Research & intelligence FAQs

What types of research and intelligence can LAC Group do?

Tell us the information you need, and we’ll find and deliver it. Most of our clients come to us for the following research and intelligence support:

• Competitive intelligence (CI) on known and emerging competitors and competitive landscapes.
• Market intelligence (MI) to identify opportunities and monitor developments in niche markets, industries, geographical locations, products and services and more.
• Legal research including statutes, regulations, and case law as well as secondary sources like legal journals and treatises.
• Rights clearance and other intellectual property (IP) research.
• Financial research like SEC filings, private company research, due diligence support for mergers and acquisitions and other finance information.
• Current awareness and historical research on people, companies and other topics.

How can CI empower my sales and business development teams?

People responsible for bringing in new business and growing current clients can use CI in numerous ways, including:

• Enhance responses to RFPs and RFQs (requests for proposals or quotes) to position your company or firm in the best light and as the leading option.
• Improve all their selling and client relationship conversations and presentations in relation to the strengths and weaknesses of the competitive landscape.
• Identify and assess where to focus their time and efforts for the most winnable opportunities.

How can I best use intelligence within my business?

Some of the ways our clients leverage our intelligence briefings and reports include:

• Identify and assess niche markets.
• Open new offices and break into new geographical areas.
• Gain access to market information for developing plans and enhancing decisions on everything from new service practice areas to product supply chains.

What are KITs and KIQs and how do I leverage them in my competitive intelligence requirements?

KITs and KIQs are commonly used intelligence terms.

• KIT is key intelligence topics, which is the overarching, relevant subject matter information needed to guide planning and strategies to compete most effectively. It’s the information you need to know and monitor.
• KIQ is key intelligence questions, which are the specific questions about your subject matter that will build on what you do and don’t know regarding your standing within your particular competitive landscape.

Who does the research work and where is it done?

The researchers and analysts we have working for us possess a wide range of skills, educational backgrounds and advanced degrees, and experience gathered in law firms, corporations, government, media / journalism and libraries of all kinds. Our researchers generally work in three settings: remote offices with secure, high-speed internet access; in our Moncton, New Brunswick (Canada) office; and onsite at client locations. Depending on the scope of work and client requirements, some of them are available during agreed-upon times to respond to discrete, user-submitted requests; some of them work with predefined criteria for customized and curated briefings and reports, generally delivered daily or weekly.

How are research requests submitted?

Once we’ve discussed your needs, agreed upon the scope of work, and implemented a service level agreement (SLA), we will set up a secure connection to our Research Management System (RMS), making access as easy as possible for your users to submit their requests. The RMS also tracks all requests and responses, generating data we report to our clients for their benefit. 

What is your response time?

We include service levels in the form of our guarantee on response time for each request type. If your needs are different than our response times, we will work with you to accommodate them.

What online resources do your researchers have available to them?

We have access to a comprehensive selection of research databases and continually monitor new options. 

How do you price your services?

We generally charge for time and materials, with pricing options for semi-on demand, as agreed-upon service levels and terms are required first, or a subscription for predefined competitive and intelligence briefings.

Can you use our research databases to avoid the materials charge?

In an effort to keep research costs within your budget, we are happy to use your databases. In fact, we often do so for other clients to leverage their information investments and minimize their research costs.

What are your virtual research hours?

Clients may submit requests from 8:00 am to 11:00 pm ET, Monday through Friday. Weekends, holidays and after-hours support may be arranged in advance by special request.

What is the difference between daily and weekly intelligence briefings?

Our intelligence briefings are typically delivered on either a daily or weekly basis—and the cost reflects the relative differences between the two. In general:

• A daily briefing is best for clients that need regular monitoring of information that is time-sensitive or involves large volumes of information. Publishing five days a week covers more ground and best addresses rapidly changing circumstances
• A weekly briefing is best for clients that are looking for less volume through filtering and curation, a more manageable cadence and lower costs.

Daily reports are generally best for tactical, actionable information needs and weekly reports for overviews and strategic planning. 

Do you offer a pilot program for your research and intelligence services?

Yes, we can start with a pilot of 30 to 90 days to test the concept, which allows you to assess the value and enhance our relationship for the long term.

Explain Library as a Service® (LaaS) and what it means relative to research and intelligence?

LAC Group developed the concept of Library as a Service years ago, in response to the growing digitization of information, especially within special libraries like law firm libraries. Fewer books and other printed publications freed these libraries from space and location restrictions, making information more widely accessible via internet access. LaaS can encompass any library function as a service that we perform, assist or manage for you, to whatever degree needed, including research, reference and intelligence services.

What are the benefits of your research and intelligence services?

• Gain research and intelligence support in a way that’s easily adaptable to changing requirements.
• Often deliver savings and always deliver transparency and predictability of expenses to optimize administrative cost structures and facilitate planning and budgeting.
• Expand research capacity beyond normal business hours, or to support periods of heavy research workloads.
• Free internal staff and decision-makers from research burdens and distractions, empowering them to focus on higher priorities.