Business Information for Entrepreneurs by an Entrepreneur

Every 10 years, the United States conducts a major census effort. However, the US Census' goal is not simply determining how much the population has grown. The results of each census produce valuable demographic and consumer information that you can use to help make business decisions.

Customer Profiles and Demographics

Particularly, the census data provides a wealth of valuable information for marketing purposes. You can get current estimated demographic results even now at the US Census Bureau. When the most recent results are in, check the website for your local area. This will give you tremendous insight to who your customers are.

Questions you might ask yourself before browsing the census results are, "what is the fastest-growing ethnic group?" or "what is the average income in my business area?" These and other questions can help you formulate targeted marketing messages that appeal to your local customer base. Perhaps you may find a great way to promote ethnic products or food. Or you may find that offering more luxury items will increase your profits based on the average incomes of your local customers.

Find Where to Open Your New Business

Are you planning to open a new business soon? Or perhaps expecting to add an additional location for your business? The US Census data will be a key tool to determine where your new business location should be. Although you may have a good idea where a smart location is, checking the census data will give you information on population densities, income, and even economic business growth in that area.

You may find that a specific neighborhood is actually in decline and may be an area to avoid. Or you could find alternate locations that you had not considered that are ideal for your business based on the residential data provided for that area.

Business decisions should always be made with the most pertinent and updated information available. The US Census is a valuable source of information that you should use for marketing, expansion, location, and even determining your industry.

Here are resources to get more information:

US Census Bureau
FedStats

This month, survey results announced that the number of small businesses using social media have doubled since 2008. This news was published on the Small Business Success Index co-sponsored by Network Solutions and the University of Maryland's Robert H. School of Business. The researchers asked 500 business owners during December of 2009 about their social media use, and the results were interesting.

Small businesses saw substantial growth in the frequency and use of social media as a way to reach customers. From December 2008 to the end of 2009, the number of small business owners using social media doubled from 12% to 24%. That's a lot of business owners actively participating in social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and company blogs.

How Small Businesses Socialize

Of the small businesses who actively participate in social media, 75% said they have a company page on a social network site. 69% said they actively update their company status and post articles or other links of interest on social media sites. And 57% said they are continually building a network through sites like LinkedIn.

Though Twitter usage is relatively small, with only 26%, it is still a growing trend, and businesses are continually exploring the uses of the site. Most of those who use Twitter say they post Tweets about areas of expertise, and 16% say they use Twitter as a service channel for customers.

Uses of Social Media

61% of business owners say that social media is used to attract new customers, while 46% use it to stay connected with current customers. 52% say they use social media to develop awareness of their business.

The Bottom Line and Social Media

Does using social media ultimately affect the bottom line? Most business owners think so. 70% of business owners who use social media say it meets or exceeds expectations, while only 26% say it falls short of expectations. 53% said social media has paid for itself, while 22% believe they have shown a profit from social media use.

And though most small businesses are not profitable through social media, 45% said they expect social media to be profitable in 2010. Are you going to be one of the profitable ones?

You've read all the hype about becoming active within social websites, but you're still skeptical about the actual effectiveness of social marketing. According to a study that will be published in the March 2010 edition of the Harvard Business Review, social website marketing could benefit your small business.

The study was sponsored by the Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University. What they found was that creating a fan page on Facebook can increase sales, improve branding and customer loyalty, as well as improve word-of-mouth marketing.

The study centered on Dessert Gallery, a bakery and café chain based in Houston, Texas. Prior to the study, the business did not have a Facebook presence. The Rice University researchers asked regular customers of Dessert Gallery to become Facebook fans of the restaurant, and out of about 13,000 regular customers, 1,700 did become fans.

During the three-month period Dessert Gallery jumped into the Facebook frenzy, updating its fan page several times each week. The owners included photos of baked goods and offered promotions to the fans.

The results of the Facebook study were interesting and may surprise you. Those who did become Facebook fans made 36 percent more visits to the restaurant each month and spent 45 percent more of their eating-out budget at Dessert Gallery. Facebook fans also had 41 percent higher loyalty toward the Dessert Gallery brand, as well as a 14 percent higher emotional attachment.

What this means is that your small business can gain greater customer loyalty and increase business through Facebook. However, you as a small business owner must realize that your Facebook fans are a particular niche, and they will most likely represent a small percentage of your overall customer base. The Rice University study emphasizes that only 5 percent of about 13,000 total customer base joined as Facebook fans.

The bottom line is that joining Facebook can lead to an effective and low-cost marketing method. Social media can help improve customer loyalty, increase business, and help spread word of mouth - all for virtually zero dollars. If you were previously unconvinced about the effectiveness of Facebook, now you have graduate study proof that a free Facebook page can work for you.