Research by Ian Cundell

Without research, we all grope in the dark.

Making lists

The simplest form of research is compiling a list for - well, anything: it is your business, so what do you need?.

When I worked for a firm of chartered surveyors a common task might be to list the properties competing with those we were marketing. The reseachers didn't like this being called research, but if truth be told it was.

Sometimes you may not have time to do the compiling yourself. As one a boss said to me, when told how much a list would cost:

"Will it save a day of my time?"

The answer was "Yes" and he spent the money.

Data analysis

Once the data has been gathered there will almost certainly be stuff that can be added up, classified, compared and contrasted. With the cool tools available on every computer you have many ways of doing this yourself.

If you have time.

Data analysis is not to be taken lightly since mistakes are easy (it is amazing how many people treat "discount rate" and "internal rate of return" as synonyms). It is a rare skill and, put bluntly, costs more than just data gathering.

Understanding

Spotting patterns and correlations in a set of data is only the first step to understanding what it means. To fully grasp implications, data and analysis need placing in context. This is where the true value added of an analyst comes into play.

It is no surprise that there are some very large companies that charge vast amounts of money to deliver the insight that comes from understanding: it takes years of training and experience. It is priced accordingly. My advantage is that I don't have to pay for a swanky West End HQ.

Advising

Anyone is, of course, entirely free to disregard advice, but it probably should not be ignored. Once-upon-a-time a respected firm was advised, for sound business reasons, to move to Watford. It moved to another town because it was less expensive. And spent the next five years regretting the decision.