EXACTLY IS BUSINESS RESEARCH? IX
5. While some companies hire professionals to conduct business research,
others are very successful using their own people and resources for research-
ing.True / False
6. Business research doesn’t require any preparation or organization because
things will fall into place once the research process is underway.True / False
7. A business research project will require a minimum ofnine to 12 months to
complete.True / False
8. Once you’ve completed a research project, the way you present it is
extremely important,and you should spend significant time deciding how
to best showcase your results.True / False
9. Although the Internet is useful for some projects, it probably won’t help
with business research because it’s too new,and the information you need
won’t be on it yet.True / False
10. The results of your research project will determine your business’response
to the problem or question that triggered the research in the first place.
True / False
AND THE ANSWERS, PLEASE
That wasn’t so bad,was it? Let’s review the answers so you can see how you did.
1. False.There are different methods ofresearch,such as using focus groups or
conducting phone surveys.Results should vary depending on the informa-
tion gathered,not the type of company conducting the research.
2. False. Business research can be effective, and cost effective, for businesses
and companies of any size.
3. True.Business research is conducted for many purposes,but three common
goals are judging the chances for success of a new product,identifying and
locating competition,and identifying consumers.
4. False.Although there are instances in which door-to-door surveys are effec-
tive,it is by no means the best way to conduct business research in all cases.
5. True. With some preparation and planning (and this book), business
research can be effectively conducted by non-professionals.
6. False.Preparation and organization are vital to successful business research.
We’ll get into those areas a little later in this book.
X SEARCH SMART AND GET AHEAD
7. False.A project might last for nine to 12 months, but there is no set time
requirement.A small project,with limited scope,could be done within days
or weeks.
8. True. How you present your results is very important, and can influence
how others view your work. An attractive and effective presentation will
make your results,whatever they are,seem more impressive.
9. False.The Internet is loaded with information that can be extremely useful
in business research. We’ll discuss using the Internet in detail later in the
book.
10. False. This is a tricky question, but the answer is false. Your research will
result in information on which people within your business can base their
decisions.A research project,by itself,can’t make a decision.
How did you do? Ifyou answered eight or more questions correctly,give your-
selfa big pat on the back.Yet even ifyou did that well,keep on reading.You’re sure
to pick up some additional information and insights.
If you didn’t do very well,don’t worry.By the time you finish the book,you’ll
be researching with the best ofthem.Now,let’s get ready to learn.
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?
Business research is the process of gathering information that can be used to
answer a question or solve a problem relating to your business or company.There
are different methods of conducting research,but the goal is always to come up
with information on which your business can base decisions or solve problems.
DOWN TO BUSINESS
All businesses, regardless of size or venture, require information
about many different topics. Information is the stuff on which all
decisions are based.
In our increasingly complex and fast-moving world,the value of information
has reached a premium.We constantly want information,and we want it fast.
Moving away from businesses and into American households for a minute,
consider how things have changed in the past 25 or 30 years regarding the way we
get our information.