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It’s the fourth quarter and predictably demanding right now. We are following up from our own event, deep in our own planning, and supporting clients who are deep in theirs. It’s the time of year when budgets must be spent, as 12/31 harkens the end of the year as we knew it. Why this money can’t roll over is something I’ve never understood, but when clients ask us for year-end projects that inform their businesses, we say yes. It’s why we’re here!
- We are seeing an influx of questions about open-access responses and changing business models in the scholarly communications space.
- There’s an asset for sale in a sector we track, and we always know when big deals are brewing because the private equity guys and Big 4 consultants come calling. It’s a feeding frenzy to get to a memorandum of understanding or letter of intent, and we see it coming weeks and months in advance.
- Others wish to size their markets, look at adjacencies, or figure out where to go from here to garner the next wave of growth.
- We have more clients than ever honing their strategic plans and aligning business plans to organizational readiness. Now more than ever, they’re seeking competitive analysis to understand their strengths and weaknesses and really nail their positioning.
- Clients are asking us about budget norms, category benchmarks, and whether they’re planning too much or too little for price increases, salary increases, expense budgets, growth targets, and the like.
We’ve said for years that most of the largest players and/or market leaders in specific sectors of this crazy industry are duking it out for market share. Enterprise budgets drive our growth, and they are fairly safe and static. That is both the beauty and the beast of our industry: The beauty is in the glory of steady revenue streams and predictable growth; the beast is in the fact that predictable (read 3–5%) growth is rarely what shareholders or stakeholders aspire to. So it breeds lots of M&A, fights for share of wallet, and other make-or-buy decisions to get the upper hand back on that competitive stance.
It is clearly Q4. Personally, I’m doing too much and not enough of the things that I love in order to help the clients I love with the work and thought-leadership I love. There are New Year’s resolutions buried in that sentence and more to share.
For now, the team and I are smart at work doing our best to respond to asks for trusted data, research, and advice that advances the data, information, and analytics industry. Knowledge powers our world. Our clients provide that power, and it is a privilege to serve this industry. I remember that during our most demanding time of year. We are thankful for those who rely on us, appreciative of our staff and partners who help us deliver what our clients need, and thankful that the spirit of the holidays is upon us.
I’ll be taking off from blogging next week as I gear up to wrap November, and soon close December and the year. What a year it’s been.
Just remember as you are looking ahead that if you need anything, you can call, email, or zoom us. When you have questions, we have answers, and it is our pleasure and privilege to serve.
Wishing you a joyous holiday season as it kicks off this coming US Thanksgiving week. May the season be merry and bright. Our very best to you and yours!