It’s worth knowing that Uncle Sam offers access to free data that can help you understand your market and analyze consumer trends and demographics. In fact, the federal government is the largest producer of data in the U.S. with numerous offices dedicated to collecting, analyzing and providing free access to their findings – good news for budget-conscious small business owners.

Here are five government sources of market data and statistics that may boost your market research efforts:

Business Data and Statistics from SBA.gov
A good place to start is SBA.gov’s Business Data and Statistics page, where you’ll find a collection of resources providing free access to information about business and economic conditions and indicators collected by the U.S. government. Whether you sell to businesses or consumers, these sites include data and statistics on income, employment, trade, and manufacturing, and plenty more.

The U.S. Census Bureau
The U.S. Census Bureau (www.census.gov) maintains a vast repository of information that is quick and easy to navigate, thanks to a variety of Data Access Tools. For example, with The American FactFinder, just enter a city and state and the tool will generate multiple options for viewing social, economic, household and demographic data for your town or future location.

The main site has also been newly re-launched to make it very simple to find the data you need, including a neat interactive map that shows a mash-up of economic and demographic statistics for any town, city, or state in America.

If you like what you see but are not sure how to use and interpret the data, the Census Bureau hosts seminars across the country to help business owners learn more about business and industry data on the site. Learn more.

FedStats.gov
If you want data but don’t know which agency maintains or produces it, head on over to FedStats.gov. This no-frills data-driven site provides access to a full range of official statistical information produced by the federal government without having to know in advance which federal agency produces which particular statistic. Data is available on wide-ranging topics, including economic and population trends, crime, education, health care, aviation safety, energy use, and farm production.

Small Business Statistics
Interested in statistics about how small business is doing? The SBA Office of Advocacy conducts and publishes its own research on topics such as the small business economy.

EconomicIndicators.gov
For briefings on retail sales, durable goods, manufacturing, construction, new home sales, and more, Economicindicators.gov provides access to daily releases of key economic indicators from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Census Bureau. This is probably your best bet if you’re looking for one site that says it all.

Additional Resources
Visit SBA’s guide to Conducting Market Research for tips on how to put this data and other information to use.

About the Author:
Caron Beesley is a small business owner, a writer, and marketing communications consultant. Caron works with the SBA.gov team to promote essential government resources that help entrepreneurs and small business owners start-up, grow and succeed.

Companies have embraced the long tail for some time. Low volume, high-profit product examples include super-premium ice cream, heritage meats and heirloom vegetables.

The idea doesn’t work for all types of products, but it does work for unique marketing areas in which products are so pleasing that certain consumers are willing to pay more.

Other qualifications, according to The Wall Street Journal:

Determine what is a real sweet spot rather than a valueless niche. Listen to what customers say to you and on their blogs. But think about it. Henry Ford reportedly said if he’d asked people what they wanted in the way of transportation, they would have told him, “a faster horse.”

Using tools like SpredFast, TweetBeep, StepRep and HowSociable make keeping a pulse on your market more manageable. These tools enable you to track brand and keyword mentions, so that you can respond accordingly.

Standardize components to limit the costs of producing another product line. Variety and standardization can be achieved at the same time.

Before starting anything new, review your present products and weed out those that are not profitable. But some products that make little profit have value when considered in broader terms. They can make your company’s other products more profitable.

The sweet spot products don’t have to be better than others already on the market, but they have to be different and appeal to the targeted customers.

By holding a focus group, you will find out a great deal about your customers, their opinions of your company, their purchasing habits and their needs.

Most groups include about a dozen people. Some should be current customers, but it’s also good to include people who aren’t familiar with your business. No employees should be part of it, and no competitor should be invited.

You can select the attendees yourself or hire a research firm to find participants help you plan and conduct the session. According to Business Week magazine, the firm could charge $2,000 to $5,000 depending on how much you have them do.

Where you will hold the focus group is a big decision. Organizations, such as Qualitative Research Consultants and the New York American Marketing Association, have facilities equipped with video recording equipment and one-way mirrors so you could observe the group without your presence becoming a distraction.

Decide what you are trying to learn and have a list of questions and conversation starters on hand. One good question: How would you describe who would use your service and products and why?

You can lead the discussion if you can comfortably — and impartially — moderate the group. Don’t do it if you are sensitive to criticism. People can be blunt and give negative feedback, but it will probably be their honest opinion.

Make sure everyone participates. If one person is dominating the conversation, avoid eye contact with her or him and turn toward quieter members of the group to draw them out.

Don’t let the discussion wander too far afield. At the same time, be flexible and let the conversation flow. Someone might bring up an idea you haven’t considered.

As you examine your findings, watch for the themes and ideas that stand out. Consider how you might use them in your product development.
If you had professional leaders, they can help with this task.

What you may not know is that you don’t have to be a multi-billion dollar corporation in order to conduct your own market research.

This short video tutorial will guide you through the use of one handy (and free!) tool that you should add to your marketing arsenal.

Is social media a fad? Or, is it the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution?

If you haven’t heard already, Erik Qualman, author of the new book Socialnomics, has created this video that has been viewed an incredible 11,000+ times since 7/30/09. Just goes to show how fast social media spreads the word.

Brands can now be strengthened or destroyed by the use of social media. Online networking sites are being used as giant, free focus groups. Advertising is less effective at influencing consumers than the opinions of their peers. If you aren’t using social media in your business strategy, you are already behind your competition.

Look for our upcoming review on Socialnomics soon. In the meantime, check out some of the interesting social media statistics he shares in this short video.

]]> http://esbjournal.com/2009/08/is-social-media-a-fad-video/feed/ 0 http://esbjournal.com/2009/08/priceless-and-free-market-research-tool-video/ http://esbjournal.com/2009/08/priceless-and-free-market-research-tool-video/#comments Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:45:39 +0000 admin http://esbjournal.com/?p=1659 Wouldn’t it be great if it were possible to know exactly how effective an ad was going to be before you ever launched it?

Or, what if you somehow knew that the landing page you were about to create was destined to be a winner, even before it went live?

Be careful what you wish for.

In this short video from Jeff Johnson, Jeff reveals how savvy marketers can gain a competitive edge — and it won’t cost you a cent!

Higher converting Landing pages, high CTR banner ads, high-conversion sales letters and more are just a few minutes away.