One of the best ways to impress customers, investors, strategic partners and employees is to show that you thoroughly understand your market. Expressions like market-driven and market-oriented are not just buzz - they should become your company’s creed. In the end, the market - not your technology – will determine the success or failure of your company. Today’s column will show you how to use the Internet to master your market.

The Internet Market Itself

If your business involves the Internet, then there is no excuse for not knowing the ins and outs of your market. There are dozens of Web sites that contain excellent information on the Internet market – and they are free. Two that I recommend are Cyberatlas and Nua.

Cyberatlas - Authoritative Source

Cyberatlas is an excellent first port of call for online market research. It provides vital statistics and Web marketing information geared to help you understand your business environment and make more informed business decisions. Cyberatlas gathers online research from the best data resources to provide a complete review of the latest surveys and technologies available.

The site is divided into 3 main segments: The Big Picture, Markets and Resources. This segmentation enables you to locate highly specific information quickly – with just one click.

Two key features of Cyberatlas are its Statistics Toolbox and its archives. The Statistics Toolbox is a resource that lets you find statistics, numbers, and tables that have run on the site – all in one place. The statistics are divided into categories including weekly, traffic, monthly user, Advertising, Demographic, E-commerce and Connections. In the archive, you simply click on areas of interest and you will then see all relevant articles since 1998. You can also perform a key word search in the archive. Cyberatlas also offers a free newsletter which is archived as well.

A key advantage of using Cyberatlas is that it is recognized as an authority and can be cited as such.

Nua - Where Leading Companies Go for Information

Another source for Internet market information is Nua. Nua is a very interesting company. Its main line of business is designing Internet marketing strategies and Web sites for corporate clients like Lucent, Siemens Nixdorf, Gateway 2000, Thomas Publishing, and Ireland's national telecommunications company. As a way of promoting itself – Nua provides market information on the Internet for free in the form of "how many online", market surveys, newsletters, and by posting capsule summaries of leading market research firms' reports. In short, when executives go looking for market information about the Internet, they find Nua, use the information and sometimes even hire Nua to be their Internet consultants.

Therefore, not only is Nua informative and authoritative, but you it is also being used and read by leading companies in the field who may even hire Nua to provide them with additional services. This makes Nua an important and highly influence source. Check out Nua and have free access to the information that leading executives in the Internet industry are using.

Researching High Tech Markets

As mentioned in last week’s column, while Wired News, Red Herring , and The Yankee Group provide excellent industry newsletters and research notes, they are also reliable and authoritative sources for market information. The Red Herring and Wired have archives that can be searched for market information. The Yankee Group, in a strategy similar to Nua’s, provides free summaries of its Yankee Group Research in order to promote itself.

Founded in 1970, the Yankee Group is a global consulting firm specializing in strategic planning, technology forecasting, and market research. It focuses on communications and computing systems for business, industrial, and consumer uses.

The Yankee Group is known for providing vendors with a critical assessment of markets and of their users' requirements. The Research Summaries include in depth market information on a wide range of topics including Asia Pacific Communications, Canadian Market Strategies, Data Communications, Energy Communications, The Internet, Telecommunications and Wireless Mobile. It is truly worth the time to fill out the forms to access the Research Summaries. Do it now and make it a habit.

Using the Big 5

Big 5 accounting firms are another example of companies that provide free valuable market information in order to promote themselves. Ernst and Young provides a yearly "Internet Shopping Study" which is required reading for anyone in the e-commerce field. In fact all of the big 5 provide added value information for free, and you should visit their sites often to see their latest offerings. Anyone interested can contact Enable for a complete list of links.

Governmental Market Research Sources

The United States Government is also an excellent source for free market research. For example, Fedstats provides quick and easy access to the Statistical Abstract of the United States which contains statistics and information on a huge number of topics. Fedstats also provides the National Data Book - a collection of statistics on social and economic conditions as well as data from the Census Bureau, other Federal agencies, and private organizations. A nice feature of Fedstats is that it lets you view entire publications via Adobe Acrobat, or browse through frequently requested tables, State rankings, and USA statistics in brief.

The United Nations has an excellent site which is full of needed information. This includes statistical data online, census information and a handbook of official statistics.

Next week, enable will deal with market research that is only available for a fee.

Published by Israel's Business Arena on May 11, 1999