By: Lucell Larawan
“I don’t need research for my business,” a friend quipped when I proposed the idea over a cup of green tea last few months ago. I cannot judge him because he is such a cost-sensitive start-up entrepreneur. I thought his intuition could be as sharp and accurate as a seer. Later, I discovered that what he misunderstood research as a mere feasibility study which was not what I meant. He may not need a feasibility study but he needs a case study.
In the course of our conversation, a friend still shared that he has used a beta test to prepare him for a scaling up. Meaning, a bootstrapping businessman like him still believes in case of research, even if he refuses my suggestion and does not know the lingo. He actually did one, albeit informally executed.
Before you pour your bucks into research for a business, you usually ask: “What is in it for me?” Congratulations, your business acumen works.
And part of what you should think is: with a barrage of ratings, recommendations, reviews and star rating available online, keeping track of one’s business is vital. Take a look at the following scenarios.
Scenario 1: The interview data you collect from the case study outsourced from a research firm tell genuine encounters about how a client would no longer depend so much on telecommunication firms because your product increases the speed of his internet connection. You then put these interviews on your website to evangelize your clients who want proofs of your claims.
As a result, your market share increases from 20 to 40 percent.
Takeaway: Stories are powerful in convincing non-clients to patronize your product.
Scenario 2: An athlete tries your socks and can run with more ease, not worrying about a come-back of his plantar fascia on his foot. You video an interview with him about his newly found socks which he shares to his 100 other friends. Each of those who hear this athlete’s story spreads the news to at least eight others. It dawns on you that peers have such an influence on product choices.
Takeaway: If you need social proof to spread the news, case study research gives you a good dose.
Scenario 3: Some prospect clients check your website and want to confirm how your new spray can heal joint pains like no western medicine can. They cannot trust so much on your sales pitch and looks for other ways of verifying your claims. Fortunately, you put Slideshares telling stories of healing after using your spray which ends your desperate searches through trial and error. Your client further validates these interviews by meeting the interviewees in person.
Takeaway: There is nothing more valuable than genuine encounters in marketing your product.
Scenario 4: You want to position your brand but you cannot do this with online product reviews that are riddled with spelling and grammar glitches. You are looking for a better way to tell real stories about your brand.
Takeaway: A case study can make you take the rein of your brand.
Scenario 5: You want to improve your product, yet you cannot do it by merely meeting with your marketing and production experts’ opinions. You need insights from customers—those free from internal politics.
Takeaway: A case study gives you an invaluable source of insights for continuous improvement.
Scenario 6: You interview clients to say anything about your products for feedback. You should realize that you do not just become wiser in presenting your value proposition doing this case research. As clients also promote their businesses through your interviews, you are surprised by their loyalty.
Takeaway: A case study cements customer relationships and promotes loyalty.
Do the scenarios above enlighten you? If so, it is time to change your bias against research investment. It can actually improve your business.
(My email: lucelllarawan@gmail.com).
