I have been doing a considerable amount of research on a couple of projects that we as a company are currently working on. It is truly painstaking and very tedious, but as I go along, I find myself enlightened and empowered with the knowledge that I gain. I have found a very common theme whenever I engage in market and industry research. What I find is that as I begin and move along through countless articles and research reports, that I end up very frustrated by not being able to immediately find the specific answers to the questions I have. I also find that once I finally find the answer to a question, that if I also seek that answer through other unrelated sources, I find a conflicting answer to the same question. So I like to make a practice of searching multiple sources for each question and then try to find any possible consistencies between all of the varying bits of information I find. Through all of that frustration, something beautiful also happens. I end up consuming large amounts of peripheral information. All of that related information and the answers to my research questions combine to really help me feel like I have a better understanding of the markets and industries in question.
All of that research can be very time consuming, but also extremely valuable for your own personal education, and your value within the team you are working with. A highly recommended and important resource for market research and forecasting industry trends are professionally compiled market research reports that can easily be purchased online from reputable and experienced market research firms. Although these expert reports are invaluable to your understanding of your target markets, industries, and competitors, I would still recommend doing your own research online or offline in order to gain that important peripheral knowledge. www.GlobalQInternational.com
