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What do I need business information services for? Why is business information necessary? “With my connections, I can get everything I need from the retired division commander…” As surprisingly old fashioned as this outlook sounds, there are still several business executives who grit their teeth just in order to honorably survive the current age of aggressive business competition. They still maintain their unrealistic and unprofessional world view and do not comprehend the importance of real business information services.
Those opportunistic business executives who think in terms of their own tenure and making a quick profit without thinking long-term are forgetting one thing - that business information services are the most strategically important asset of any organization. Instead of being supported and strengthened, however, the first people to be fired during a recession or during cutbacks are usually business information service employees.
Many business executives will explain this by saying that they need to let go of whatever elements are not productive. These executives do not fully understand the strategic contribution of quality business information services.
Subscribing to financial newspapers that provide information about your competitors is a good start, but not enough. Going to conferences in
Several company directors have not internalized the fact that damage can be done to the abilities of a company to reach its target audience, widen its appeal in the market, and, of course, increase profits if raw information collected from the aforementioned sources is not concentrated, processed, enriched, cross-examined with additional reliable sources, and distributed amongst employees and decision makers in the company.
The results of establishing a system for business information services in a company:
- You will continuously familiarize yourself with the business field relevant to your company.
- You will be able to assess and screen competitors according to their weight and influence in the market in which you operate.
- You will receive an updated list of providers and clients, from which you can select the appropriate target audience suitable for your various campaigns and sales.
- You will learn about the sales, marketing, and advertising methods of your competitors.
- You will be exposed to new products and technologies that can contribute to the quality of your existing products.
- You will be informed of the demographic and political conditions in target countries.
- You will always be updated regarding various publicized commercial tenders to which you can submit proposals.
- You will get a situation report regarding mergers and takeovers.
- You will be prepared to deal with new instructions and regulations from the regulator, if necessary.
So what can we advise executives and company owners in the business sector?
“Go for it. ”Establish a cross-company team run by an internal or external director possessing rich experience and knowledge, which can define the needs, goals, and collection destinations to the business information services unit. This team should be granted an initial budget for its activities.
This team should first locate employees within the organization who have useful information regarding the competitors. Encourage these employees to cooperate with the unit by disclosing any information in their knowledge. The unit should then analyze the data collected, process it, and then fill in the gaps by using other sources of collecting information.
The real work behind establishing any system of business information services consists of locating and using informative sources and collection points for information, and analyzing and evaluating data. Basically, any document or piece of information can be collected. As always, this is a matter of cost versus benefit.
Moreover, if you want to receive information such as the financial reports of private companies, management protocols of a competitor, inside information regarding offers submitted for commercial tender, strategic marketing plans of your competitors, and other concealed information that is not open and available to the public, you will probably have to partake in criminal offenses, trespassing, extortion, brides, illegal audio bugging, and other violations of the privacy protection laws.
Quality business information services are the product of long-term, effective professional work. Of course, there is a great temptation to turn to “special” information collection services that can provide “golden” informative materials. Dealers in this line of work know that if the information source is “burned” once, it takes all of its information with it.
Is it worth the risk? Is it worth risking everything you worked hard for over all those years? From experience in the field of business information services, we can tell you that it’s not worth the risk. There are additional available, quality resources. Business information services.
Any openly publicized information found in websites, business executive biographies, financial newspapers, want ads, market studies, stock exchange prospectus, financial reports, technological journals at the central statistical office and various courts of law, and more is available to any interested party. The raw information received, however, does not meet the professional needs of decision makers.
The raw material that is abundantly available still needs to be analyzed, processed, cross-examined with additional sources, examined for reliability and only then can it be distributed amongst relevant consumers within the company and the administration who will use the information in order to make decisions.
Evaluating and estimating the received information, which must be distributed to the consumers with an appropriate sensitivity, quickly becomes an important work tool in the hands of any business executive required to make tactical and strategic decisions. Processed business information liberates the business executive from the common dilemma of making decisions based on an unfounded gut feeling.
Proper, educated use of a business information service unit and the products it can provide will save business executives and stock holders from unnecessary business ventures that could potentially jeopardize the financial stability of a company in the field in which it operates.
Activating a business information service unit should be methodical and characterized by long-term thought. Only planned, controlled, and steady collection of business information as defined by a plan of action will produce the professional results necessary in order to make decisions.
Remember! The establishment of a quality, professional information service system is intended to positively contribute to the process of decision making, fortification of economic strength, and improvement of the competitive abilities of a company. And, as always, better sooner than later.
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