Business Research — Deep Dive Scout

Overview

A repeatable six-phase process for scouting businesses, markets, and
opportunities — born from Beer's methodology during the Cork 118-business
scan (July 2026). This is NOT a shallow summary skill. Every research
pass produces structured tables, ranked picks, specific URLs, pricing
intel, and a clear opportunity map for House of Sak.

When to Use

• Beer says "research [category] in [area]" or "scout [industry]"
• A multi-angle deep-dive is expected (not a one-source summary)
• Finding leads for House of Sak outreach
• Analysing competitors in a market
• Building case studies from real businesses

Workflow

Phase 0: Understand the Brief

Before running anything, confirm the scope:

Question	Why
What category/industry?	Restaurants, barbers, trades, ecommerce?
What location?	City, neighbourhood, radius?
What's the goal?	Lead gen, competitor analysis, case study?
Any exclusions?	Chain brands to skip, known contacts?

One clarifying question is enough. If Beer says "process" — skip this
phase and go.

---

Phase 1: Market Recon — Find the Players

Use parallel tools for maximum speed. Run these simultaneously:

1a — Google Maps sweep (via Composio)

Query the category in the target location. Batch similar categories
together:

"barbers in Cork City Ireland"
"hair salons in Cork City Ireland"
"restaurants in Cork City Ireland"

Capture for each result: name, rating, review count, phone, address,
website URL, category.

1b — Web search for context

site:linkedin.com "[industry]" "[city]"
"[business]" pricing OR packages OR menu
"[business]" review OR "case study"

1c — Check multiple map/directory platforms

When available, cross-reference Google Maps with:

• Yelp (yelp.com/search?find_loc=[city]&find_nl=[category])
• Trustpilot (trustpilot.com/review/[domain])
• Industry-specific directories

---

Phase 2: Classify Web Presence

For every business found, classify their website field:

Classification	Meaning	Priority
none	No website field at all	🔴 High
facebook_only	Website is a Facebook page URL	🟡 Medium
instagram_only	Website is an Instagram URL	🟡 Medium
booking_app	Square, Booksy, Nearcut, Fresha, etc.	🟡 Medium
booking_site	Booking.com, Hotels.com, OpenTable	🟡 Medium
url_shortener	shorturl.at, bit.ly (suspect)	🟡 Medium
google_site	sites.google.com	🟡 Medium
chain_brand	National chain (Tesco, McDonalds)	🟢 Ignore
proper_site	Real custom domain with content	✅ Skip

Key insight from Beer's Cork scan: Barbershops are the most
underserved category — 13 of 19 zero-website businesses in the scan
were barbershops. Average rating 4.7★.

---

Phase 3: Deep Dive — Per Lead

For high-priority leads (none / facebook_only / booking_app), dig deeper:

3a — Social presence check

Search each lead's name + city on:

• Facebook → check if they have a page, last post date, follower count
• Instagram → check handle, content quality, engagement rate
• Google Business Profile → response rate to reviews

3b — Pricing intelligence

Search for their pricing, packages, or menu:

"[business name]" "[city]" price OR menu OR packages OR rates

Scrape menu/pricing pages when found — they reveal the budget tier.

3c — Review sentiment scan

Check their top reviews (Google, Yelp, Trustpilot):

• What do customers love?
• What do they complain about?
• Are complaints addressable by House of Sak services?
  (Slow booking? No online presence? Hard to find info?)

---

Phase 4: Build the Lead Table

Produce a structured markdown table with ALL findings:

#	Business	Category	★	Reviews	Phone	Address	Web Presence	Pricing Tier	Social	Opportunity
1	Name	Type	4.5	87	021-X	Street	none / FB-only / booking_app	€€ or N/A	IG: N, FB: Y	🔴 High

Ranking columns:

• Opportunity: 🔴 High / 🟡 Medium / 🟢 Low
• Pricing tier: € (budget), €€ (mid), €€€ (premium) — helps target service offer
• Social: Quick snapshot of social presence quality

At the bottom, add a Ranked Picks section:

Top 3 by opportunity:

1. [Business A] — why (high rating + zero web presence + good location)
2. [Business B] — why (booking-app-only + strong reviews + no custom site)
3. [Business C] — why (Facebook-only + high foot traffic area)

---

Phase 5: Opportunity Map

For each high-priority lead, map which House of Sak service fits:

House of Sak Service	Best For This Lead?	Notes
Web Development	If no website or FB-only	~€1,500–€3,000
Local API Prototyping	If they need booking/scheduling	~$150–$400/prototype
QA Automation	If they have a site but issues	~$200–$500/project
SEO / Digital Presence	If they exist but invisible online	Quote-based
Student Starter Kit	If student-facing business	€500 flat

Also flag quick wins — things they could fix in <1 hour:

• Claim/update Google Business Profile
• Add social links to existing site
• Update hours/contact info
• Respond to pending reviews

---

Phase 6: Save & Handoff

Always close the loop:

1. Save findings — Write the full report to house-of-sak-report/ directory
   as scout-report-[category]-[location]-[date].md
2. Memory update — Save key facts:
   • Total leads found, by category
   • Number of high/medium/low priority
   • Notable patterns (e.g. "13/19 no-website were barbershops")
   • Best opportunity pick with reasoning
3. Cross-agent handoff — If another agent needs context:
   • Compile a summary file: house-of-sak-report/master-report-for-[agent].md
   • Tell Beer the file is ready for forwarding

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Format Rules

Structured Tables

Every research output MUST use proper markdown tables. No bullet-point
substitutes. Tables give Beer scannable data at a glance.

Ranked Picks

Always end with a ranked picks section (top 3). Each pick needs:

• Business name
• One-line why it's the best opportunity
• Specific service recommendation

Source URLs

Every claim should trace to a source. Include:

• Google Maps URL or place ID
• Website URL (or "no website found")
• Social profile URLs
• Review page URLs

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Pitfalls

1. Don't stop at one source — always cross-reference Maps + web search + social
2. Don't assume "no website" means "no business" — many strong local businesses run on word-of-mouth only
3. Don't skip pricing intel — it's the single best signal for budget tier
4. Don't hallucinate contact details — if Google Maps doesn't have a phone number, say "not listed" not "N/A"
5. Don't re-rank based on personal preference — ranking is about opportunity for House of Sak, not how cool the business is
6. Chain brands are not leads — skip Starbucks, Tesco, McDonalds, Boots
7. "Process" means execute — when Beer says "yes process" or "process", go immediately without confirmation loop

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Verification Checklist

• Phase 1: Market recon done (Maps + web search + directory cross-ref)
• Phase 2: Web presence classified for every lead
• Phase 3: Deep dive on top leads (social + pricing + reviews)
• Phase 4: Structured lead table with ranked picks
• Phase 5: Opportunity map with service recommendations
• Phase 6: Report saved + memory updated + handoff ready
• Sources have traceable URLs
• No hallucinated contact details

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Reference: Pricing Tiers from Beer's Services

Service	Price Range
Local API Prototyping	$150–$400 (prototype + dashboard + JSON endpoints)
Hosting/Maintenance (add-on)	$40/month
QA Automation	$200–$500 per project (48h turnaround)
Web Development	~€1,500–€3,000 (estimate, quote-based)
Student Starter Kit	€500 flat

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Reference: Cross-Agent Handoff Pattern

When compiling for another agent (SakSee, SakSit, SakJules):

house-of-sak-report/master-report-for-[agent].md
├── Executive summary of the session
├── Each case study: 5-line summary, critical findings, quick wins
├── Market scan data (totals, breakdowns)
├── Reusable assets created (skills, templates)
└── Suggested next actions

No cross-agent messaging tools exist — file handoff via the shared
house-of-sak-report/ directory is the pattern. Signal completion to Beer,
who forwards to the target agent.