Roundtable
Market Research Tips: Using the Web to Learn about Local Markets
Even in a global economy, B2B marketers need targeted, localized information about customers, companies, and industries. Unfortunately, adding the element of geography to any topic—especially for counties, cities, census blocks, or other sub-state areas—creates new challenges. Fewer sources drill to the local level, and the information you do find is often outdated. So where can you go for high-quality information about your customers, competitors, and the places where you do business—without spending a lot of time or money?
In this roundtable, expert researcher Marcy Phelps shares some tips and tools for uncovering information about local demographics, economics, companies, people, and issues. She offers a structure for how to approach this type of research, key resources, and practical solutions to your specific research questions. Whether you're identifying new markets, researching possible partnerships, or just trying to stay ahead of the competition, you'll learn how to:
- Create a strategy for quickly finding up-to-date local business and market information
- List several starting points for drilling down to the local level when searching news, social media, specialized websites, and other resources
- Identify the right people to ask when you can't find what you need on the web and sources to use to prepare for your conversations
- Determine when to use fee-based sources and compare features, pricing, and value of several low-cost options for localized information
Speaker(s)
Marcy Phelps
Marcy Phelps is the author of the recently-published book, Research on Main Street: Using the Web to Find Local Business and Market Information (www.ResearchOnMainStreet.com). She is the owner of Phelps Research, a firm that provides strategic information clients use to assess market and product potential, minimize risk, and improve long-term planning. Marcy started her company in 2000 after earning a master’s degree in library and information services from the University of Denver, and she trained for more than three years with an expert market researcher. Marcy has served on the board of BMA Colorado and is a contributor to Advice From the Top: The Expert Guide to B2B Marketing. She is also an editor for FUMSI, a publication for people who find, use, manage, and share information (www.fumsi.com).
