QRCA Views

Q U A L I TAT I V E R E S E A R C H C O N S U LTA N T S A S S O C I AT I O N 57 A friend of mine became a client when she was recently hired as a business development manager for a small auto dealership in a very rural area. With no business devel- opment expertise and only a limited bud- get (actually nothing), we set out to do a primary search on how to develop a strategy for this small market area. Our ultimate goal was to use information searched via Zakta to design a qualita- tive research project that she could use to gain further insights to improve sales through different channels. We began with a web search of a simple phrase, "business development car sales," which resulted in 109 million hits on Zakta versus 225 million on Google – far too many to navi- gate in either search engine. However, compared to Google, the Zakta search results were less daunting and far more organized. Through Zakta, we found rele- vant buckets of information that we could immediately access and save or reject as appropriate. I invited my friend to join the search and we both saved articles and informa- tion in a common file. This helped cut down time and we did not have to rein- vent the wheel each time we conducted a new search or continued our research. It also helped me to understand what interested her in the research, which would act as a guide for next steps. My client noted a few advantages to using Zakta for this project: • A more general initial search ("develop- ing business development"), rather than the specific ("business development car sales"), proved more fruitful in generat- ing initial clusters to hone her research and obtain articles specifically about designing a business development strat- egy to create a more specific plan for the auto dealership business. • With three simple clicks on Zakta, my friend found valuable information in the "People" search, including names and contact information for many possible networking opportunities. This specific information for finding appropriate sam- ples for respondents cannot be done as easily in a search on Google or Bing. • As a side note: if the project called for interviewing Directors of Business Development across a wide range of industries, Zakta can generate a sample size of close to 2,000 names and con- tact information (with a little additional digging). This could serve as a relevant, comprehensive national sample from which to conduct a research project. • Searches became less redundant and more dynamic as we continued working over the course of a few weeks because articles can be saved or rejected during the course of a project. This project continues and my friend now has enough information to design a well thought-out business plan and strategy. Beware of one downside: I was so absorbed with the Zakta part of the research that I often lost track of the real goal of the search. sources of interest to you. For example, just search YouTube or Twitter or U.S. patent data, or all of the available social media channels. Information is collected in real-time from all the available sources. Gain insight fast with product and market-specific searches: Research how specific products are perceived, what drives social buzz for the specific product, and also find alter- native product uses to help expand into other markets. Think of the possibilities when developing research proposals and submitting bids to clients. Reporting: Visualizations can be copied and used to augment your reports by enhancing your visual storytelling. Input spreadsheet data: This will obviously save time and offer valuable insights that may be labor-inten- sive when reviewing the data by hand or manipulating a spreadsheet. New offerings: Zakta's powerful toolset has a wealth of research tools and facilities, which may help expand the services you offer to your clients. Zakta can cultivate rich rela- tionships and keep you ahead of the com- petition. Case Study 6 9 7 8 Speed Reading The Web C O N T I N U E D

• Cover