Resources

Government Statistics for Market Research via USA.gov

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Links to valuable government statistics for market research can be found in the Data and Statistics section of the USA.gov website (those links can also be found below!). These resources are valuable whether doing market research or drafting a business plan. You’ll appreciate the value of the information and the time saved.

Here is a link to the government statistics for market research at USA.gov.

What is the Data and Statistics section of the USA.gov website?

The Data and Statistics section of the USA.gov website doesn’t really have any original data. It’s more of a gateway to other government websites that have the information you need.

It’s a good place to start if you are wondering if any data even exists about a specific topic. Some of the topics addressed are:

Economics

Information from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. This includes data on industries, trade, other economic data including the GDP.

The justice system

Provided by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Data on crime, victims, offenders, and the operation of the justice system at all levels – local through national.

Labor

Labor information comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS prides itself on the objective reporting of data. This data is used to support public and private decision making. Things such as price changes and labor market activity are addressed.

Transportation

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics provides information on airline performance, transportation safety, and much more. As part of the DOT, this site is the preeminent source of data on anything with wheels or wings.

Demographics

The Census Bureau is the granddaddy of all demographic information sources for the U.S. Additionally, you can also find a plethora of business data here too.

Energy

All things involving energy are covered on the Energy Information Administration website. They collect data on all sources of energy. Their goal is to provide impartial information and encourage sound policymaking.

Taxes

The Internal Revenue Service isn’t all that popular with the general public – for good reason. But, maybe you can get a little bit of value for your money by utilizing their statistics information. Included, is data on income, foreign companies controlled by U.S. companies, and exports. Plus, investments in the U.S. by foreign entities, among many other things.

Agriculture

The National Agricultural Statistics Service addresses nearly every aspect of U.S. agriculture. Production, prices, labor & wages, chemicals, and demographics are all part of the data they collect.

Additionally, the Economic Research Service, which is also part of the USDA, addresses agriculture issues too. The ERS’s focus is more on the future (trends and emerging issues) than the past.

Education

The National Center for Education Statistics addresses education. As you might have guessed. As part of the U.S. Department of Education, they are the number one aggregator of data on education in the federal government.

Health

The National Center for Health Statistics is part of the CDC. Their data is, of course, health-related. Information on nutrition, vital statistics, and death is also addressed.

Science & engineering

Here’s a data source that you might not have known about – the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. They exist to collect data on research & development activities and the STEM workforce. Also U.S. competitiveness in STEM fields, and STEM education.

Government spending

The authoritative site for U.S. government spending is USAspending.gov. As a taxpayer, you might find this a bit depressing. But, if your business revolves around government spending, you’ll appreciate the transparency.

State & local governments

The federal government isn’t the only public entity that has money burning a hole in its pocket. On the USA.gov website, you can find links to your state and local government websites. No guarantee that they’ll report with the same level of detail as the federal government. But, if you need it, you’ll at least have a starting point for research.

Social security

The Office of Research Evaluation and Statistics is part of the Social Security Administration. Their duties include reporting data related to social security payments, benefits, and more.

Maps

In addition, there is a collection of very cool maps from the Census Bureau, USGS, EPA, and other agencies.

market research data sources usa.gov maps
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Credit: usa.gov

Why should I use the USA.gov Data and Statistics?

No matter what you’re researching, I would suggest at least glancing at the USA.gov website. It will help you make sure you’ve got a complete picture. Most market research will revolve around information about consumers and businesses. However, information from other sources can help paint a complete picture.

You might even come across a resource that you didn’t know existed. This can ensure that you have rounded out your knowledge of your industry. Which, is particularly important if you are in the startup stage.

How to use these government statistics for market research

Since this website is merely a portal to other government resources, there’s not really any technical know-how needed. Obviously, that might change if you follow a link to another government website/tool.

I would suggest if you have the time, to browse all the federal agencies listed and consider how they might apply to your market research. Again, you might already have a comprehensive picture of your industry/market. But, information presented in a different context might compound your understanding of a particular subject.

Analyzing market research from the U.S. government

In addition to the USA.gov website, the Data.gov website also serves as a valuable resource. Here, you’ll find detailed information about the American public. About their workplaces, purchasing habits, and about any other aspect of life you can think of.

Are there any other resources for this type of information (government or private) that deliver the same value as the sites listed above?

What about overseas? It’s a big world out there and marketing to international customers could be very lucrative. Where can similar information be found for other countries?

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Church Strategic Plan Resources | Mission, SWOT, & Budgeting

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I write as thorough of content as I can about the subjects I cover. I also have a lot more helpful posts that I want to write.

But once I’ve written all those posts, there will still be other valuable resources out there. I’ve built my material off of some of these great resources and someday, if I’m fortunate, somebody will use my material to create content that’s even better than mine. And so it goes…

I still have to cover operational budgeting and financial budgeting in my series on church strategic planning. In the meantime, however, I thought it would be helpful to point you toward some other resources for church strategic planning that I’ve found helpful when putting this material together.

I hope these resources will make your church’s strategic planning task more efficient and will help fill in some of the gaps in my material.

Not all of these will revolve specifically around churches. In fact, most will be geared toward for-profit business. Don’t let that discourage you though. A lot of the principles are the same no matter what industry you’re in. Plus, it can be helpful to look at things from a different perspective.

Mission statement

MissionStatements.com

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This is a good resource to get you warmed up for drafting a mission statement of your own. Ideas might come more naturally to you once you’re in a “mission statement” mindset. You could be browsing this site while you’re brainstorming on your church’s mission statement.

This site displays mission statements for companies big and small across many diverse industries. Plus, there are mission statements for non-profits, schools, and even personal mission statement examples.

Oh yeah…there’s example church mission statements too! Remember when I mentioned in my mission statement post for churches, you can search the web for “[insert state here] church mission statement” to give you ideas? Well, before you spend all that time and effort, check out the dozens of examples here.

Each mission statement is rated by users. Think about why some might be rated higher than others. Jot down some notes about what you like and what you dislike.

With the diverse array of examples, you should have a general idea of what constitutes an inspiring mission for your church. That, coupled with everything else you know about drafting an effective mission statement should help you nail this step of the strategic planning process.

ChurchConsultants YouTube – Developing a church’s mission statement

If you’ve done any searching online regarding church strategic planning you’ve come across Aubrey Malphurs and/or Chuch Consultants.

I’ve referred to Aubrey’s content frequently as I’ve put together my own strategic planning posts. I figure Aubrey has more hands-on experience than I do in this arena (particularly in the “soft skills”). So I appreciate what he’s put out there.

This video is very short, but it offers some good tidbits on drafting a church mission statement. For instance, I like the emphasis on keeping it short while also stressing the importance of detailed language.

Set aside 6 minutes and 39 seconds to watch this.

SWOT analysis

BusinessBalls – Swot Analysis

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This is not the most coherent page ever. I get the impression that this site is run by a non-English speaker. Which is fine, but you’ve just got sort through some non-sensical material to get to the good stuff.

Nevertheless, if you’ve got the patience, there is some good food for thought here. I particularly like the downloadable (Word) template. It gives a lot of great examples of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Also good is the 2×2 matrix that outlines how the four components of the SWOT analysis can interact with one another.

RapidBI – SWOT Analysis History, Definition, Templates & Worksheets

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This is another site that gives a lot of great examples of factors to consider when doing a SWOT analysis for your church.

In particular, I like the use of the USED acronym for each component of the SWOT. E.g. How can we:

Use each Strength?
Stop each Weakness?
Exploit each Opportunity?
Defend against each Threat?

Also, RapidBI provides a thorough example of a SWOT analysis. It’s for a for-profit business, not a church, but it gives you the opportunity to see one in action.

Strategy formulation

Reference for Business – Strategy Formulation benefits

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This is a six-step guide to formulating a strategy that shares a lot of the same philosophies as my strategic planning and strategy formulation post.

I like the focus on the first step about defining your organization. In particular, I think that the emphasis on the customer (member) makes some really good points.

The post also raises the important point of managing the implementation of a strategy. Drafting a solid strategy is fine and good, but if it can’t be acted upon it really has no value. If Reference for Business has more content on the subject, I wish they would have linked to it.

marketing MO – Competitive Positioning

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This well-formatted and well-written post focuses on the competitive sub-strategy. This is especially valuable for churches. While a lot of people will be bound by their preferred denomination, there are others that are not. Understanding how to best position your church and make it stand out can help you get people in the door and in the pews.

Marketing MO emphasizes the need to understand what your organization’s identity is. You need to carve out an authentic niche and not try to be everything to everyone.

They go on to provide steps that your church can take to solidify its competitive position. These steps include defining your market, clarifying what value you’re providing, looking at the competition, and pinpointing where you want your church positioned in a complex environment.

Capital budgeting

University of Florida – Capital Budgeting for a New Dairy Facility

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What in the world do church management and dairy farming have in common? Admittedly, not much. But, when it comes to capital budgeting, both industries (in fact, all industries) should approach it in the same way.

This document goes into tremendous detail about all of the considerations that must be made when preparing a capital budget. One thing, in particular, I like is the suggestion that “what-if” analyses be run. Using a spreadsheet to make a capital budget makes this easy. You can simply make a copy of the original file and then start playing around with all the numbers. See what happens to the NPV if cash flow amounts and timing are changed. Make a best-case, worst-case, and most likely scenario so that your church can have a plan no matter what ends up happening.

Another great point that the author of this document makes is that the drivers of cash inflows and outflows should be considered. Sometimes thinking about the cause and effect can help in making more accurate forecasts. It can also help to serve as a reality check and to provide context to a situation.

Drivers are the factors that influence the amount of cash coming in or going out. An example cited in this document is using herd size, milk sold per cow, and the market price of milk as a driver for the amount of revenue received from the sale of milk. In other words, milk revenue is a function of these three variables.

Operating budget

AAUP Wiki – The Operating Budget

Link (Note: as of the time of this writing this link was broke. If that link won’t work, try this)

I haven’t been able to find many quality resources for church strategic planning related to operating budgets.

This document is written for managers in the printing and publishing industry. It’s certainly not a bad source of information, it’s just that since it’s written for a manufacturing organization, there are few parallels that can be drawn with church management.

Nevertheless, it is a detailed document that walks through the steps necessary to prepare a comprehensive operating budget. One aspect I really like is the emphasis on engaging those lower in the hierarchy when putting together forecasts for expenses. The people who work with these expenses day in and day out can provide valuable input when it comes to understanding how these costs might change over the coming year.

Financial budget

Amergy Bank of Texas – how to prepare a cash budget

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A bank understands that cash flow is the lifeblood of any organization – regardless of industry. This is a relatively short and simple PDF that walks readers through the process of creating a financial (cash) budget.

Financial budgets share a similar format no matter the industry. So, while the example used in this PDF isn’t for a church or non-profit, the principles are the same.

Not only is step-by-step guidance provided, but definitions are also given, and help in analyzing the cash budget once it’s completed is made available at the end of the document.

Wrap up – resources for church strategic planning

I strive to provide the information and tools I would want if I were in your position. What I would want or need might not include everything you would want or need, though. Fortunately, a lot of other people have produced material on these subjects (some of what’s been created is actually useful!). Just know that it might take a bit to wade through the superficial and unauthentic material to get to the good stuff.

I hope that these additional resources for church strategic planning will help fill in any gaps that are left after reading my posts. If there’s something you’d like me to cover in more detail – leave a comment and I’ll take it into consideration.

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