Category Archives: Market Research
The SBA can Size Up Your Market
The Small Business Administration has a new and very useful online widget—SizeUp (www.sba.gov/sizeup). First it provides a free analysis of your business. Comparing your business to competitors is an important step in keeping your business plan up to date. Second, you can use the analysis tool to research business opportunities. SizeUp empowers small businesses to make smarter choices by providing many of the same types of business analysis large corporations use— for free. Continue reading
Filed under Market Research
Finding the Right Address: Part 3—History of Older Buildings
History libraries and other collections often offer really unique sources for researching a building or neighborhood. Collections usually include atlases, building permits, directories, indexes, and photographs. For questions about historical buildings architectural guidebooks are a good place to start. City directories are great for finding the historical records of a building. Heritage Documentation Programs Historic American Buildings Survey provdes some really unique information.
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Filed under Government Information, Market Research
Finding the Right Address: Part 2—Commercial Databases
There are numerous real estate databases that provide various and extensive types of information, many intended for real estate professionals. Others cater to builders, developers, and those engaged in due diligence. These sites can be mined for a wealth of market information. Mostly they are of two categories: real estate information and construction data.
Filed under Market Research
Finding the Right Address: Part 1—Public Records and Periodical Indices
There are many reasons for wanting to learn more about specific buildings and neighborhoods. The questions that can be asked about buildings are endless. Creative marketers can use the tools listed in these posts to find exactly what they need, but it may take some time to locate the best source for your specific purpose. Because there are so many really useful and interesting resources, I have split them into three posts. The first, covers public records and periodical indices. The second will survey many of the free and subscription databases available. Historical records are the focus of the third post.
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Filed under Government Information, Market Research
Is Anyone Out There? Let the SBA Help You Find Out!
It can seem a daunting task to discover how many business entities exist in your market, how large they are, what they worry about, or how long they have been in business. The U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy can help you discover the answers to these and many other questions.
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Filed under Government Information, Market Research
Shorter Term Business Data Series and Publications
Use of federally produced monthly and quarterly business datasets can be frustrating if you don’t plan your search strategy; this post describes the most popular series, including Economic Indicators and the Survey of Current Business. Continue reading
Filed under Government Information, Market Research
Long-term Economic Census Series
The long-term economic datasets provided by the U.S. Census are described. These include the five-year economic census as well as annual surveys and Business Dynamic Statistics. Continue reading
Filed under Government Information, Market Research, Uncategorized
Sifting U.S. Government Statistics for Business Information: Part 1
The U.S. government is the largest data collector in the world. Use the Bureau of the Census search tools and datafinders to find statistics for a targeting marketing plan. Continue reading
Filed under Government Information, Market Research, Search Stratgies
Sifting U.S. Government Statistics for Business Information: Part 2
Targeted datafinders are an excellent tool for finding the economic statistics you need to fill out your marketing plan. Continue reading
Finding Statistics for Market Research
For a very long time I had a permanent frowny face when I thought of collecting statistics for market research. Most business and marketing students are taught to collect and analyze raw data, but I have found that there are … Continue reading
Filed under Government Information, Market Research, Uncategorized