Starting an Online Business All-in-One For Dummies®, 3rd Edition

Putting Together All Your Research

When you're starting a new business, it's comforting to be able to validate your decisions. That's exactly what market research allows you to do. If your searches show that a potential product or service is in high demand, it's a signal that you're on the right track. Or, if you're having trouble selecting products to stock your Web inventory, the popularity listings in your research can spur your imagination.

Some established companies specialize in market research. Their background work is summarized in concise reports that forecast trends and buying behaviors. For the best results, search each company's data bank of reports for titles or topics such as e-commerce, online retailing, and e-business. Although some resources provide free information, others are pay services. Reports can range from several hundred dollars to more than a thousand dollars. For that reason, take extra care to read the descriptions and the date of the report to make sure that they have the most accurate and current information available for your purpose.

These companies specialize in market research:

• Ecommerce-Guide: Provides free articles detailing online buying trends (www.ecommerce-guide.com/news/research). For more results, check out the Market Research section by clicking the Resources tab on the menu and then clicking the Market Research tab.
• eMarketer: Specializes in providing data and analysis on trends in e-business, online marketing, and emerging technologies ...