Information Can Be "Your Best Friend"

How many times have we caught ourselves uttering the million dollar statement, “If only I would have known then what I know now?” Unfortunately, for many of us it is more than we care to admit. And, unfortunately, if we had good information to begin with we would not need to utter that statement as much as we do. For any organization, information can, and should, be its best friend. Practical and reliable information can put you in a better position to make smarter decisions. It can help confirm perceptions, uncover probable outcomes, plan strategies, explore an issue, idea or new service, identify new markets, discover early warning signs or roadblocks, and much more. Arming yourself with information provides the insight needed to be successful. The following three steps provide all you need to know to uncover the knowledge required to make smarter decisions for your organization...

1. Know what you want to know. What information do you need to do your job well? Are there internal issues? What do your employees think about the organization? Do you need to find a new market for your product? Do you want to know what your customers think about your organization? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the competition? How can you best utilize a volunteer base? Perhaps you are looking to uncover new marketing strategies. How have other organizations grown their business? Truly understanding what information you are looking to obtain and asking the right questions is the first step.
2. Know who you want to know it from? The second step in this process is determining from which audiences, market segments and individuals you want to get this information? Is it your employees, customers or competition? Maybe you want to talk to volunteers, outside experts or the general public. Prioritizing the markets you plan to target is a main component in selecting the proper audiences. At Business Development Directives, we have designed a tool that helps organizations identify the primary constituents for any organization. We would be happy to provide this information to aid in the process of market prioritization.
3. Know how to reach the audience who knows what you want to know. There are many ways to get the information you need. Finding the best way to reach the selected audience is crucial to obtaining the most reliable information. Case in point, at BDD, we worked with a client requesting information on the automotive market by way of a phone survey. What we found was that the individuals we needed to contact to obtain the desired information were always in a repair shop. A phone survey was not the best vehicle to reach this market. Instead we needed to ride on a Snap-on-Tool truck in order to reach this audience. Research vehicles include a multitude of options including, secondary research, phone or written surveys, benchmarking studies, focus groups (both in-person and on-line), in person interviews, mystery shoppers and many, many more. Finding the right tool to get the job done is paramount to collecting the best information in a timely and economical fashion.