Statistical and Demographic Business Research

Sanower Ali Azad

THE PILLARS OF BUSINESS RESEARCH

• An understanding of the service or product

• A clear concept of who is the customer

• Understanding of the location where the activity is taking place.

Working with your client

1. Understand the pillars as it is reflected by your client’s requirements.

2. Establish what will be the requirements expected of you.

3. Negotiate your requirements as necessary.

4. Avoid “moving goal posts”.

5. Set up regular meetings.

6. Do data gathering early.

7. Establish your Geography.

Working with Statistics

• “Currency” is a relative term.• Statistics are driven by their geography.• Popular statistics are just that; “popular”• Acquiring statistics is much quicker and easier

that creating your own.• Statistics are only as useful as your ability to

explain them.• Statistics depend on geography

Background Research

Some resources

Periodicals and MagazinesGovernment websitesLocal information websitesClient’s Knowledge

You may be faced with a product or industry that you know little about. While it may feel like a waste of time getting an over-all understanding of the area you will be working in but will pay off in the long run.

Periodical articles: Data Base accessFull text and citation based:Canadian Business & Current Affairs CPI.Q (Canadian Periodical Index)ABI informAll full text:Canadian Newsstand

Canadian newspapers 

Links: http://www.okanagan.bc.ca/Page5025.aspx

Information on your Product or Service

Understanding the Product or the Service

•We need to know how much, what cost, the profit ratio.• We need to know production volumes.• We need to know our competitors.• We need to know what are the sources of our product.

In general we sell either a commodity or a service.

Product commodity and service information

StrategisE-businessPerformance plusTrade data online

The items mentioned on this page represent only the major locations for information. These sites deserve further exploration.

B.C. Statistics

B.C. Manufacturers’ directory onlineB.C. Stats. Economic statisticsB.C Statistical Bulletins (monthly topical statistics: all topics)

Strategis

Performance Plus

Performance Plus

Performance Plus is an on-line performance benchmarking tool. It provides detailed financial and employment data on more than 600 business sectors across Canada, including more than 30 performance benchmarks to help small businesses determine how they measure up against their competitors.

User Guide

NAICS classification outline.

Background to your customer The demographics

Demographics and the “Economic Customer”

1. The key elements of the demographics of a customer are age, sex, and location.

2. Individual income, family income, and expenditures are secondary elements.

3. Mobility, family structure, and dwellings can be important

Demographic Sites

• Statistics Canada

• B.C Statistics

• Census Canada

Access to Library homepage

Access to Stats page

Statistics Canada

Highlights:

Canadian online statistics

Business statistics

Statistics Canada home page

Statistics Canada does produce some buisiness statistics that are available from their website search tool or though “The Daily”

B.C. Statistics home pagehttp://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/

Key resources:

Regional socio-economic indicators

Selected B.C. Census Information

B.C. Industries

B.C. Stats Social Statistics.

Selected B.C. Demographic Information

Census 2001

link

Statistical Manipulation tools

Estat (articles, statistics and links to cansim)

Cansim (Census data micro level)

Beyond 20/20 Tutorial ( Census data)

Census statistics come in three configurations.

1. Static tables

2. Tables that can change one or more variables

3. Data that can be manipulated to suit the users needs

The Census configuration

Key statistics for business research

City and regional district statistics

Variable (topic) statistics

Provincial and National statistics

This gets you a table of some type

This gets you data that you can manipulate

The Geography of your Market

The Geography of Your MarketYour Client will have a market area in mind and it is important that this area is matched with the areas that are used for the collection of data and statistics.

• For example “the Okanagan Valley” may mean include variety of areas

•What is meant by the “City of Kelowna?”

To have valid local statistics you must match your needs to the geography that is used to gather your statistics.

•Some statistics may not be gathered at the geographic level you require.

Census 2001 Geography(link)

1. Community Profiles: Gives Maps of the Census Geography

2. Geosearch: .

3. Reference Maps:

4. Thematic Maps:

Regional and provincial geography(link)

Maps of Regions Within BC Maps Displaying Data by Regions (Thematic

Maps)

Local Statistical and BackgroundInformation

Economic development commission

Downtown Kelowna Association

HRDC Okanagan Valley

Kelowna Chamber of commerce

Economic Profile 2004 (Central Okanagan)

Community Profiles

Garth HomerStatistics, Data, and Government

Information

Sanower Ali Azad