Irish company Research and Markets aiming to leverage the power of information in Nordic region

In a world where information is everywhere, sorting the wheat from the chaff has become an enormous challenge for many in business, but one innovative Irish company already has more than two decades of experience in doing so on their behalf. 

Founded in 2002 by brothers Ross and Ashley Glover, Research and Markets aimed to fill the gap by providing high-quality information on a broad range of sectors and industries to anyone that needed it.  At the time, market research brokers were very much focused on the North American market, leaving them to grow quickly in Europe, and they haven’t looked back since. 

“A lot of our business is in helping clients to find off-the-shelf market research reports – for instance, if you want to know about the market for escalators and elevators, we probably have 10 or 15 reports on that global market, so our job is to join the dots between our users and reduce the friction of the transaction,” Ross explains. 

That job of joining the dots is made easier by the extensive tagging of their reports, ensuring that customers get the kind of information they need as quickly as possible, without having to shift through reams of irrelevant data first, and putting the client first is at the heart of what Research And Markets do. 

“We have to act as an advocate for the client, and understand what the client wants. We can't be an expert on every single subject or report, but we can do certain checks, we can talk to suppliers of research in advance, we gather feedback and essentially ensure that our clients are getting what they need,” Ross says. 

Client needs can vary hugely, with some looking for an annual overview of a particular topic and others requiring in-depth knowledge and analysis, and Research And Markets are happy to cater for all their needs. 

Though based in Ireland, Ross estimates that more than 90 percent of the business done by Research And Markets is done internationally, and where the company previously worked on a sector-by-sector approach, they are now looking at things geographically, with the Nordic region particularly appealing to them in their next phase. 

“The Nordic region is quite diverse in terms of industries and indeed we have many customers there already, and that suits the very diverse product range that we have. The Nordic countries are very innovative, and like Ireland, they have to look beyond their own borders for customers, so that’s where we come in,” Ross says. 

“If they want to expand into Europe or North America or Asia, we have the research they need to make decision on those markets, and we’re trying to expand on those relationships.”

So far, Nordic companies have been expressing a strong interest in finding out about markets abroad for renewables, financial technologies (fintech) and payments systems, as well as subjects as diverse as travel, tourism, forestry and logistics. Ross has also noted a move from static to more dynamic reports such as one that tracks the hourly rates charged by law firms in North America, allowing lawyers around the world to see what the going rates are at any given time. 

“Our clients increasingly want different ways to interact with the data, and as a result many of our suppliers provide a form of platform delivery, rather than a PDF,” he says.

Another intriguing area of the business is tracking public services such as hospitals and giving suppliers access to data such as the number of beds and the number and type of procedures carried out, enabling them to accurately identify potential buyers. These dynamic databases will provide a strong complement to the existing market research business that Enterprise Ireland has helped the company to develop over the years.

“We've had a long relationship with Enterprise Ireland going back to when the company started, and we have been extremely fortunate with the advisors we’ve had working with us,” Ross says. 

“A lot of what we have done historically with Enterprise Ireland has been around research and development and technical innovation. We’ve had their support on a number of technical integrations that have worked very well, and the Nordic team is in the process of helping us as we seek to grow our presence there.”

The move into the Nordic market is an exciting one for Research And Markets, with Ross light-heartedly likening what they do to being a match-maker or a dating app. 

“It’s all about finding the mutual benefit for the research providers and the client, drawing the lines and understanding the fit based on their interests,” Ross says. 

“Sometimes it’s an automated or semi-automated process, and sometimes it’s done on a personal basis, but what we’re always aiming for is a client that says ‘this is exactly what we needed’ – if that’s the response we get, then we’ve done what we set out to do,” 

For more on Research And Markets, visit their website at https://www.researchandmarkets.com