With the state of the economy still in rough shape, every day the media seems to describe another industry or company that is struggling. However, this week, I have heard several stories about companies that are thriving and bucking the recession. I am happy to say that Zepol is one of them. More companies than ever  are turning to us to learn about their markets.

So what are the reasons why companies are turning to us in greater numbers than ever before? I have listed the top 4 motives from our recent prospects:

1. Knowing more about your suppliers is incredibly important right now:
   Some companies are using the information to understand what leverage they have with suppliers. Others need to know about the health of their manufacturers because they may lose customers, go out of business, and leave their other U.S. customers suddenly without anything to sell. Nearly everyone is looking to save on production costs and investigating new supply options.
   
   
2. Finding new customers is essential to maintaining the health of your business:
   There is no better source for specific trade leads than AMS trade data, and more companies are realizing that they cannot waste time on unqualified leads. Transportation service providers are focusing their account executives more, turning to Zepol to do this effectively and efficiently. Importers are also finding new uses of the data in their sales departments, as I wrote about a couple of weeks ago in "Trade Data Use: Importers finding sales prospects".
   
   
3. Understanding the state of your competitors' businesses is even more vital in a recession:
   Unlike in good times, when concentrating on your core business with little thought of your competition is passable, recessions have a way of hyper-focusing your attention on what your competition is doing. When every sale counts more than ever, knowing what your competition’s next strategic move will be is an important factor for how your company will fair in this environment. We have seen companies use our data to gage if competitors are failing, when competitor will increase or decrease prices, and when to expect a new product to hit the market.
   
   
4. Questioning the true value they are receiving from current trade data providers:
   Small importers to large carriers and ports are looking at their current contracts with trade data providers and beginning to understand that this data is not a commodity. So instead of being hoodwinked by automatic renewals that some companies are writing into contracts, they are looking at the true value that they are really getting from their current provider. Since we provide more information and better service than other trade data providers, companies are choosing Zepol because we offer both a fair price and an exceptional value (saving time and giving our customers more for their money).