In a fit of frustration over a particularly tricky (and fruitless) recruitment project, I lashed out in lament—on Twitter. To my astonishment, the micro-blogging (140 characters or less) community immediately rallied and responded to my cry; two experts engaged me directly, and several industry Twitter users began following my posts.
We’ve gradually been exploring using social networking as a recruitment method. Our Twitter account (http://twitter.com/TribecaInsights) has generated some positive publicity and useful connections, but this was the first time a very niche expert was engaged and recruited via this new milieu. I think that a keen foundational notion behind playing with various expert recruitment methods—e-mail, telephone, Facebook, and now, Twitter—is that industry experts—like television-viewers, food critics, university professors and elementary school students—may be segmented. Consumer segmentation, as most companies already know, is increasingly important and relevant to media consumption, sales and marketing as the power of the internet becomes more widespread.
I remember attending a seminar on segmentation and demographics analytics during my days as a publicist. They presented some interesting supporting statistics on the effectiveness of targeted marketing by contrasting the number of magazines and television stations available in 1940, 1960, 1980 and 2000, along with accompanying data on the (impressive) industry revenue generated through spending, advertising, subscription and merchandising. Needless to say, the exponential growth in media options targeted to very specific users (entire magazines devoted to featuring bridal accoutrements for brides-to-be; golfing destinations catalogs for golf enthusiasts; even eerily comprehensive pet parenting periodicals aimed at Labrador owners, poodle breeders, and terrier trainers!) have transformed the formerly modestly-sized media industry to a multi-billion dollar, globally-linked machine.
Applying the same mentality in expert recruiting—by tapping into the social networks and industry-specific virtual communities target experts are likely to frequent—could uncover caches of previously un-reachable, un-discoverable, or un-responsive experts. We’ll be experimenting and finessing our recruiting procedures into the summer—stay tuned for updates!
technorati tags: Twitter
This morning, Dazhi and I met with Integrity Research (http://www.integrity-research.com), a boutique consultancy focused on devising primary research and market research strategies and services for the financial sector. The meeting was pleasant and substantive; we learned about Integrity Research’s business model and ongoing and upcoming research industry reports, and we were able to introduce ourselves in person to Tom Hutchinson, who oversees IR’s relationships with service providers.
We’ll be tuning into their blog, ResearchWatch for the latest and greatest from our competitors and fellow innovators in the research space.
technorati tags: Integrity Research
Expert networks are utilized by companies conducting extensive research on various industry sectors for a number of reasons—including exploring potential investment opportunities, creating business development strategies, and building a technical knowledge base. Part of the integral, comprehensive primary research process involves speaking with folks who have first-hand industry experience—since, no matter how much academic material is available, there’s nothing so efficient and accurate as culling opinions from combined decades of experience in the field. These companies come to us to source these qualified experts (that’s you!) for them.
Why would a company spend money to hire an outside firm to find experts? Doesn’t that make us ostensible middlemen, simply facilitating a process rather than producing a deliverable? Well, yes. But don’t write it off yet. It would be a short life indeed if we personally undertook every single one of our professional endeavors. The term ‘middleman’ connotes a lot of things—most of them orbiting around ‘busywork’, ‘useless’ and ‘inefficient’. But here in New York, the middleman trade (or, euphemistically: “professional services”) not only pays the bills for most of the white-collar community; we invest money, sell real estate, generates ideas, and perform research for the rest of the world! Individuals and companies rely strongly on the value supplied by third-party specialists.
Consider the following—
You’re an executive heading a new product line at Tribeca Technologies, a premiere software firm. You want to know what sorts of product-related improvements you could make this quarter to increase sales. How would you go about doing this?
You could do it yourself, but that would require your putting off more important tasks directly related to generating profit. Alternatively, you might hire a market research firm to poll all software users, to see what sorts of features they’d like to see in new products. Here, the benefits of involving a third party are apparent:
- You’d skirt the process of having to learn best practices for soliciting honest, critical feedback
- You’d get to punt the grunt work to someone who does know how, while you work on what you do best; making software, managing developers, etc.
And that’s where middlemen come in—not as marginal paper-shufflers, but as helpers who enhance the value of your business by ensuring a more efficient delegation of duties. Tribeca Insights has got a quick-draw research team that looks into companies and projects relevant to our clients’ needs. We’ve honed best practices for getting in touch with—on a project-by-project basis—people with business experience, technical know—how, and great communication skills. In addition to this, we perform all the pesky logistics that come with scheduling a phone call and processing payment. Lastly (but certainly not leastly), we’re here to collect your questions and feedback, which will in turn, help us best serve both our experts and our clients.
technorati tags: Tribeca Insights, expert networks, primary research
Some of the questions I’m frequently asked are, “Why do your clients ask you to find experts for them? Who are your clients, anyway?”
Having been a customer of Expert Network services in my previous life as a financial analyst, I can tell you that primary research – in particular, “expert consultations” – is one of the most important aspects of the job. Anyone can read annual reports, browse websites, listen to earnings conference calls, and filter through published research. What’s more, everyone already does those things, so in order to be smarter than your neighbor, you need to be prepared to roll up your sleeves and do some first-hand research.
Here’s an example. One of my first research projects was to better understand the online real estate brokerage industry – the leader at the time was a company called ZipRealty. After reading through the published Wall Street research reports and the SEC filings, I had an idea of the what the industry was about – but I didn’t have a good grasp on where it was headed. A few years out, would they be like online travel agents, or online pet stores? To help answer that, I needed to talk to people in the field. That’s where the real knowledge always is, and that’s where I could test out my hypotheses. As good as books or reports are – I couldn’t ask them any questions.
To further my understanding and perspectives, I conducted primary research and talked to a number of real estate brokers and consumers who were shopping for homes. I asked them all types of questions like “Where do you go to look for listings? What value do you find in a real estate broker? How much do you pay to advertise listings in a newspaper? Do your customers come to you with the exact properties they want to see, or, do they ask you to drive them around?” This was much more work than reading a research report – but it was also far more valuable. Primarily with the help of conversations with a group of knowledgeable (and very helpful!) experts who had spent years in the field, I was able to quickly develop an independent and thorough understanding of an industry. This, in turn, helped shape our investments in that space.
Today, our clients include investment firms, corporations, non-profits and startups! As many of you are aware, starting a company can be daunting. You’re out there pursuing a dream, but at the same time you’re also flying without a safety net. Entrepreneurs often encounter obstacles they need to solve by themselves – there’s no one else to turn to. Here’s when an expert consultation might help. What type of online marketing will be most effective for my product? Which recruiting tools/websites should I rely on? These valuable pieces of advice can save not only time, but also money – two things almost always in short supply at a startup!
When I reflect upon my career, and, more broadly, my life, it’s difficult to say that I’ve been privy to any special knowledge. Surely, plenty of people have worked in pharmaceuticals, lived in China, or shopped for chocolate-leather knee-high boots. Surely, anyone who wanted to know how pain medication works, or what the best bars in Shanghai are, or what online coupons for Zappos.com are available could simply delve into the wondrous World Wide Web, and figure it out. Right?
Many people are daunted by the word ‘expert’, and resultantly ask themselves the wrong questions when evaluating their own candidacy for outside consultancy roles. The point isn’t whether or not you can provide more, or better information than your colleagues, the library, or the Internet. The point is that you, as a unique individual with a unique set of experiences, will have a wealth of unique perspectives you didn’t even know you had! The warm-fuzzy bottom line is that you’re a consultant -and an expert- just by nature of being you. No fast-track formal training, Google research, or instructional manual can compare to the real thing: long-term, proven, hands-on experience in the field.
So, while www.worldsbestbars.com might tell you that People 7 is a chic place to grab a martini in Shanghai, it probably wouldn’t mention that the entryway is unlabeled and password protected, or that you can score free beers every Monday night after 8 at the English pub down the street. Or that Jo, the Friday night bartender, will serve you candied fruit with your drink, if you ask politely. Or that I actually prefer the Velvet Lounge next door, because of their inimitable open-fire, clay-oven hummus pizza. Or that even though the taxi meters outside have a 14RMB initial rate, it’s possible (and practicable) to ask for a lower fare late at night.
I suppose I’ve got a little expertise, after all. Huh.
technorati tags: Tribeca Insights, The Insight Scoop, Knowledge Leader Forum
So you’ve surmounted the fears and doubts, and decided to put yourself out there by registering as a Knowledge Leader. You sprint handily through the basic information sections, like so many New Yorkers through Grand Central Terminal at rush hour. Then you reach the second page, with its harrowing headline: Please include a short bio; and intimidating subsequent expanse of virtual space. You begin to sweat. I don’t know what to write! You feel annoyed. Didn’t Tribeca Insights capture my information already? The blasé sample on the page offers no answers.
Penning a professional personal statement is difficult – particularly when you’re as busy as our Knowledge Leaders tend to be. But it’s important to remember that your KL profile is viewed by our clients to determine both your fit for the consultation and your commitment to the opportunity. If you haven’t already created a biography for your company website or through a networking service like LinkedIn, now’s your chance! We polled our clients and collected some tips on drafting bios with bite –
State your current position and company. The first line of the biography should contain the most relevant professional information you can provide – your title and place of employment. Our clients are busy bees too, and they want to get the information they need to review your qualifications without having to refer to other sources. If you’re unwilling to state your company, or wish to remain anonymous, that’s ok too! Let our clients know what industry you’re in instead, or reach out to a TI associate for assistance.
Be specific. One client tells us that “titles can vary from company to company, so it helps to describe your roles and responsibilities with regard to the industry-at-large.” Remember, our clients are looking to speak with folks who demonstrate industry insight, and an ambiguous gloss-over just doesn’t do justice to your illustrious career.
Be concise. Specificity means giving details, but knowing what kind of coffee you drank this morning or what sports you played in college won’t help us qualify your expertise. Ask yourself what resume points have been most integral to your understanding of your industry.
Be honest. The biography and question fields are deliberately open-ended – we don’t want anybody selling themselves perfidiously for a consultant role. Honestly reporting that you don’t have knowledge of the trends in your industry won’t necessarily disqualify you from a project – besides, there will always be future project opportunities for Knowledge Leaders!
technorati tags: Tribeca Insights, Knowledge Leader Forum