Research and why it is important

October 3, 2018 - Defne Nur Ayyildiz

What we call startup today is some people coming together with a common vision, mission and a new concept which can usually be improved and shaped in time.

"A startup is a human institution designed to deliver a new product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty."

says Eric Ries about the definition of a startup in his article. We used to be a startup once; however, you cannot stay as a startup forever. You either fail or succeed in the business world, grow and become an actual company. For the latter one, it is important to be able to use effective ways in marketing even though it does not have certain rules to be followed. Every day might be your company's day to shine and it is your company's duty to chase this chance. To reach this goal, one should follow the right methods.

Research is the key to success. Doing research helps you understand the conditions in which you compete with others. Whether your business has a distinctive feature or something that has never been done before, research will help you notice these features that only you have. Besides, you could get innovative ideas that would help your business grow faster.

Gathering the data you will need later on is important. We have internet, and the internet has everything you ever try to find. What others in the field are doing, what they had done before to get to this level or what the users of their product think of them; all of these data are important and can shape up your mind while you are at a decision point for your business. That is why WebGazer Team has a position only for researches.

We gathered the data we might need, but there are loooooots of them. How to deal with all these when you need a specific answer for your important question? Many people search on the internet when they need an answer not knowing they will get distracted in a data pool soon. To prevent this, while gathering my data, I simply classify all the information I get on a basic PowerPoint slide. It doesn't have to be all neat and clear since it is going to be used as a cheat-sheet for your brainstorming or decision session, whatever is next. It is not as easy as it sounds, though. Dealing with with the huge piles of information on the net is getting scary each day. That's why I usually start creating my categories before diving into the data sea. Each slide of my document represents a category of my research topic. I sometimes get a 20-slide summary, sometimes 3. The quality of the information matters more than the quantity. Also, this way I know which page I'm going to look first when I need a specific answer and it helps me visualise the data, have easier and better conclusions.

My previous research topic was Feedback Tools and here's the slide I prepared for my research. I usually use themes to make it easy to read for my colleagues :P

Feedback tools presentation

A sample categorization from my previous research topic. The pages don't have to be full of words, sometimes even one phrase will be enough.

Sample categorization from my previous research topic

Now we can see our data properly with the PowerPoint slide method. We are at a level where we can clearly see what we lack, what we can do better or what we are good at. Now you will not be afraid to set sail for new horizons because you know you will be able to get on the right direction. Things will eventually get easier when you have a clear image of what to do on your mind. It is a simple way of getting things done, it is PowerPoint slides after all, but now you know one way of concluding your research without a clutter of information here and there.