The Market for Information

These mailing lists can be targeted to specific types of individuals (such as owners of businesses), to a specific regional area (such as a single city or state) or sorted by many other demographics. The end result is a mailing list which, ideally, should have a high rate of response for direct mail campaigns (Miller, 1995, p. 43).

More specialized types of information are also available through information brokers. A company may want to find out about its competitors' marketing plans, and hire an information broker to research what types of development the competition is pursuing, or major contracts the competition may be close to signing. Prospective employees, particularly those in upper management, may use information brokers to provide them with information about companies where they may be seeking employment; such information might include the company's long-term prospects, recent problems, and other information of interest to a senior manager (Copler, 1993, p. 86). Similarly, employees at an organization may use information brokers to help furnish them with information that can help them get a promotion.

In most cases, the market for information comes about because there is so much information available from a wide variety of sources.

Another concern about information brokers is how long this niche will remain a viable one. As more and more individuals become familiar with the Internet, the Web and on-line services, and as more information becomes available to anyone with a computer and a modem, the information professionals will have to develop additional services in order to make their product commercially attractive. With the wide availability of Web browsers and similar technology, information brokers may face future competition not from other information professionals, but from their current clientele. Increasingly computer literate business owners may form the greatest threat to this industry than any other.

It is the rise of the Information Age which has made possible the information broker. The field grew out of traditional market research, and some information brokers have come from market research backgrounds. But today's information brokers move far beyond market research using not only traditional forms of research, but also forms of research and electronic information which simply did not exist 20 or even ten years ago (Bjorner, 1995, p. 65).

The explosion in information technology that has occurred in the second half of this century has provided a new market niche for businesses. The information broker, someone who specializes in gathering and organizing information for businesses, is a new and popular way for companies to learn about their consumers, their competition and any number of other issues. Combining the skills of the professional researcher with the sales professional, and bringing together a wide variety of information sources into a single cohesive presentation, information brokers provide a valuable service to entrepreneurs and small businesses which these organizations would probably otherwise not be able to obtain.

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