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engines； both general and specialist； available on drop…down menus；
listed by category。
。 Euro Info Centres （euro…info。uk） is a network of 250 centres
across Europe providing local access to a range of specialist information
and advisory services to help business owners expand。 Their services
include advice on funding as well as help with market information
through their network contacts and specialist information services。
。 Kelly’s （kellysearch。uk） lists information on 200；000 product
and service categories across 200 countries。 Business contact details；
basic product and service details and online catalogues are provided。
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。 Key Note Ltd （keynote。uk） has built a reputation as an expert
provider of market information； producing highly respected off…theshelf
publications that cover a prehensive range of market sectors；
from mercial and industrial to service and consumer titles。 Its report
gallery has a listing of literally hundreds of reports covering everything
from Activity Holidays to Women’s Magazines。 The executive summary；
a generous 1；000 words plus a full index； is available free on
every report； which should make it clear if the report is worth buying；
or worth a trip to a major reference library that may well have a copy to
view。 Reports are priced from around ￡300 upwards； with most in the
￡500 to ￡700 range。
。 Kompass （kompass） claims to have details of 1。6 million UK
panies； 23 million key product and service references； 3。2 million
executive names； 744；000 trade and brand names and 50；000 Kompass
classification codes in its UK directory。 It also creates directory information
in over 70 countries。 Its website has a free access area that
users may access without registration。
。 LexisNexis （lexis…nexis） has literally dozens of databases
covering every sector you can think of； but most useful for researching
petitors is pany Analyser； which creates prehensive pany
reports drawn from 36 separate sources； with up to 250 documents
per source providing access to accurate information about a pany。
。 Mintel （mintel） publishes over 400 reports every year examining
every conceivable consumer market。 Reports cost several
hundred pounds； but you can view the introduction and main headings。
Most are available free in business libraries。 Mintel also offers a number
of reports on the US and European markets。
。 National Statistics （statistics。gov。uk） contains a vast range of
official UK statistics and information about statistics； which can be
accessed and downloaded free。 There are 13 separate themes。 Each
one deals with a distinct and easily recognizable area of national life。
So； whether you are looking to access the very latest statistics on the
UK’s economy； or research and survey information released by the
government； or want to study popular trends and facts； click on one of
these themes and explore！
。 Online Newspapers （onlinenewspapers）。 Newspapers and
magazines are a source of considerable information on panies；
markets and products in that sphere of interest。 Virtually every online
newspaper in the world is listed here。 You can search straight from
the homepage； either by continent or country。 You can also find the 50
most popular online newspapers from a link in the top centre of the
homepage。 There is also a separate site for online magazines （
onlinenewspapers/SiteMap/magazines…sitemap。htm）。
116 The Thirty…Day MBA
。 Research and Markets （researchandmarkets。uk） is a onestop
shop that holds nearly 400；000 market research reports listed in
a hundred or so categories and across over 70 countries。 Reports are
priced from �20 upwards。
。 The Wholesaler UK （thewholesaler。uk） is a directory for a wide
range of products。 It is intended for businesses looking for additional
suppliers but as such provides a valuable first si。。 to see who is the
market。
。 Thomas Global Register （thomasglobal） is an online directory
in 11 languages with details of over 700；000 suppliers in 28 countries。 It
can be searched by industry sub…sector or name either for the world or
by country。
。 World Market Research Associations （mrweb）； while not
quite the world； does have web addresses for over 65 national market
research associations and a hundred or so other bodies such as the
Mystery Shopping Providers Association； which in turn has over 150
members； panies worldwide。
Using the internet
The internet is a rich source of market data； much of it free and immediately
available。 But you can’t always be certain that the information is reliable or
free of bias； as it can be difficult if not impossible to always work out who
exactly is providing it。 That being said； you can get some valuable pointers
as to whether or not what you plan to sell has a market； how big that market
is and who else trades in that space。 The following sources should be your
starting point：
。 Google Trends （google。uk 》 Labs 》 Google Trends） provides a
snapshot on what the world is most interested in at any one moment。 For
example； if you are thinking of starting a bookkeeping service； entering
that into the search pane produces a snazzy graph showing how interest
measured by the number of searches is growing （or contracting） since
January 2004 when they started collecting the data。 You can also see
that South Africa has the greatest interest and the Netherlands the
lowest。 You can tweak the graph to show seasonality； thus showing that
Croydon registers the greatest interest in the UK overall and ‘demand’
peaks in September and bo。。oms out in November。
。 Google News （google）； which you can tap into by selecting
‘News’ on the horizontal menu at the top of the page under the Google
banner。 Here you will find links to any newspaper article anywhere in
the world covering a particular topic over the past decade or so listed by
year。 Asking for information on baby clothes will reveal recent articles
Marketing 117
on how much the average family spends on baby clothes； the launch of
a thri。。 store specializing in second…hand baby clothes and the launch of
an Organic baby