Ian Campbell knew that marketing was about finding unfulfilled market needs and filling them. He knew he had to make sure a large enough group of investors felt like him. They had to have a real need, problem or 'pain' and want to get rid of...quickly. Certainly this was the case with Campbell, a 35-year veteran of rendering independent business valuation opinions. In fact, he wrote the definitive Canadian books on it.



He managed his own investment portfolio; he was tired of having to wade through the data overload and the interminable hours it took. Campbell just knew he could come up with a better way to accomplish these goals.

So he conducted independent market research with qualified investors located in both the U.S. and Canada. He wanted to see if they had the same problems, perceptions, and need for a solution to this data quagmire and the time-consuming task of trying to manage or have input into the management of one's own portfolio. Moreover, Campbell was also concerned about the data the average investor doesn't get to see when making his/her own investment decisions. He obtained the help of a long-time market researcher to help him drill down to discover the real answers to his concerns. By asking 'open-ended' questions, he was able to elicit responses and suggestions for his concept. 'Responses that he would never have anticipated.

The proprietary research corroborated his earlier hypothesis: he reckoned that if he summarized the most pertinent data, the same way a company acquirer might do, this might lead to efficiencies and most importantly, the 'accuracy' of the data...similarly as if you were acquiring the compnay from others. During the research, he kept hearing two other words: 'independence' and 'transparent'. Respondents were emphatic in their belief that they would not believe or trust the site if it was being paid anything by the companies present on the site. So they are not. Not one penny is paid by any other company or supplier to the site. It is objective, plain and simple. The respondents also wanted to be able to see right through the entire site; so it's crystal claar--transparent. Nothing is held back. Additionally, he also learned that the site had to be independent of any outside influences. The need to be completely independent and obligated to no one was cemented, right at the beginning. Finally, the site had to be unbiased; it must not make a recommendation as to what or when to buy....or sell. Those decisions are up to the individual member.

The research indicated these were the 'hot buttons' for the individual investors, their advisers, and analysts who were looking for a stock research site they could trust. Campbell then set about to build a site like no other. Beta testers and observers have told him that it is at least the second if not most sophisticated financial web site they have ever seen. (I'm not even close to being able to ascertain this myself...I just know that it works like crazy).

It has taken Ian Campbell nearly a year to organize his own initial observations, conduct research, lay out a marketing and web site plan; to build the site according to what the market has told him it wants and the gaps he discovered himself. Today, the proof is in the pudding.

©Copyright, Roy MacNaughton, 2007