As W. Edwards Deming, a great engineer, once said, “Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion.” When running a business, having factual information through researching is important to manage your operations accordingly. Tested and proven data can make all the difference, not mere speculations.
Doing research is also not a task you can pass on to anyone in the team because accuracy is of utmost importance in this matter. As such, it’s only fitting to find the right person for the role, and this may very well be a virtual research assistant!
What is a Virtual Research Assistant?
A virtual research assistant is a qualified and capable individual who works remotely that handles activities relating to online research for your company. Having completed work of a similar nature, they can compile resources from the internet and give them to you in an easy-to-understand format.
Why Hire a Virtual Research Assistant?
They help present your brand better
A virtual assistant (VA) skilled in research can produce detailed reports to help you showcase your business better.Â
They’re trained to highlight important findings to aid your client proposals and even include relevant charts and bullet points to amp up your corporate presentations. With their extensive fact-finding, you can use their insights to your advantage.Â
They help identify your competition
Occasionally investigating what your competitors are doing can help you stay ahead in the industry. Hire a research assistant to assist you in monitoring their social media activity, promotions, and pricing. A skilled VA can also conduct thorough competitor benchmarking research for you.
They keep tabs on the latest in the industry
It’s crucial to stay updated with new industry trends to drive your business forward. However, doing so can be time-consuming. Your research VA can be on the lookout for any recent advances and news relevant to your business.
They help you understand your customers
Maintaining your business requires keeping a close eye on the market’s pulse. Having a research VA in your corner can help you understand everything there is to know about your customers, from purchasing habits to preferences. They can also engage with your patrons through social media and compile a report on client feedback and complaints.
They lead you to the best options
Research VAs also do comparative research, which can be as simple as comparing the top food caterers in town for your event or searching for the best campaign strategies for your company. Your web research virtual assistant can help you look for the best deals.Â
6 Tasks a Virtual Research Assistant Can Work On
Market research
Market research involves a wide array of processes. It requires studying products, competitors, and customers, running A/B tests, and conducting surveys. Additionally, it includes interpreting results and producing accurate reports.
Lead generation can fall under this assignment, too. Your lead-generating virtual assistant can look up networking sites for new clients, prospects, and other information.Â
With all this effort required for the job, assigning this task to a professional research VA can save you time and resources without worrying about the quality of work.Â
Competitor analysis
One of the most crucial steps to getting ahead in the game is knowing where your company stands in the industry and your competitors. VAs can help do competitive analyses and gather pertinent data to show areas where you’re doing great or need improvements.
Keyword research
Keywords play a major role in content marketing, as using the right ones can help your website and other social media platforms gain more traction through improved search engine ranking.Â
Your research VA can search for words or phrases people typically look for on the web, which you can then include in your content to supplement your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts.Â
Influencer research
Influencer management is thriving more than ever now that social media platforms are heavily used to market products. However, finding the ideal influencer for your brand may be challenging, especially with so many names to choose from in the field.
A virtual research assistant can save you the trouble of scouting for the right people to work with, including managing them until the end of a campaign.
Medical research
A research VA can go beyond finding answers from clinical research and medical dictionaries. Because of their expert data gathering skills, they can come up with simpler and concise explanations for you.Â
A VA familiar with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance can also be helpful in your operations, as HIPAA is one of the laws governing the medical sector and its business associates today.
Legal research
Your research VA can help you navigate through legal analysis, too. Their knowledge in the field can come in handy when dealing with cases and statutes from specific resources, such as primary academic texts, legal encyclopedias, and many others.Â
It pays to have a meticulous VA when you outsource legal research to a foreign country, as different regions may have varying laws that can be difficult to keep up with.
Let Virtual Research Assistants Save Your Day
Now that you better understand a research VA’s role, you probably have also seen the significance of research when managing a business. It helps to know the market and industry, identify problems, and recognize your customers’ needs through deliberate and factual methods.
When you partner with a virtual research assistant, all that data can be conveniently provided. They can bring a lot of other pros to your operations, such as their expertise and flexibility without breaking the bank.
Ready to scale your business? Look no further than a virtual assistant company like Outsource Access. Our excellent virtual assistant services can help you save time, effort, and money while your business grows and thrives.
