Who Are the Collectors of Information?

If you offer services to small businesses, as we do here at the Hill Library, you probably know that the SBA is a great collector of information regarding this group of organizations. And you’ve probably already seen this full listing of 2007 SBA research reports on small business. Using these reports, our library can get a pretty good idea of the issues facing small business in America today, which can help us to better serve these clients.

Is there an organization that collects information about your clients, and can help you to get to know them better? I’d bet so. And I’d further bet that that organization is most likely either a governmental body or an industry association.

The Gateway to Associations is a useful tool for finding industry associations. From this page, scroll down and keyword search for the industry you serve. If you can find an association for that industry (and I bet you will), visit that association’s site and look for links to research, publications, or press releases.

To find a governmental office dealing with your industry of interest, try searching by industry heading in Google’s U.S. Government Search; or dig through Yahoo’s government agency or department directories; or browse this federal government agency index.

Here are some examples of industries and the .gov sites that track them:
For statistics on the construction industry, check out HUD
For research on the telecommunications industry, visit the FCC
For information on the banking industry, investigate the FDIC
 
In many cases the government or a trade association is doing a big portion of your customer research for you. Finding that source - that collector of information - is the key.