AboutAlex J. Caffarini Expertise I can answer questions on any of the following:
* Determining the best marketing research method for your needs;
* Conducting surveys (including questionnaire design);
* Measuring the effectiveness of marketing promotions;
* Determining market size or market share;
* Data analysis;
* Statistical modeling;
* Sales or business forecasting; and
* Market segmentation.
Experience I have 15 years of marketing research experience across several different industries, including banking, insurance, retail, and non-profit.
Organizations American Marketing Association
Education/Credentials M.B.A. in Marketing and Quantitative Methods, and B.B.A. in Economics, both from Loyola University Chicago.
Question QUESTION: I would like to determine the subscription numbers for
market research firms (examples: Gartner, Forrester, IDC).
I would also like to determine the subscription numbers for
a large database of high-value newsletters. Is this
information available online? Or available in a database
than I can purchase?
ANSWER: Hello Glenn.
I don't know what you mean by subscription numbers for market research firms, but to the other part of your question - the newsletters - I do not know if you are looking for newsletters in the United States or New Zealand.
For now, I am going to assume you're interested in U.S. newsletters. I would start with "Direct Marketing List Source," published six times a year by Standard Rate and Data Service (SRDS). This provides a directory of mailing list sources by subject or market classification, along with list brokers, compilers, and managers. Some newsletters rent their subscriber lists to direct marketers and they share their circulation.
Another way you might get at the circulation numbers you need would be to go to the newsletter's web site and see if they have a media kit. These kits may offer circulation information, which is used for the purpose of pricing advertising within that newsletter.
I'm sure these directories are available online and/or can be bought, but I would definitely start with the ones above.
Let me know if I can answer any further questions.
Alex
P.S. - Your country is the most beautiful place I have ever visited. I envy you!
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thanks Alex,
And thanks for the complement on New Zealand! I sailed here
in my sailboat, from California. And now I'm a resident
here!
Good guess - am interested in numbers for the US.
Will check out SRDS resource.
Have been unable to get the circulation numbers for any of
the big market research firms, like Gartner, IDC,
Forrester, etc. Any further hints on that sector?
ANSWER: Hi Glenn.
I guess I'm not understanding what you mean by the circulation numbers for Gartner, IDC, et. al. Do you mean circ numbers for the publications they put out? If so, unless those publications seek advertisers, they may not share their circ numbers, as those would be proprietary. After all, if they are charging several hundred dollars for a report, and the number of those reports sold was revealed, it would be easy for their competitors to guess at their sales.
Is that what you needed to know? If not, can you clarify exactly what you mean by circ numbers for marketing research firms?
Thanks!
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: I am trying to roughly estimate how many "customers" they
have, where a "customer" is somebody that pays for their
service and reads some of their content (and a report is an
example of such content). I'm 100% with you that it is
proprietary information and therefore they aren't going to
make it easy, which is why I'm having trouble finding it!!!
So I'm looking for a clever way to get an approximation. If
I'm within a factor of two, I'd be happy enough.
Grasshopper sends humble thanks. :-)
Cheers,
Glenn
Answer Glenn,
One thing you can try is Dun & Bradstreet Million Dollar Database and ReferenceUSA. Look up these companies within the database to obtain their revenue statistics. These databases will tell you if the revenue stats came from the company or if it was modeled. Be careful of the latter.
Also, lookup employer-firm market research firm revenue statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau's Economic Census. The North American Industrial Classification Standards (NAICS) code for Market Research firms is 541910. You can get revenue breakouts for firms in that industry.
Another source is the American Marketing Association's publication, Marketing News. Every year, it publishes the Honomichl Top 25 or 50 marketing research in both the U.S. and the world. You can get overall revenue stats there as well.
Once you have obtained the revenue stats, try to obtain some estimate of the fee that a typical marketing research project/engagement might cost.
That should help you get a rough estimate of the companies' number of customers.
Glenn, if I can answer anything else, please let me know.
