First Research Inc. began offering its line of Industry Profiles in 1999. The product grew out of the company's perception that financial advisers, commercial lenders, as well as sales and marketing professionals, had a need for a current, easy-to-use information resource that would provide an accurate, concise industry overview. To this end, the company publishes streamlined industry profiles of less than 10 pages in length. Clients may choose profiles covering over 70 select industries. First Research plans on increasing its offerings by an additional 15 industries in the near future.

The Product
Each profile is approached from a marketing/sales perspective and is designed to provide the reader a general knowledge of the chosen industry. Scanning the "Quick-link Profile Chapters" area, readers are able to quickly pinpoint and review specific profile information segments via hyperlinks without having to wade through the entire document unnecessarily.

A typical industry profile contains:

• An Industry Summary - A bulleted list of current high profile, industry-specific issues.
• An Updated Industry Overview - This includes the number of companies within the industry (including the number of employees per average company when deemed pertinent), aggregate estimated market revenue, and a description of services and/or products.
• Key Questions to Ask During a Marketing Call - Designed to quickly take the pulse of a company within its industry.
• Industry-Specific Web Site Links - Facilitates further industry research.
• A Summary of Industry Trends and Developments - High profile industry-specific issues and their impact on the industry.
• Industry Threats, Challenges, and Opportunities - Industry-specific strategic management information.
• News and Media Information - A window onto news media coverage of the industry.
• Financial Information - Financial benchmark information, including profitability trends.

In an effort to provide accurate, timely and credible information, preliminary information is acquired from company reports, industry experts, national associations and the media, as well as other public information outlets. To maintain timeliness and keep subscribers up to date on current trends and industry happenings, individual industry profiles are updated every 90 days.

While a handful of competitors offer voluminous amounts of industry-specific information, First Research is unique. The company claims that their clients can research an industry within 30 minutes or less and profit from the following additional benefits:

• Maintaining a competitive edge
• Projecting a professional image
• Gaining credibility with clients
• Gaining confidence in their industry knowledge
• Obtaining the background necessary to ask dialogue-generating questions

Primary Users of Industry Profiles
Financial advisers, commercial lenders, and sales and marketing professionals are the intended users of the First Research's industry profiles. The common denominator among users of this information is their absolute need to understand their client's (or potential client's) industry and their standing within that industry. Only after gaining this understanding can advisers begin to adapt their own goods or services and maximize the benefits for their clients. This is the essence of value-added goods or services. A synergy may be realized when the competence of the provider is coupled with an understanding of the client's situation. Once achieved, it is then possible to anticipate the needs and expectations of the client, and in turn meet their needs and exceed their expectations, fostering true customer satisfaction. It is indeed no accident that First Research chose "Exceeding Your Clients' Expectations" as a tag line on their Web site. 

First Research realizes that their clients' clients have expectations of what they will gain from a provider of a good or service. If what they are provided falls below those expectations, it is perceived as substandard. If what they are provided meets their expectations, it is viewed as adequate. But if client expectations are exceeded, value is added and satisfaction gained. This is the territory in which word of mouth advertising, repeat business, brand loyalty and relationship selling all reside. First Research, Inc. offers a tool in the form of their industry profiles for their clients who wish to venture into that lucrative territory.

Secondary Users of Industry Profiles
While the company primarily compiles their industry profiles with the financial adviser, commerdial lender, and sales and marketing professional in mind, these are not the only professions who may benefit from their products. Given the concise format and inexpensive acquisition cost, securities investors, accountants, managers and entrepreneurs can all find value in reviewing these profiles:

• Investors may use information on industry trends, threats and opportunities to ascertain whether they wish to enter a particular industry.
• Investors may further evaluate the performance of individual companies within an industry to determine if their actions are consistent with countering identified threats and exploiting the opportunities identified within the industry profile.
• The Financial Benchmark Information section of the profiles can aid in the ratio analysis of financial statement information of individual companies. Although the formulas to facilitate ratio analysis are both easily obtained and applied, they are virtually worthless without reliable industry average information of the type provided by First Research. This information  is necessary to benchmark underlying company performance against a reasonable standard.
• Management professionals in smaller firms within a covered industry may find the profiles an excellent starting point to identify threats and opportunities within their industry and formulate a strategic management initiative based on this information. The profiles may serve as an economical source of strategic industry information.

Obtaining Industry Profiles
Individual industry profiles may be purchased online and downloaded from SmartPros Marketplace for $49 each using a major credit card. Those interested may view a free, sample introductory paragraph prior to purchase. Frequent users of this information may wish to request annual subscription service information through SmartPros. Annual subscriptions allow unlimited access to all First Research Inc. industry profiles.

Price
$49 per single industry profile

Category
Corporate Information Resource

Contact Information
First Research Inc.
PO Box 10785
Burbank, CA  91510
Phone:  888.331.2275
E-mail:  wbrawley@1stresearch.com

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