1. THE NEW DESK RESEARCH – useful websites for b2b researchers BIG Conference May 2006 Nick Thomas, MrWeb Trevor Wilkinson, Purple Market Research

2. Today…  Introduction – using the Internet in b2b research  Some sites we’ve found useful  Some sites you’ve found useful  Maybe some conclusions

3. Using the web to conduct / enhance research  Background information  Informing proposal  Project design (questionnaire, sample, etc.)  Validating findings (e.g. code frames, market estimates)  Additional intelligence to enhance survey findings BriefProposalSet upSurveyAnalysisReport

4. Different kinds of website  General business information  Periodicals and press  Trade bodies  Government  Company sites  Search engines

5. Some useful tips Go for famous sites first Don’t be afraid to talk to people (librarians, gurus) Careful use of general web searches Understand the source / reliability Make sure you double-check information

6. Many people start with Google  The fount of all knowledge?  Some uses you may not have considered:  for finding out about an individual  for finding business phone numbers - beats 118 anything  for identifying area codes - type in *with space at end*  for abbreviations / acronyms, technical terms  for images to enhance presentations  for spellings - ‘did you mean…’ + beware Web misspellings

7. More on Google  … and some you may not have known:  site: www.toyota.com 2006 launcheswww.toyota.com  link: www.oil.comwww.oil.com  repeat words: - ‘dell ibm hp’gets different results to: - ‘dell ibm ibm ibm ibm ibm hp’ - increase focus on one element

8. …Also have a look at Yahoo! Yahoo!Google Total Pages20 billion8 billion Indexed amount for large doc First 500 KFirst 100 K

9. Better to use both…and more…  So try them both – Yahoo & Google  A search will miss 85% of content if using just one search engine  Average of 15% overlap between 2 search engines  And there are other search engines / metacrawlers

10. Today…  Introduction – using the Internet in b2b research  Some other sites we’ve found useful  Some sites you’ve found useful  Maybe some conclusions

11. Some useful government websites… www.gksoft.com/govt is a great portal www.gksoft.com/govt (www.Gksoft.com/govt)www.Gksoft.com/govt … stilll … despite no updates in years!

12. Small Business Service: useful stats on www.sbs.gov.uk www.sbs.gov.uk

13. German business stats…DESTATIS

14. Some good sources of general info…including www.cia.gov (world factbook) www.cia.gov Useful for… Country overviews Stats

15. Business information portals… www.mrweb.co.uk is a good starting place www.mrweb.co.uk

16. Sector focus… www.mrweb.com againwww.mrweb.com

17. Sector-based news sites… www.oil.comwww.oil.com Good ones worth a regular check - don’t wait for a project!

18. Sector focus: various sites relating to personnel

19. Market reports…try www.keynote.co.uk or www.hoovers.comwww.keynote.co.uk www.hoovers.com

20. Trade bodies and associations… www.smmt.co.uk www.smmt.co.uk Useful for… Industry updates Industry stats General background People to talk to

21. Trade bodies and associations… www.eef.org.uk www.eef.org.uk

22. Trade bodies and associations… www.plasa.org www.plasa.org

23. Press & periodicals… www.ft.comwww.ft.com Useful for… Business news Sector reports Stats

24. Press & periodicals… www.economist.comwww.economist.com

25. Specific company sites… Useful for… Company structure Products & services General company news General market news Financial data

26. And go to the British Library  Access to many good Internet sites – Keynote, Lexis Nexis and many more  Also lots of reference books (remember to get a readers card!)  Also good advice  Plus a cappuccino and great cake

27. Web site rankings and stats: www.alexa.comwww.alexa.com Use with caution esp. with smaller sites But good comparisons masses rated reach and page data historical data For example: doing a web site assessment? why not start by comparing with competitors’ performance?

28. Web usage stats: Nielsen//NetRatings www.netratings.com Free topline info av’ble: - country rankings / user profiles, ad info

29. Today…  Introduction – using the Internet in b2b research  Some other sites we’ve found useful  Some sites you’ve found useful  Maybe some conclusions

30. Over to you…

31. Today…  Introduction – using the Internet in b2b research  Some other sites we’ve found useful  Some sites you’ve found useful  Some conclusions?

32. The new desk research: using the Internet Make your general searches as specific as possible Go for famous sites first Try and get and least two independent sources for your market intelligence Get advice from gurus where you can as early as you can Mix and match with other sources…

33. Validate and supplement your Internet desk research with other sources…  Contact the gurus – trade, industry, government, media  Traditional desk research sources – media, published data in the public domain  Libraries e.g. British Library – for Internet sites, publications, advice, coffee & cake  Primary research (if you really have to)  MIX AND MATCH TO MEET YOUR NEEDS

34. Next steps…  We’ll update our charts to include your suggestions  If you want a copy of the charts, give us your business card

35. THANK YOU THE NEW DESK RESEARCH – useful websites for b2b researchers BIG Conference May 2006 Nick Thomas, MrWeb Trevor Wilkinson, Purple Market Research