Tag: Secondary research

5 Tips on Conducting Primary Research

Quality research is essential to the success of any acquisition plan. Once you have identified a specific company as a prospective acquisition, it is essential that you perform primary research in addition to typical secondary (online or database) research. Primary research involves getting on the phone and talking to people who deal with the company on …

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Grow Your Credit Union with More Effective Decision-Making Techniques

Are you weighed down by stress from problems you just can’t seem to crack? As leaders, every day we are faced with new challenges that keep us up at night, fortunately it doesn’t have to be this way. One of the most important components of effective decision-making is accurate data, which in today’s information age …

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Which Way? 3 Ways to Prioritize Your Options for Growth

The possibilities may be endless, but your resources are not. For many business owners with limited time and money, deciding which ideas to pursue can be a challenge. Here are three ways to prioritize your options for growth: 1. Start with your company vision The best way to make sure you’re moving in the right direction …

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Why You Shouldn’t Rely on Just the Internet for Information

In today’s internet age it seems like information is widely and almost instantaneously available. Just open up a web browser and type your search into Google and thousands of hits show up in less than a second. But how much of that information is accurate? Precise data is critical to every business decision, especially when …

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4 Helpful Sources for Researching International Markets and Companies

Expanding internationally can provide numerous opportunities to grow your business using acquisitions, joint ventures or strategic partnerships, but before you can decide which market to enter, you’ll need to do some research. The data sources you use for your research will vary depending on location and industry and the specific information you are seeking. We’ve …

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The Acquisition Librarian – Organizing Your Data

“Keep your pipeline full,” I often tell clients when speaking about their acquisition prospects. By this I mean that in pursuing M&A you should research 75 to 100 companies. That’s a lot of companies and research, which of course you must record in an appropriate manner. How can you keep track of all your data? …

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Resources for Researching Prospects

Once you’ve determined the characteristics of your ideal acquisition prospect, you’re ready to start researching specific companies.  You can begin by using secondary research to identify companies and obtain key data.  With secondary research we want to leverage the information we find to evaluate whether companies are qualified. We’ve listed a couple of resources below: …

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Committing to Research: Primary vs. Secondary Research

Research is essential to the success of any business plan, including acquisition. The demand-driven, “markets first” acquisition process that I advocate requires thorough research. Only thorough research uncovers the most appropriate markets, helps you identify the best prospects, and sets you apart from other potential buyers. There are two levels of research to consider: primary …

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Quality Research: A Key to Successful Acquisitions

Quality research is an important part of the acquisition process. Thorough research allows you to fully understand the market and prospects for acquisition.  In the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) blog, I explain how to effectively conduct primary and secondary research, including who to contact and how to overcome challenges you may encounter during your …

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