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Outsourcing Research (Not Keyword)

by TravisVOX
6 replies
I'm looking to try and outsource a few research projects, but am a bit hesitant and wanted to seek some advice first.

In the past, the research I've outsourced resulted in nothing more than a reproduction of the top ten results in Google. This was frustrating, but live/learn.

Does anyone have some quick tips/advice to get the highest quality results out of an outsourced research project? Perhaps some thoughts on guidelines, measurables etc.?

Thanks!
#keyword #outsourcing #research
  • Profile picture of the author Audrey Harvey
    Travis, I had some research done by a lady on Odesk, she was brilliant. Not cheap, but brilliant. I gave her a list of topics/questions I wanted answered, and told her I wanted the answers written out in note form, with the url's of her references below each. She's no longer available but I use that format as an example of what I want from other researchers. I think the key is to tell the researcher exactly what you want ie rather than just saying "research this topic", tell them the questions you want answers to.
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    • Profile picture of the author Sandra Martinez
      I have done research, a lot, I might add... and still do it, but do not take many new clients as don´t have time for cheap $#%& and there seem to be an epidemics.

      the trick is to have a clear idea of what you really want. Outsourcers are like the ginnie of the lamp, some naughtier than others... but they all will interpret what you want in their own way.

      so say what you want, and if possible give them a roadmap to get there. If you don´t know how to do it, it is ok, but the the outsourcer will need to be of a higher level.

      Then ask for feedback to make sure they understood what you expect from them.

      There are different lines of research besides keyword research, it can be
      • competition analysis,
      • look for success stories on some area to do a jv project,
      • find the best person for a certain job,
      • collect database type of information,
      • a solution for a problem,
      • stats analysis and strategies based on them,
      • information analysis (for example I developed a set of questions for a guru´s product one time, from the answers we knew with 90% accuracy who was going to refund),
      • creation of models based on data of some sort,
      • decoding of the competition sales funnel or products.

      Research is a really wide term...

      Third element, you get what you pay for. Outourcers, researchers or whatever, sell time and you buy product. So even the best will give you a product where the measure for them is the time that took to do it, unless there are other things in the deal.

      And finally... look for people with satisfaction policy of some type, as it shows they have faith in their own products. I don´t take money if the person is not satisfied for example. But on the other hand, if I am not happy with the contractor attitude, I just blacklist him/her.

      Sandra
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    • Profile picture of the author TravisVOX
      Thanks, Audrey. Good point on clearly specifying the deliverables. Thus far, the bids for the project have been solid, one in particular... I'll be sure to share how it goes.
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      • Profile picture of the author TravisVOX
        Great advice, Sandra! Thanks!
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  • Profile picture of the author myeanne
    Hi Travis,

    I think there's only one advise to get the high quality outsource worker and that is to hire a good company/firm with proven track record. Leasing a staff from a company is more beneficial because you're assured that your staff is doing their job right. Outsourcing firm have their shift supervisor who manage their employee to ensure the productivity.
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    • Profile picture of the author TravisVOX
      Just as a follow-up to this... I outsourced my work to a new provider on Elance who is based in the US. Her work was excellent, the communication timely... the end product (the research document) was good, although I should have been even more specific as to what I wanted.

      The one thing I would say is it's always better when they're doing the work while you sleep. Since she was in the US, she worked during normal business hours, which is obviously when I'm up as well.
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