Reader-to-reader advice.
Info Surfing USA
I'm interested in setting up a business to do information research using on-line databases. How should I get started in this venture? And where can I get lists of accessible databases?
Bryan Fussell
Alexandria, La.
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Information brokers provide research and reports on a wide variety of topics -- they'll dig up technical info such as legal or medical data, perform market research, or survey the competition. For the price of a modern computer system, a fax, a modem, a copy machine, extra phone lines, and database subscriptions, anyone can "info surf."
Successful info brokers must be able to sell their sleuthing expertise to prospective clients, handle user-unfriendly databases, and price their service, says Sue Rugge, a pioneer info broker and the coauthor of the highly regarded Information Broker's Handbook (Tab, 800-262-4729, 1992, $29.95). The book covers everything from evaluating career prospects to getting paid what you're worth.
Databanks like Nexis, Lexis, and Dialog can be tricky to use and expensive to browse, Rugge notes, so it helps to practice before diving into the first assignment. Dialog's not-for-resale service, Knowledge Index, has incomplete listings that are great for trial runs. It's available on CompuServe (800-848-8199; $39.95 for the software, plus $8.95 per month). Dialog (800-334-2564) also offers training packages that include the service's $45 start-up fee.
Most databases charge an annual subscription fee and a per-use fee that info brokers pass on to clients. You'll find the names of databases, as well as what they contain, prices, and update information, in the Gale Directory of Databases (Gale, 800-347-4253, $280). It's available in libraries.
Directories are also good places to advertise. Brokers list themselves in annuals like The Burwell Directory of Information Brokers (Burwell, 713-537-9051, $59.50) or the one published by the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP; fax 516-266-6923). For membership fees of $125 a year for full-time researchers and $75 for those just exploring the business, the AIIP also offers a quarterly newsletter and an annual conference.
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Anyone Out There?
How do you get people to return customer-service surveys? Although we have put them on self-addressed stamped postcards and have limited them to five multiple-choice questions, our response rate's still only 3%. We can't afford a customer-service rep, so I'm calling customers myself. But I can't do that forever. What have others tried?
Bob Kochman
President
Mack/Isuzu Dealership
Houston
Keeping surveys short is the right idea, but to boost response rates, why not pass them out on your lot? Mac McConnell, owner of Artful Framer Gallery, in Plantation, Fla., earns a 100% response rate by handing customers a short survey to fill in while he rings up the sale. McConnell says incentives are key, and he offers a discount coupon to those who respond at the cash register.
And never underestimate the value of calling customers yourself. Direct contact can foster relationships, create goodwill, and garner honest feedback. McConnell follows up each sale with a phone call, saying only, "Hi, we want to make sure you're completely satisfied with our job." It pays off: McConnell reaps ample feedback and ferrets out unhappy customers he can later try to win over. "Customers don't come back because of price or convenience," he insists. "It's because of our relationship with them."
Carl Sewell, CEO of Sewell Village Cadillac, in Dallas, agrees; he offers a cordless way to gather information while building relationships. First, he hands customers a quick three-question survey while ringing up their repair bills. Then cashiers give patrons a longer, take-home survey and invite them to an upcoming focus group. More examples of Sewell's approach to pinpointing what customers really want are detailed in his book Customers for Life (Doubleday, 800-223-6834, 1990, $10).
One way to develop surveys is to brainstorm with associates. Michael Harris, CEO of Deck House, in Acton, Mass., a designer and builder of custom houses, met with his key department heads, who told him what type of feedback would be most helpful. (See "The Smart Customer Survey," Good Form, November 1992, [Article link].) Harris mails the survey around the time clients are moving into their new homes. The tactic upped his survey-response rate to about 50%.
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NAFTAmath
With the expected ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), next January, we think selling our business-consulting software in Mexico through local distributors can pay off. How have other developers found distributors in this market?
Keith Claxton
Director of Sales
Rothenberg Computer Systems
Santa Clara, Calif.
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Your hunch and timing are right on. The Department of Commerce's Office of Mexico, in Washington, D.C., lists computer software among the markets most likely to benefit from NAFTA. And as more Mexican businesses automate and more U.S companies open offices south of the border, demand for business-applications software should soar, with low-end software likely outselling more expensive products.
