Library Classroom Connection

Finding STAT-USA

I just got a question about how to find STAT-USA on our business school website... You're right, it's not there! I'll fix that, but it will take a few days.

There IS a link to it from our main library web site: STAT-USA. Because it is run by the U.S. government, you can also find it online, via Google, etc. The passwords we shared in class will work from either location.  If you can't find your passwords,  email me mollman@wustl.edu - I'd rather not post them on a public blog.

One other 'heads up', we currently have access for only one person at a time (this is one of the few government services with subscription rates). If you can't get in immediately, just try again later. I'll investigate the cost of more access for the next class. I know, it doesn't help you now! Thanks for being patient-

Finding local demographic information

When you need demographic or lifestyle information specifically about the St. Louis area, you can find it several ways...

• Demographics USA Zip edition- HF 5415.3 D 463 2005
• Lifestyle Market Analyst- HF 5415.33.U6 L54
• NEW... online, check out 'neighborhood lifestyle' profiles by zipcode at ESRI Sourcebook America (http://www.esri.com/data/community_data/index.html) Ignore the links to buying the product- we have these CDs at the reserve desk allowing you to work with the data in a mapping format. You won't need the CDs to run some interesting analysis of 'neighborhood tapestries'- just put in your zipcode and it will give you the three top profiles for your area.  It's pretty nifty... here's a sample:

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Segment 09 Urban Chic

Urban Chic residents are well-educated professionals living an urbane, exclusive lifestyle. Most own expensive single-family homes with a median value of $633,000. Married-couple families and singles comprise the majority of households. The median age is 41.4 years. Urban Chic residents travel extensively, visit museums, attend dance performances, play golf, and go hiking. They use the Internet frequently, to trade or track investments or to make purchases (especially concert and sports tickets, clothes, flowers, and books). They appreciate a good cup of coffee, while reading a book or newspaper, and prefer to listen to classical music, all-talk, or public radio programs. Being civic-minded, they are likely to work as volunteers.

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MKT Analyzing the Competition

http://www.bnet.com/2410-13238_23-57058.html?promo=808&tag=nl.e808

This is a segment of a larger article on Profiling Competitors...

Analyze Competitors’ Promotional Activities

By monitoring your competitors’ advertising, promotions, exhibition presence, press activities, and Internet information, you can assess their strategies. These are some of the possible scenarios:

• Heavy advertising expenditure could indicate a competitor trying to win greater share or attempting to remedy losses in that market.
• Price promotions may indicate that your competitors want to be perceived as value-for-money suppliers, or they may be an emergency response to declining sales.
• Press announcements about new production facilities could indicate that your competitors are trying to increase their business significantly. They may become more cost-effective and able to offer lower prices, or may be taking on additional overhead that they must finance.
• Announcements about new branch or dealership openings could mean that competitors are expanding into new territories.
• Recruitment drives may signal a change in direction, a growth strategy, or a sudden loss of staff.

To gain a better idea of your competitors’ financial health, you may be able to obtain information from credit reference agencies.