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|
The Business
Researcher Newsletter |
| July
7, 2004 Volume 7 Number 5 |
RETURN
TO ARCHIVES
|
| Introduction:
Opening Comments |
| Hello,
Welcome to the June/July issue of our newsletter. I
hope everyone had a great Canada Day!
Some regular visitors to our site may have noticed
that we are now using Google technology for our site search engine.
While the search results do include targeted paid links, we feel the overall
quality of the search of our site more than makes up for the ads and greatly
improves the accessibility of all stats referenced. We hope you find this upgrade
useful.
John White
GDSourcing - Research & Retrieval
Return to Table of
Contents |
| What
is new at www.gdsourcing.com
: Construction, Wine
& Youth |
|
Reed Construction Data
Site:
http://www.cmdbr.com/
Site Summary:
http://www.gdsourcing.com
/works/reed.htm
Sample data from
construction market reports.
Canadian Vintners Association
Site:
http://www.canadianvintners.com/
Site Summary:
http://www.gdsourcing.com
/works/vintners.htm
Wine Statistics
Youthography
Site:
http://www.youthography.com
Site Summary:
http://www.gdsourcing.com
/works/Youthography.htm
Selected data and
insight into Canadian
teens and
young adults.
Return to Table
of Contents |
| Statistics
Canada Releases |
| The following
statistics were released by Statistics Canada over the last month. We have
listed those releases we feel are of the most interest to Canadian
entrepreneurs.
Very few of these statistics are available on-line.
The URL listed is a direct link to the press release associated with the
data. It provides contact and ordering information.
If you want to purchase any publication related to
these releases please see our web site: http://www.gdsourcing.com/works/StatCan.htm
We offer a 20% discount on most Stats Can publications
and a 10% discount on Stats Can electronic products. For more information
you can reach us at contact@gdsourcing.com. Put "StatsCan" in the subject
line of your e-mail.
AGRICULTURE
Study: Potential impact of mad cow disease on farm family income
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/040618/d040618c.htm
ARTS & CULTURE
CONSTRUCTION & REAL ESTATE
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
EDUCATION
GOVERNMENT
HEALTH
HOSPITALITY
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
JUSTICE
MARKET & DEMOGRAPHICS
Demographic statistics
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/040623/d040623b.htm
The retirement plans and expectations of
non-retired Canadians aged 45 to 59
http://www.statcan.ca:8096/bsolc/english/bsolc?catno=11F0019MIE2004223
MANUFACTURING
OTHER SERVICES
PRIMARY
TRADE
TRANSPORTATION
Return to Table
of Contents |
| Researching
Health Data |
|
Health
data can provide insight for many types of business. Before skipping over
the rest of this article consider whether health data could be of value in your
own business research.
Obviously it is essential for Health Care professionals. It allows
them to understand the financial performance of their peers and assess the
potential of their market.
There
are however many other businesses that can benefit from Health Sector data.
Basically,
Health Sector data is of value to any business whose target market involves
a specific health condition, specific health
behaviours (e.g. eating habits, physical activity) or involves selling a
product/service to other
health care businesses.
For
example a dog training service could find health data of use both in
determining market demand and as a marketing tool to educate the public on
the importance of training.
Searching on the worse case scenario of a untrained dog - biting - we
find a report on dog bites and attacks at the CHIRPP portion of the Health Canada site.
It indicates injuries
associated with dog bites and dog attacks were sustained most frequently by
5-9 year olds in the victim's home. In nearly a third of the
cases the family dog is involved.
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/pphb-dgspsp/injury-bles/chirpp/injrep-rapbles/dogbit_e.html
A dog
training business could use this data to then market to families with children in the
high risk age group alerting them to the importance of training the family
dog.
Other
non-health professional businesses that could benefit from health
data include medical device manufacturers, food processors meeting specific
dietary needs, and tour operators targeting disabled travellers.
There
are three principal sources for Health Sector data.
The
first is Health Canada. (
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/) This source specializes mostly in disease
surveillance (data on the number of incidences of a particular condition)
but it also includes information on economic impacts as well as other
specialized studies. Most diseases have their own section or report within
the Health Canada web site. For example Arthritis in Canada:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/pphb-dgspsp/publicat/ac/index.html
The most
effective way to search this site is to use their subject index and search
on the disease or condition you are interested in.
The
second primary source of Health Sector information is Statistics Canada.
For basic health data see the Health section of the Canadian Statistics
section of their web site:
http://www.statcan.ca/english/Pgdb/health.htm
While
the above data can be helpful, their online publication Health Indicators
(http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/82-221-XIE/free.htm)
is by far their best single source of Health Data. It provides current
information on health status (e.g. stress levels), lifestyle behaviours
(e.g. physical activity) and health care utilization (e.g. % of population
that visit alternative health care professionals).
This source is particularly
useful to business researchers because the data is available by local health
region. Health regions are defined by provincial ministries of health, and
represent geographic areas of responsibility for hospital boards or regional
health authorities. For a list and maps of Health Regions across Canada see:
http://www.statcan.ca/english/concepts/definitions/hlthreg-menu.htm
Statistics Canada conducts other health related surveys as well. One recent
study which received a great deal of media coverage is the Canadian
Community Health Survey. It covers data on many different health topics
including % of population having difficulty finding a family doctor, changes
in % smoking on a daily basis, obesity
rates and sexual orientation. (http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/040615/d040615b.htm).
Statistics Canada is also responsible for the Participation and Activity
Limitation Survey. This survey provides a variety of data on the disabled in
Canada such as support measures for adults with
disabilities (e.g. specialized equipment, help needed for everyday
activities, dwelling modifications, local and long distance
transportation)
Beyond major and on-going studies,
Statistics Canada also produces a number of specialized "one-off" reports such as “Patterns
of use: Alternative health care practitioners” (http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/011213/d011213b.htm).
The best
way to locate such reports from Statistics Canada is to keyword search
the Daily:
http://www.statcan.ca/english/dai-quo/. For further information on
Stats Can health data see the publication Guide to Health
information: http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/82-573-GIE/free.htm
The
third principle source for health data is the Canadian Institute for Health
Information. (http://secure.cihi.ca/cihiweb/splash.html)
This organization tracks data on health care professions and health
procedures (e.g. hysterectomies, injuries requiring a visit to the hospital
etc.) They also track data on health care economics. You can access many
of their reports at the CIHI web site. Some of their data is also provided through
the Stats Can Health Indicators online publication.
http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/82-221-XIE/free.htm (See right
hand column of table of contents page)
You will
find that the vast majority of the stats referenced above are only available
at a national or provincial level. If any local data is provided, a Health
Region is generally the smallest geographical area available. Local
community data is difficult to find. Health data is extremely sensitive
information and so to protect the privacy of individuals dissemination of
local figures is often limited.
Your
best option for local community data on specific conditions are local community organizations.
They can usually
provide you with an estimate of the number of people in your community who
have a certain condition. At the very least they can identify the number of members they have.
For
example you will not find any information from Statistics Canada or Health
Canada that will provide you with the number of autistic children in Halton
Region. But the Halton Chapter of the Autism Society of Canadian can
inform you they have approximately 150 member families and that there are
approximately 800 children in the region with autism. They can also let you
know the types of products or services that are lacking in the various communities
that make up the region
In
addition to market insights, local Chapters also provide an opportunity for
direct and effective marketing. Most health related organizations have at
least one major fundraising event a year. They are always appreciative of
donations both in funds or kind and their members often show this through
year round support of your product or service. The result is that you gain
positive and local exposure to your target market at a minimal cost to your
advertising budget.
For
basic local health data such as births and deaths see the annual publication
Canadian Demographics by the Financial Post. For data by Census Division
(regional municipality) you can use the Statistics Canada CANSIM table 051-0035. (Search on the table number
at: http://cansim2.statcan.ca)
The
release of new health data always generates interest and news coverage.
Many organizations and associations therefore commission studies and surveys
on specific health conditions or health care issues.
For example see the
poll results released from Johnson & Johnson: More than Half of Canadian
Parents Struggling to Get Baby to Sleep, Poll Shows
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2004/22/c7128.html It
includes data such as: "59% of respondents have
difficulty getting their baby to sleep one to four nights per week, and for
an unlucky one in twenty (6%), every night is a struggle."
You can
often locate these surveys by visiting the web sites of major organizations,
by conducting a periodical search in your local library or by searching the
Canada Newswire web site (http://www.newswire.ca/en/).
Search on keywords related to the condition or disease you are interested
in.
Other
Health data resources of note are:
Data
on financial benchmarks and business counts for your type of business can be
accessed through our Canadian Industry Profiles. They cover a wide variety of sectors by 6-digit
NAICS (http://www.gdsourcing.com
/SBDC.htm#CIP)
In
addition to market and industry data do not forget to research your local competitors. When
you are targeting a specific health service or condition you will often
find a limited number of competitors who have a well established reputation
in the market place. Make sure you understand what the perceived strengths
and weaknesses are of your competition so that you can identify the market
opportunities that exist for you.
The
best source for information on health competitors is to talk to your market
and local stakeholders such as health organizations and other vendors)
Do not dismiss the
value of health data just because you are not a doctor or a politician.
Stop and consider how health data may be related to your market. If
your market is in any way defined by a health condition, service or
behaviour, health data can help you to better understand the
opportunities that exist.
Return to Table
of Contents |
| Stats
Can Retail Give Away! |
|
As of June 25, 2004, Statistics Canada is
now publishing monthly retail trade data on the basis of the 2002 North
American Industry Classification System. This means that data based on the
former incarnation of NAICS will no longer be updated. Statistics Canada
recognizes that this puts many business researchers in a difficult situation
where their historical retail sales numbers have become obsolete overnight.
Therefore they have decided to allow researchers free access to historical
data based on the 2002 NAICS until July 26, 2004.
This data can be used
to assess growth patterns as well as the seasonality of retail sales for
particular store types. For some store types data is available by province
and for the metropolitan areas of Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. (Be
cautioned however, that if you get a CANSIM error message that no data is
available it usually means that you will need to pick a higher level of
geography. Some data are only available at a Canada-wide level.
An example of the type
of information included here is:
The easiest way to
access the relevant CANSIM tables is to go to the latest Daily release for
Retail Trade (http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/040625/d040625a.htm).
Scroll down to the bottom of the release and click on the CANSIM table link.
You can also go to the
CANSIM web site directly (http://cansim2.statcan.ca). Select “Find it by
Table Number” and enter 080-0014..080-0017 (Include the “..” so that the
range of tables is retrieved.)
The tables covered are:
-
080-0014 - Retail
trade, sales by trade group based on the North American Industry
Classification System (NAICS), monthly
-
080-0015 - Retail
trade, sales by trade group based on the North American Industry
Classification System (NAICS), quarterly (Dollars)
-
080-0016 - Retail
trade, sales in constant dollars and price index, monthly
-
080-0017 - Retail
trade, sales and sales trend, seasonally adjusted, by trade sector based
on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), monthly
(Dollars)
The data covers the
following retail store types:
-
New car dealers
[010]
-
Used and
recreational motor vehicle and parts dealers [020]
-
Gasoline stations
[130]
-
Furniture stores
[030]
-
Home furnishings
stores [040]
-
Computer and
software stores [050]
-
Home electronics
and appliance stores [060]
-
Home centres and
hardware stores [070]
-
Specialized
building materials and garden stores [080]
-
Supermarkets [090]
-
Convenience and
specialty food stores [100]
-
Beer, wine and
liquor stores [110]
-
Pharmacies and
personal care stores [120]
-
Clothing stores
[140]
-
Shoe, clothing
accessories and jewellery stores [150]
-
Department stores
[170]
-
Other general
merchandise stores [180]
-
Sporting goods,
hobby, music and book stores [160]
-
Miscellaneous store
retailers [190]
-
Total excluding
new, used and recreational motor
Take advantage of this
free access. There are only a couple more weeks left. CANSIM is normally an economic way to retrieve specific data
($3 per time series) but free is always a welcome price to any researcher!
By the way, if you want
you can also sign up to participate in a Fall research study on the use and
price of these particular CANSIM tables You can register at
marketing@statcan.ca
Return to Table of Contents
|
| Small
Business Stats Facts |
| Each Business
Researcher Newsletter ends with a collection of five statistics related to
Canadian small businesses.
- What types of experience do
Canadian business owners feel is non-applicable to the operation of their
business?
Source: Industry Canada (May 2004)
- How many small businesses began operation
in Canada over the last two years?
More than 25,000
Source: CIBC (June 2004)
- How many small businesses are expected to
begin operation over the next 5 years?
More than 100,000
Source: CIBC (June 2004)
- What % of those who started their own business in the past two years
indicated that harsh employment conditions led them to start their own
business?
How does this compare to the mid-nineties?
Source: CIBC (June 2004)
- What % all Canadian exporters do Small and Medium
Size Business represent? What % of value of all goods & services
exported?
Number of Exporters: 85%
Value of Exports: 44%
Source: TD Economics (June 2004)
Return to Table
of Contents |
|
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R E T R I E V A L
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contact@gdsourcing.com * |
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