Singin' the Market Research Blues

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