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UMSI Market Research Basics: Speed Date a Database!: Workshop 2

Understand Your Audience, Market and Community

Speed date a database!

For this workshop, we'll be exploring six databases for seven minutes each (with a few minutes on either side of the workshop for questions, etc.)  Each database has a "Seven minutes with..." description/exercise for you to work from. 

 

There is a also a Database Score Sheet to help you keep track. Use it to note your first impressions. What are your initial thoughts on the database's "looks," AKA its appearance? What about the database's content and functionality? Can you picture yourself spending some time with this database in the future? Add up your scores to see which ones stand out to you.

 

This may be the beginning of some beautiful research relationships!

Your dates for today!

Some databases focus on industries and markets from a consumer perspective. They may contain information on major companies, on different consumer segments, general demographic and socioeconomic data and more.

Some databases are like big phone books and can help you screen across companies by geography, industry, size and other criteria.

Note: RefUSA (under the Mapping tab) also has a good company directory in their US Businesses database.

Some databases focus less on the corporate world and more on the world of nonprofits and grant makers. 

Some databases are especially good at mapping business and consumer data. The two examples that we're looking at today only cover the United States, but if your market is here (or you want it to be), there is a lot of information to be discovered.