New service provides in-depth market analysis
The New York-based firm Find/SVP announces the launch of its new Business Plan Support Program. The firm's Strategic Research Division (SRD) helps companies take an objective look at their industry by analyzing key factors affecting their business. The program comprises four components. SRD first studies the business environment, outlining economic, political, and technological forces which have an impact on a market (including pending legislation, EPA rules, foreign trade restrictions, emerging technologies, and inflation). Next, an analysis of the overall market estimates the demand for products and services and the outlook for growth based upon product life cycles and industry dynamics. This is followed by an investigation of the competition, revealing their relative strengths and weaknesses as well as past, present, and future market shares. Finally, an assessment of the company's customers examines customer needs, segments the market into groups, and identifies the most attractive business opportunities to pursue in the future.
Companies can purchase any one of the four components separately, or together as a package. The end result is a formal written report that can be inserted directly into the client's business plan or used on its own as a free-standing analysis.
Mainframe capabilities from PC-based mapping software
Strategic Mapping, Inc., San Jose, Calif., announces Atlas*GIS, a desktop GIS (Geographic Information System) that gives business users the capabilities of mainframe mapping software with the ease-of-use of a desktop mapping program. Designed for non-technical users, the package combines a database, drawing and editing tools, and map presentation and analysis software, allowing anyone with a geographical database to publish maps and create database reports. The system uses the U.S. Census Bureau's new TIGER files, computerized street maps of the entire country which incorporate digital cartographic data including streets, roads, waterways, railroads, up-to-date boundaries for census tracts, cities and postal zones.
The PC-based strategic mapping system uses pop-up menus and on-screen windowing to create a simplified user interface. The software analyzes and displays geographic relationships such as concentrations of customers, emerging demographic patterns, the buying power of neighborhoods, and market penetration. Users can highlight areas where important events occur, track customer, or interpret market intelligence or other vital statistics. Business applications include retail site selection, distribution channel tracking, target marketing, sales territory design, and mailing list selection. Atlas*GIS will ship in March 1990.
Firms unite for hospital research and planning
Connecting research, planning, and communications is the goal of four con-sulting firms that have formed The Strategy Team. This group will help hospitals identify and act upon business opportunities in their markets; evaluate, improve, and refine current program offerings; and assess product line, program, and service opportunities. The participating firms are KCA Research, Vacca Associates, Geriatric Health Systems, and Gwen Amos Design.
New research tool for financial institutions
Customer Insight Company (CIC), Englewood, Col., has introduced Market-Savvy, a marketing research analysis and reporting tool for financial institutions. The program's quarterly databases are an accumulation of hundreds of market-specific survey responses regarding consumers' uses of financial services. This information is then compiled and reported in a series of graphs and reports that show the financial institution its position within the marketplace. The databases are also accessible via CIC's Customer Insight and Ondesk marketing customer information file systems. Both of these systems include cross-tab reporting system that allows marketers to view research information on a single report, rather than gathering information from multiple reports.
Merger expands business database
National Decision Systems has entered two new business relationships that will enable the company to introduce a comprehensive database of U.S. business locations to the marketplace by June, 1990. These two relationships are with Trinet, Inc. of Parsippany, New Jersey, and American Business Lists, Inc. (ABL) of Omaha. The affiliations will merge the business information databases of the two companies to create a new, unduplicated business marketing database of approximately 10.5 million business locations. Trinet, a supplier of verified business information, has developed a database of 7.6 million businesses. ABL builds business databases directly from the telephone Yellow Pages; their database contains a total of 8.4 million business locations.
With the new database, the specific latitude and longitude of each business location will be calculated and appended to each record to enable marketers to retrieve and analyze information for any desired area of any shape or size located anywhere in the U.S. This resource will be available on NDS' desktop marketing system called Infomark.