Conducting Market ResearchThis chapter discusses how you can use the Internet to gathercompetitive and market research information for use in your mar-keting communications program. Keeping track of your company’simage and competitors is an important part of managing yourcompany’s reputation. If you’ve already spent some time surfingthe Internet, this chapter will be a review for you. If you’re new toonline searching, you’ll enjoy the number of free resources nowavailable online.In Chapter 9, Developing a Corporate Identity, you draftedguidelines for including your Internet presence in your existingcorporate identity program. In addition, you applied corporateidentity principles to the Internet.In Chapter 10, Conducting Market Research, you will continueto strengthen your marketing mix with the addition of marketresearch. This chapter will contribute to the further developmentof Section Six of your Internet marketing plan,Effective Supporting Materials for the PlanYour Internet marketing plan is best supported by including datathat reinforces your decision to market on the Internet. SectionSix of your Internet marketing plan can be expanded by includingany combination of the following:+ Plan of action for teaming portions of selected marketresearch activities with Internet activities249I250the internet marketing planRecommendations for cost savings in traditional marketresearchA summary of how incorporating the Internet into mar-ket research will improve your marketing communica-tions program efficiencyGetting the Most out of This ChapterThis chapter consists of getting online and searching for informa-tion If you don’t have the time or the inclination to log in to theInternet right now, come back and read this chapter later. If you’reready, make sure you have decided what you’re looking for beforeyou get online. If you’re paying for the connect time, this isimportant.Market Research, the Internet, and Business EthicsFinding information about your competitors today couldn’t be anyeasier. You have only to sit down at your desk and get online.Never before has so much information been contained in oneplace. It’s refreshing to be able to gather market data and not haveto leave the office for the library anymore.There is a lot of free information online. Sometimes there’s verygood information online. Sometimes the really good informationcosts money. This chapter will concentrate on how much you canfind out without adding to your budget. If you want more thanthat, there are plenty of companies waiting to serve you. I alreadymentioned some of them in Chapter 3, Analyzing Internet MarketStatistics.I suppose I could warn you about invasions of privacy, competi-tive espionage, and the works. Where do you draw the line? Theseare decisions you’ll have to make yourself. Just in case you werewondering, these are the guidelines I personally follow whenresearching on the Internet:+ Any factual information about a public entity, such as abusiness, found on the Internet is fair game to read andconducting market research ~ 251analyze for inclusion in internal market research reports.If a company puts its annual report at its Web site, it’ssafe to say that you can use that information for competi-tive analysis purposes.+ Be careful about including opinions instead of facts.Internet users post their convictions, philosophies, andwishful thinking to newsgroups and Web sites all thetime. Don’t take everything at face value.+ Do not repost derogatory information about anothercompany found online, even if you quote its source.This guideline is even more important if you are sendinge-mail from your company’s server. You and youremployer could be a party to a defamation lawsuit, evenif you weren’t the originator of the information. If youhave to bring a source to your colleagues’ attention, tellthem where to look so they can read and interpret itthemselves.+ Any personal information about individuals found onthe Internet should not be included in market researchreports, unless it already appears in a public document,such as a magazine or newspaper. Too many companiesare putting their marketing databases online, allowingcriminars and other busybodies to gather all kinds ofdetailed personal information for illegal and invasivepurposes.l E-mail messages to individuals are private. If someonee-mails information to you by mistake, don’t use itunless you have the originator’s permission. Obviously,your competitor is not going to give you permission. Inthat case, get rid of it. I’ve received enough misdirectedand bounced e-mails to know that sometimes “technol-ogy happens.” In that case, the only real decision isspelled “CONTROL D.”+ Remember, however you gather and use market researchor track your competitors, someone else on the Internetis doing it the same way. Don’t publish anything youdon’t want used by someone else.252the internet marketing planSearching TipsWhy would you want to conduct research on the Internet? You caneasily accomplish competitive tracking activities by frequentingthe ClariNet newsgroups. These newsgroups receive newswirefeeds from such sources as Associated Press, Newsbytes andReuters Online. You can use information you find on the Internetas an inexpensive substitute for an outside clipping service, pro-vided you’re not reselling this information and only applying it forinternal use. This will be extremely useful for tracking your owncompany’s editorial coverage as well. Databases from various gov-ernment and business resources reside on the Internet. You canread information in electronic business and trade journals to keepup on the current news in your industry and around the world.Figure 10.1 lists a few advantages and disadvantages of doingresearch on the Internet.What Search Strategy? Oh, I’ll Just Surf until I Find It!Before you start searching, it’s a good idea to decide off-line howand what you’re going to retrieve. You do this by developing agood, solid search strategy. If you don’t know where you’re going,you won’t know when you get there. Become familiar with the ter-minology in your industry so your search will be productive.Take the time to become familiar with and use different Internettools. You won’t become versed in online market research untilAdvantagesDisadvantagesGrowth is much faster than inLinks to online resources areprint publications.outdated quickly.The amount of freeFree versus fee: The