Market Research Enhances Business Decision-MakingBy Antonio Barrios

Market research is the process ofcollecting relevant data for the purposeof enhancing business decision-mak-ing. An analysis of market conditionsis important whether moving to a newlocation, offering a new product or ser-vice, or buying an existing business.The analysis will provide business own-ers with current industry factors andprobable future trends.

Two types of data may be used forresearching a market. Primary datais information that may be developedby the researcher or developed by anoutside engagement. Secondary datais information available from reportsand studies completed by governmentagencies, trade associations, or otherbusinesses. The research process be-gins with compilation of secondarydata.

A productive search starts with thefollowing resources:InternetThe “Net” itself is essentially millionsof computers connected via telephonelines, networks and communicationsatellites. By connecting to the Internet,computers are linked as part of the netfrom businesses or residences.Local LibraryMost cities and counties have a librarysystem and librarians are a good sourceto start the search. Inquire about thetype of information needed, and librar-ians can point you in the right direc-tion. GALILEO (Georgia LibraryLearning Online) is a world wide web-

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based virtual library that provides ac-cess to multiple information resources.For example, ABI Inform Complete(GALILEO –database) covers over1,400 US and international journals andtrade publications.

Federal and state government websites compile information that is usefulfor small businesses. For example, theEconomic and Statistics Administration(www.economicindicators.gov), is thebureau within the U.S. Dept. of Com-merce that provides access to dailyreleases of key economic indicatorsfrom the Bureau of Economic Analy-sis and the U.S. Census Bureau. Indi-cators such as the gross domestic prod-uct or GDP (the output of goods andservices produced by labor and prop-erty in a specific area) and demographicdata (e.g. population and housing sta-tistics) are common tools for research.

Also, the Federal Reserve Board(www.federalreserve.gov) collects sta-tistics about the economy. The CurrentEconomic Indicators or “Beige Book”provides a snapshot of the economywith statistics in the areas of ConsumerSpending Habits; Manufacturing andOther Business Activity; Constructionand Real Estate; Banking and Finance;Natural Resources and Agriculture;and Labor Markets, Wages and Prices.

Based on the industry, other gov-ernment departments have resourcesavailable for research. For example, theU.S. Department of Agriculture(www.usda.gov) maintains a database

of current and historical official dataon production, supply and distributionof agricultural commodities for theUnited States and key producing andconsuming countries.

Similarly, state government websites provide industry data. For ex-ample, the Georgia Department of Eco-nomic Development (www.georgia.org) has information about de-mand for exports as well as resourcesto other key statistics.

Another source of information is alocal Chamber of Commerce, a gen-eral conduit into the local businesscommunity. The Georgia Chamber ofCommerce (www.gachamber.org) pro-vides information about local chambers.Also, trade associations provide statis-tics such as the number of businesses,size of the market, and economic andlegislative issues.

Local colleges and universities areanother valuable source of information.Faculty members frequently completeresearch and papers on different top-ics. Some institutions also have a SmallBusiness Development Center withpublications and other resources formarket research.

Other sources of information arebusiness publications, articles, and pri-vate databases. Companies such asDun & Bradstreet (http://smallbusiness.dnb.com) maintain busi-ness databases. Also, Bizjournals(www.bizjournal.com) includes busi-ness news from 41 local U.S. markets.

Keep in mind that most of these publi-cations charge fees to access articlesand databases.

For market research, businessowners should compile informationfrom different sources. First, gather in-formation from secondary data sources

and then proceed with specific primarydata collection as needed. Successfulbusiness owners know that the best de-cisions are made with adequate infor-mation.

Antonio Barrios is a businessconsultant with the Kennesaw StateUniversity SBDC. To find your localSBDC, call the state office at 706-542-2762 or locate it on the web atwww.sbdc.uga.edu.