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HOLMVALL INTERNATIONAL TRADING INC.
On-Line Databases for Market Research
Market research with the assistance of on-line databases, local or international.
NEW TOOL FOR MARKET RESEARCH.
On-line databases are very good tools for market research. Irrespective of which part of the world you want information from, we can find it. You may want e.g. import and export statistics of your new export country, or of your competitor's country. You may wish to obtain a list of suitable distributors or information and credit checks about them. You may want information on a specific market and its development, an analysis of which patents your competitor has registered in the last year, or newspaper articles about a specific industry. Perhaps you are looking for new suppliers, a company to buy,a patent to license or local customer associations. On-Line databases can give you this and much more.
With the following examples, we want to show you the possibilities! If you contact us we can describe exactly what we can do for you and to what cost. The following examples however, will give you the opportunity to see the options available to you.
ACCESS TO INFORMATION
We are living in an information age. We also live in a world with very fast changes, where each individual change can influence our possibilities, and also our results. It is said that those who are best informed also have the best chance for success. In order to succeed in our export activities we have to continuously keep ourselves updated not only about every individual market and its development, but also about the changes in the economy, currencies, political situation etc. Furthermore, we have to keep ourselves up to date concerning the activities of our competitors.
In order to select a market, distribution, price levels etc. we need information. The better prepared you are, and the more knowledge you have about the market and its potential, the more likely you are to succeed. You are well aware that there is information available to you, but the question is how can you rapidly access it.
DATABASES - FAST INFORMATION VIA MODEM AND "SEARCH WORDS".
In the old times we looked in the rear-view mirror to see what has happened and extrapolated this information to predict future trends. We held up our "finger" to feel which way the wind was blowing, and guessed wildly about what would happen in the future. In today's information community there is a mass of information and aides which make it possible to keep ourselves informed, not only about what is happening at present, but also about what is most likely going to happen in the future.
By using modern technology and databases, you can rapidly find relevant information by using a computer and a modem. The problem today is not whether there is enough information, but more the knowledge of how to access it. We have gotten used to receiving much of our market information by reading newspapers, asking the neighbor, and by using the library and visiting the market. Today's modern community and techniques give us the ability to read all the shelves in the library and search for what we want within a couple of minutes. Furthermore, we have access to so many other information sources, all by connecting ourselves to commercial databases.
Todays Pilot; the company executive, export manager etc. has a broad range of tools at his/her disposal. With these tools, it's possible see how the world market is changing and thereby continuously keep yourself updated with the necessary information needed for your own activities.
As you know, there are articles written daily in the newspaper and trade press. Furthermore, there are market surveys carried out on an on-going basis. New patents and trademarks are registered daily, and credit information and company information is available for most companies through the database. Export and import statistics are registered in most countries all based on standardized codes such as HS (Harmonized Commodity and Description System). If only you could rapidly obtain this information.
Today it is possible. On-line Databases are a tool for the marketing department which makes it possible to rapidly obtain information from all over the world with the assistance of a computer, a modem and a telephone/computerline.
The problem with all market information is how to find it. Today, there are over 6000 commercial databases in the world, of which 4000 can be reached by using the telephone line. Each of them provides unique information. The key is to narrow your scope and limit the amount of information you search for.
WHAT IS A DATABASE?
It is a selection of information that can rapidly be brought forth by using search words, phrases, data etc. It contains financial information about companies, daily news and business newspapers, financial news including e.g. Dow Jones , Reuters etc. It also contains information from investment dealers, company reports from credit-check agencies as well as company information from companies like Kompass, ICC and Hoppennstedt. The electronic yellow-pages, patent and trade-mark registers, reports from market research companies, and export and import statistics are also represented. One database can e.g. contain all the patents in the world. Another database e.g. is one from Dun & Bradstreet, which contains corporate credit information in Asia, or Kompass, company information in Europe including the old Eastern Europe. You may wish to access the last 10 years of the Financial Times business newspaper. A third example is DataStar TradStat which gives you import and export statistics per month, per country, and in different values, including even weight and quantity.
To make it easier for the consumer, many companies will act as wholesalers, so that you can access many of these databases via one single source. At the same time, these companies have tried to employ search language that makes it easy to find what you're looking for. One of these groups is Knight-Ridder Information which owns Dialog in California and DataStar (earlier Radio Suisse) in Europe.
Some definitions: A Database is a compilation of "records"/"articles". It can in essence be termed a file. A database contains everything from a few thousand records/articles to many millions. A record/article/document is an individual bit of information. It can be a published article, a product description or a report about a given company.
Dialog presently has over 450 databases about everything from company information, news articles, press releases, yearly account reviews, patents, investment analyses, technique and research statistics, as well as over 70 American newspapers and 7 Canadian newspapers, all in full text. The geographical coverage includes: USA, Canada, Europe, Japan, the Pacific Rim area, Latin America, The Middle East and Africa. This is probably the most comprehensive database supplier in the world. It contains over 350 million articles, data etc.
DataStar has over 350 databases of which approximately 100 overlap with Dialog. Note that each company is continuously updating and adding to their databases. For example, since this document was written (beginning 1996) DataStar, among many others, have introduced a new database with total jurisdiction of companies and organizations in the Czech state and Slovak republic. DataStar's strength is in Europe with company information as good as databases for biomedical, health, and chemical technology. Furthermore, DataStar has information on export and import, i.e. trade statistics. The geographical coverage is USA, Europe and many other locations including Eastern Europe.
It should be mentioned that every database supplier has their own specialties. It can be, for example, medicine, Japanese research and technology etc. The above named suppliers are a good starting point to search for "broad information".
A few years back, I said "how did we ever get along without computers?" Today, after having used databases since 1986, I say "how did we ever function without databases?"
LET HOLMVALL INTERNATIONAL TRADING INC. SHOW YOU WHAT WE CAN DO FOR YOU.
Why are we so positive about the new cry for information for market research? The electronic media with their enormous capacity allows for a plethora of information to be stored in one place. With a little training, it is possible to rapidly find the information that we are looking for, and continuously keep ourselves up to date. Because we use a telephone-dataline it doesn't matter where in the world we find ourselves. As long as there is a telephone line, we can obtain the information we need.
What is interesting is that you don't necessarily need to search every database individually. You can search them all simultaneously, or you can search them in well-defined blocks. You can also program in permanent searches which will indicate to you when you have hit the "bulls-eye". You can put in a search for your competitors patents. The day the patent is registered, you computer will "alarm" you of this, or if you so choose you can receive a printed report delivered by courier, or a copy of the documentation in your e-mail box; a very modern way to keep your eyes on your competitors.
Are these databases updated? A few are updated every 15 minutes, a few every day or every week. With this background knowledge, do you still want to return to the "old" method of reading the newspaper, or reading special brochures and copying market research reports and credit checks?
In order for you to see how a database search works, we have performed a complete search which you will find below. Commonly we name the search: "From 0-120 distributors in three minutes." In order to not be in conflict with the copyright and confidential information, we have changed various details, but the search is complete.
To see an example of a search click here.
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