With the ubiquity of the Internet and excellent search engines, why would anyone want to outsource secondary research?  After all, all you need to do is run a few Google searches, examine some trade association Web sites, perhaps consult a government report or two, and you're on your way.  In many cases, this is what passes as secondary research - even from some research providers.  But a good secondary research project encompasses much more, and you may want to use a professional research firms for the following reasons.

Subscription to proprietary databases.  A good research firm will access many databases outside the free, public realm.  Much of the data you need is from magazines, journals, and research sources not readily available to the public.  Lexis/Nexis, Hoovers, Mergent and other subscription databases contain valuable information that a research firm can access.

In-depth knowledge of government sources.  While the government publishes much useful information, key nuggets lie buried in raw microdata.  A good research firm can dig out these nuggets for you.  They can also combine data in ways that are not published.  For instance, the government often publishes one-dimensional demographic data, with tables by age, gender, income, ethnicity, etc.  But if you want life-stage data based on multiple dimensions, like a combination of age, gender, marital status, number of children, you need someone to create information from the microdata.

Digging data out of books.  Books contain much data and knowledge and are often neglected by in-house researchers.  Many think that if it's not on the Web, it doesn't exist or is unimportant.  Look for book references in any outsourced secondary research reports.

Information update and forecasting.  Most data on the Web reflects a snapshot at a distant point in time.  A good research firm should have the capabilities and knowledge to update the data to the current environment and make projections into the future.

Speed.  While an in-house researcher may spend hours frothing around on the Internet, a professional research firm should deliver results quickly and comprehensively.  The research firm's expertise relies on finding, synthesizing, analyzing, forecasting, and presenting information, so they should quickly deliver the results you need.

InfoTech Marketing specializes in secondary research.  Challenge us with your most difficult project, and you'll see the difference an excellent research firm can provide.  For more information, click here.