A world of information
If you are starting or developing a business, one of the keys to success is finding accurate information and using it to make sound decisions. The right information can enable you to present a convincing case for funding, as well as enabling you to make business decisions based on reliable facts. The problem for growing businesses is how to access this kind of information, which is often difficult to find, and almost always expensive.
The British Library has the world’s most comprehensive collection of research literature including published market research, patents, trade and technical journals, statistics, newspapers, legal information and much more.
Enterprise Hub clients can now get free access to this unique resource through a special arrangement with the British Library Research Service. Through this service clients who have been referred by their Enterprise Hub Director can access research services designed to match the needs of growing businesses.
If you have an idea for a product but want to know if the idea has already been patented you can use our Product Novelty Search Service.
If you are planning to enter a new market and need to know the existing state of the market and possible future trends you can use our Market Analysis Service.
If you want to publicise your company you can use our Mailing List Service.
If you want to find out the financial position of a company with which you plan to do business you can use our Company Profile Service.
In each case the research is tailored to meet your specific needs, is carried out by information specialists based at the British Library in London, and is delivered direct to your desktop. The service is also free to Enterprise Hub clients who are referred by a Hub Director.
If you are interested in using this service please contact your local Hub Director for more information.
Matthew Roberts SARCHEX
How did you get involved with the service? I was referred to the British Library search service by my Enterprise Hub. How has your business benefited? Using the service we were able to complete the searches, and we made the right decision on which company to appoint. What did you think of the process? The main difficulty we had was in assessing the quality of previous work produced by the competing licensing practitioners. The British Library search service proved very effective in helping us to make judgements about specific company personnel. Would you recommend it to other people? Certainly. In fact, I have already mentioned the British Library search service to other colleagues and associates.
David Palmer at the Southern Oxfordshire Hub commented, “The British Library service and the Frost & Sullivan service provide an invaluable background source of data. For Matthew Roberts it helped him to move forward rapidly on the advice we provided regarding the use of an intellectual property licensing agent to take his invention to market.”
John Allen Green Anvil
How did you get involved with the service? Lesley-Anne Rubenstein at the Canterbury Enterprise Hub brought the service to my attention and first contacted them directly to authorise my request. How has your business benefited? The market research I conducted has been of vital importance to my company in helping with financial projections information which has all gone into my business plan and subsequently supported our application for additional finance. The British Library’s identification of the most relevant information sources was of great value as I was then able to obtain a readers pass at the British Library and to go there, and to my local university library, to view the reports in detail and record key facts for later use. What did you think of the process? The British Library responded quickly with a plan of the areas they intended to target, which was then refined before the actual search was carried out. It took about two weeks from start to finish. Would you recommend it to other people? Yes, but on the understanding that copyright restrictions may sometimes limit the information content that can be supplied to you.
Lesley-Anne Rubenstein, Canterbury Hub Director commented, “We are always pleased when a client gets real value out of a service provided by the Hub Network. In this particular case, the British Library has helped put ‘meat’ in the business plan, helping to ground it in reality. We are really pleased that this service has been added to the basket of services currently available to our clients.”
Isobel Thompson Morrk
How did you get involved with the service? We were introduced to the service through Chris Dunkley, Milton Keynes Hub Director, who thought it would be useful at our stage of development. He contacted the British Library and arranged for them to help us. How has your business benefited? The research has helped us identify areas of the country to target, how our ustomers make their buying decisions and where they shop. It has also provided useful information about the proportion of our market that shop online. As a result we have been able to think more clearly about our marketing/ advertising and sales strategy and tactics, and that has made us much more competitive. What did you think of the process? The process was simple. We provided a brief and the research was carried out around it. I spoke to the researcher a couple of times to clarify a couple of points. Talking directly to the person who is doing your research is really helpful as they are very experienced and can help to direct their time in a productive way. Would you recommend it to other people? Definitely. But I would also recommend being clear about what you want to know and how you will use the information. It’s amazing what an experienced researcher can uncover in a relatively short time. It would have taken me many more hours to come up with the same information, just finding out where to start looking can take forever.
Author: Ally Charles
Created Date: 23-08-2006
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