FUMSI Find, April 2009

People in business are always looking for information – for current and future projects, to pitch for new work, and to help them to understand the market in which they are operating.

There are six key steps to keep in mind for finding competitive information for business. The steps bring together elements of the searcher’s professional interest as a specialist in their field, research know-how, knowledge management and networking.

There are six key steps to keep in mind for finding competitive information for business. The steps bring together elements of the searcher’s professional interest as a specialist in their field, research know-how, knowledge management and networking.

One: Keep in touch with your market
Insightful specialists and organisations are in touch with what is happening in their market.

Two: Refine the research parameters Journalists use the ‘who, when, what, where, why and how’ approach to get to their story. A similar approach is useful as a starting point for narrowing down vague or broad research requests.

Three: Think about who cares
Before you start throwing words into Google, think about which sources are the most likely to have reliable information on the topic you are researching.

Four: Talk to your contacts
When you are looking for competitive business information, a good network of connections is invaluable.

Five: Build on your organisation’s knowledge
Take advantage of the extensive repository of knowledge and unique insight that your organisation or client base has developed over many years.

Six: Use directions to the right path
With many information requests, there are quite often one or two points that direct the research path you take.

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This article by Heather Carine was the feature article in FUMSI Find, April 2009.