| Good data is hard to find. It's so easy to | | | | LIBRARIES ASSOCIATION |
| get the other kind! If you feel like singin' | | | | |
| the blues whenever you try to find reliable | | | | |
| business information, you're not alone. A | | | | |
| lot of other marketers are singing the same | | | | Another excellent site with hyperlinks to |
| tune.Solid information is critical, the basis | | | | the Wall Street Journal Interactive edition |
| for making any marketing plan or decision. | | | | and Hoovers On Line Research, among |
| Yet, finding that information is easier said | | | | others.U.S. CENSUS BUREAU |
| than done. The Internet seemed like it would | | | | |
| be a quick fix to the problem. While the | | | | econ_cen.html |
| Internet does serve as a bountiful source of | | | | |
| business statistics and information, it has | | | | Economic census data including industrial |
| thus far proved both a blessing and a curse | | | | products overview, annual survey of |
| for business research. The information on | | | | manufacturers and other good industry |
| the Net can be inaccurate and difficult to | | | | information.WALL STREET JOURNAL |
| locate without spending a lot of time with | | | | |
| fruitless searching.Clifford Stoll says in | | | | |
| his book, Silicon Snake Oil, "There is no | | | | |
| easy, complete access to information. Never | | | | Stock market information, excellent research |
| was. Never will be." Although there may be | | | | hyperlinks including one providing |
| no quick and easy source for accurate | | | | connections to local newspapers and |
| business information, we offer in this | | | | periodicals throughout the |
| article a few places to look for helpful | | | | country.DEMOGRAPHICS JOURNAL |
| data.The Personal Touch | | | | |
| | | | Articles about demographics and trends |
| Unlike much Internet information, libraries | | | | throughout the country including a search |
| are not only catalogued and organized, they | | | | engine.INDUSTRYNET ASSOCIATION |
| offer the most user-friendly sources of | | | | |
| business information available: librarians. | | | | Great site for industry news/information |
| These wizards of information provide the | | | | including press releases and hyperlinks to |
| personal touch by expertly guiding us through | | | | companies.U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE |
| the ever-increasing maze of available | | | | |
| knowledge. Infinitely patient people, | | | | |
| librarians spend most of their time gently | | | | |
| guiding those of us who search for business | | | | Hyperlinks to a wide variety of federal |
| information but don't know where to find it. | | | | departments including WorldTech-Foreign |
| Whether your questions concern finding dates | | | | Technology Alerts.Just be careful, |
| of trade shows or defining prospect lists in | | | | information alone can only take you so far. |
| a special database, the staff of a good | | | | As Clifford Stoll says, "No amount of data, |
| business library is trained to help.The | | | | bandwidth or processing power can substitute |
| Internet | | | | for inspired thought." We hope you use the |
| | | | research tools presented here with |
| You don't need to end up disappointed when | | | | confidence, but always remember, it is up to |
| you try to collect business facts on the | | | | you to process this data and convert it into |
| Internet. To help lower your frustration | | | | good, profitable business decisions.Deborah |
| level, we recommend the following addresses | | | | Henken served as VP of Marketing at several |
| for free on-line research. Groups such as | | | | Silicon Valley start-ups, and in senior |
| universities, governments or professional | | | | marketing and channel positions at Hewlett |
| associations generally maintain these | | | | Packard, Informix and BEA Systems. She earned |
| sites.U.S. PATENT &TRADEMARK OFFICE | | | | her MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of |
| | | | Management at Northwestern University. |
| patents.uspto.gov | | | | Deborah is Founder of the Highland Team.Susan |
| | | | Henken has directed marketing at consumer and |
| Completely devoted to patent information, | | | | health care companies for more than 15 years. |
| including search engines for a variety of | | | | She provided marketing consulting to |
| categories.UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN center | | | | manufacturing companies at Minnesota Project |
| frames/statsfr.html | | | | Innovation through a grant from the SBA and |
| | | | Department of Commerce and ran her own |
| Well organized and maintained site with a | | | | consulting business. She is currently |
| variety of hyperlinks to useful information | | | | |
| including Census Bureau data, Securities | | | | Director of Marketing for Consumer Products |
| Exchange Commission (EDGAR) filings and U.S. | | | | at Compex Technologies. |
| Industrial Outlook statistics.SPECIAL | | | | |