Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | O | Online

Researching markets online. (The Dollar Sign).

Article Excerpt
Why turn to market research reports to answer business questions? For one thing, these reports frequently condense a vast array of statistics, forecasts, analyses, and opinions on markets, technologies, products, industries, and countries. That saves information professionals the time of having to gather this data independently. Market research reports can also identify the key players in a market, pointing out areas for additional research. Many market research firms have terrific name recognition and are regularly quoted in the press. Citing one of these firms adds credibility to our own research projects.

The most innocuous of questions can require a market research report to answer. Frequently these are statistical questions. How big is the market for front-loading washing machines in the U.S. as opposed to Europe? What is the potential customer base for pet foods? What are the implications of the Venezuelan economy on the oil industry? What is the timeline for implementing wireless devices in the home? What is the future for high-definition television (HDTV)? How much coffee is there in Brazil? This is not to say the market research reports are the only source for answers to these questions, but they can definitely jump-start your research process. Not only do they provide facts and figures, they suggest alternative language, other sources, and new approaches.

FINDING HIDDEN REPORTS

Most market research reports reside on the invisible Web rather than the visible one. The reports are hidden behind subscriptions, registration pages, and dynamic databases. This makes finding them difficult if you don't know what you're doing.

There are several ways to access market research reports. Online subscription-based hosts such as Profound [www.profound.com] (110 firms represented) and MarkIntel [http://research.thomsonib.comJ (145 firms represented) act as aggregators, gathering together the reports from numerous firms. On a smaller scale, Dialog (DialIndex MARKETFULL has 15...