MARKET RESEARCH SOURCES 2001 Today, more and more businesspeople are researching markets from the comfort of their keyboards. "It's not unusual for a client to come to me and say, 'I've already checked out my competitors' Web sites,' " says Janet Gotkin, an information broker in Montrose, N.Y. "Now the client wants to know 'How much is Company X spending on customer service programs?' That's asking a lot. Anyone who has surfed the Internet knows that intelligence as specific as customer service expenditures is hard to find. But with some direction, you still can glean a lot about competitors, industry trends and customer opinions through online research. The first step, of course, is an obvious one: go to the Internet search engines and type in competitors' names. But what next? We asked information brokers and others knowledgeable about the online world to recommend the best sites and services for conducting further competitive-intelligence research on a budget. We whittled their list down to the sites here, which are relatively easy to use and free unless otherwise stated. Digital Dossiers The financial data on public companies that have always been available are even more accessible on the World Wide Web. Hoover's Online reveals income statement and balance sheet numbers in detailed profiles of nearly 2,500 public companies. The service is free to America Online subscribers (keyword: Hoover) but otherwise costs $9.95 a month. However, Hoover's Online lets anyone download free half-page profiles of 10,000 (mostly public) companies. For official filings from public companies, go to the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission home page and tap into the SEC's Edgar database. When you need numbers fast, Edgar's a pal, but this system is not so easy on the eyes. Likewise, it's handy to have statistics on the Fortune 500 online, but the site could be more user-friendly. Real-Time Research Getting news about small private competitors can be daunting, but it's not impossible. Our own Inc. 500 database of the fastest-growing companies in the country provides information on thousands of privately held companies that have made this list in the past eight years. Included are revenue information, profit-and-loss percentages, number of employees, and Web links. NewsDirectory.com links to the Web sites of more than 2,000 newspapers, business journals, magazines, and computer publications. Click on Newspapers, for example, and you'll get a city directory; type in a rival company's home city, and a list of local papers appears. Of course, some of the periodicals are more easily searched than others, and some charge fees. To track down obscure news, it may be worth perusing the pricey archives of hard-core online research services such as Dialog and Nexis. But for recent news, first try CNN Interactive. Information broker Stephanie Ardito recalls a client desperate to locate certain recent information on diabetes research. In vain, Ardito searched Dialog's pharmaceutical databases as well as several online news wires. Finally, she located the information at the CNN site. "They're right up to the moment," she says. One caveat: the CNN archives go back months but not years. The Electric Library is also great for scouring magazines, reference works, and news wires, notes Mary Ellen Bates, author of The Online Desk Book. The service is designed for students and costs $9.95 a month; still, business users can take advantage of a 30-day free trial. The Online Grapevine The ability to "listen in" on conversations about you or your competitors may represent one of the best market research values of the Internet, simply because it's unique to the medium. We're talking, of course, about the newsgroups and discussion groups so prevalent in the Usenet section of the Internet. The groups offer more than gossip; you can identify experts among the contributors. Deja.com's Usenet Discussion Service claims to have the "largest such archive on the Net." Other sites to check out include Remarq and Liszt, a searchable directory of E-mail discussion groups. Business Clearinghouses When you're not sure where else to turn, consider several sites that have compiled good collections of business resources. John Makulowich's Awesome Lists has links to more than 140 sites. ProfNet helps locate experts in a variety of fields. StartingPoint features an extensive list of commercial directories and resources. Babson College is in tune with small-business people's needs. Finally, the Competitive Intelligence Guide offers sleuthing tips along with an "Internet Intelligence Index" of company resources. Government Info Daily economic news, business leads, export information, legislative trends - you'll find this and more in the extensive network of government sites. Some of the information is free and easily accessible, while other information has to ordered for a fee. Two central sources link to most government Web sites and Web servers: FedWorld and The Federal Web Locator. The latter also lists quasi-government sites. You can also go directly to popular sites including these: STAT-USA, which posts information on government procurement opportunities; the U.S. Department of Commerce; the U.S. Census Bureau; and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Patent & Trademark Office gives a good first pass to the question, 'Has anyone filed a patent on X?' If your industry is eagerly awaiting the results of pending legislation, you can track the progress of bills and resolutions via the U.S. House of Representatives Home Page. Derby Management 399 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116 Tel: 617-292-7420