* What's New at gdsourcing.com

* Statistics Canada releases

* Finding out more about your market: Psychographics

* Canada E-Book

* Small Business Stats Facts

For data table spacing, this newsletter is best viewed in Courier 10

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INTRODUCTION - EDITOR'S COMMENTS

Hello,

Well summer has finally arrived, hockey season is over and football season
has just begun.  I hope everyone has a safe and happy summer.  Put on the
sunscreen, your hat and bug spray and get outside and enjoy it!

Of course the big news in the world of market research is that the 2001
Census is finally fully released!  Well almost, income information for the
smallest of Census geographic areas will not be out until July - but for all
intents and purposes it is fully released.

This means it is now possible to purchase a complete 27 page demographic
profile of any market in Canada.  The data covers everything from age and
gender to religion and income, mother tongue to hours spent on childcare,
from occupation to mode of transportation to commute to work.

For a sample of all the variables covered in a full Census profile and for
pricing information contact me at   Please put "Census
Info" in your subject line.

I hope you find this issue helpful.

Sincerely,

John White
Editor
 

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WHAT'S NEW AT GDSOURCING.COM - CELL PHONES & INVESTORS, ENGINEERS & CARS



ERICSSON CANADA
Site: http://www.ericsson.com/ca/en/index.shtml
Site Summary:  http://www.gdsourcing.ca/works/Ericsson.htm
Highlights from survey of Canadian wireless subscribers

MANULIFE FINANCIAL
Site: http://www.manulife.ca
Site Summary: http://www.gdsourcing.ca/works/Manulife.htm
Quarterly Investor Sentiment Index


CANADIAN COUNCIL OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS
Site: http://www.ccpe.ca/
Site Summary: http://www.gdsourcing.ca/works/Engineers.htm
Canadian Engineers for Tomorrow - Engineering Enrolment and Degrees Awarded
Report

POLK CANADA
Site: http://www.polk.ca/home.asp
Site Summary: http://www.gdsourcing.ca/works/Polk.htm
New vehicle registrations in Canada

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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: https://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
. Put "StatsCan" in the
subject line of your e-mail.


AGRICULTURE

Production of poultry and eggs 2002
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030516/d030516d.htm

Fruit and vegetable production 2003 and 2002 (revised)
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030613/d030613d.htm

Food consumption 2002
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030612/d030612e.htm

Meat consumption 1960 to 2002
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030527/d030527e.htm

Net farm income 2002
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030527/d030527a.htm

Farm Input Price Index 2002 (preliminary)
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030602/d030602d.htm

Farm and off-farm income statistics 2000
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030609/b030609a.htm

Balance sheet of the agricultural sector at December 31
2002 and 2001 (revised)
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030619/d030619i.htm

Agriculture value added account 2002 and 2001 (revised)
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030619/d030619j.htm

Farm business cash flows 2002 and 2001 (revised)
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030619/d030619k.htm



ARTS & CULTURE

Canadian recording artists 1998
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030620/d030620e.htm

Movie theatres and drive-ins 2000/01
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030604/d030604a.htm

Television broadcasting 2002
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030616/d030616b.htm



BUSINESS SERVICES

Annual Survey of Service Industries: Specialized design services 2001
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030515/d030515g.htm

Biotechnology research and development in industry 2000
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030605/d030605g.htm

Employment services 2001
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030617/d030617c.htm



CONSTRUCTION / REAL ESTATE


Real estate rental and leasing and property management industries 2001
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030605/d030605h.htm

Residential capital stock 2002
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030611/d030611d.htm



COMPUTER / IT

Insights on the New Economy: Information and communications technology and
science-based industries 1981 to 1997
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030515/d030515b.htm




EDUCATION

Access to college and university: Does distance matter?
1995 to 1999

http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030604/d030604b.htm

Relationship between working while in high school and dropping out 2000
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030526/d030526a.htm

University finance 2001/02
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030611/d030611b.htm

Rural and urban educational attainment: Patterns and trends 1981 to 1996
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030612/d030612f.htm



ENERGY

Electric power generating stations 2001
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030520/d030520f.htm

Electric power selling price indexes January to April 2003
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030529/d030529g.htm



GOVERNMENT

Government finance: Revenue, expenditure and surplus 2002/03
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030618/d030618a.htm

Federal government enterprises finance
Fiscal year ended nearest to December 31, 2001
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030619/d030619c.htm

Provincial and territorial government enterprises finance
Fiscal year ended nearest to December 31, 2000
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030619/d030619d.htm



HEALTH

Health indicators 2003, number 1
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030528/d030528c.htm

Social support and mortality among seniors
1994/95 to 2000/01
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030523/d030523a.htm



HOSPITALITY & TOURISM

Characteristics of international travellers
Fourth quarter 2002 and annual 2002
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030528/d030528b.htm

Domestic travel Fourth quarter and year 2002
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030606/d030606d.htm



JUSTICE

Crime and justice research paper series
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030619/d030619l.htm

Youth court statistics 2001/02
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030620/d030620d.htm



MANUFACTURING

Advanced technology and firm performance in the food processing sector 1998
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030603/d030603a.htm



MARKET

2001 Census Aboriginal population profile
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030617/d030617d.htm

Canada E-Book
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030526/b030526a.htm

Census of Population: Income of individuals, families and households;
religion 2001
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030513/d030513a.htm

National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth: Challenges of late
adolescence 2000/01
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030616/d030616a.htm

Low-income rates among immigrants 1980 to 2000
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030619/d030619a.htm

Maintenance Enforcement Survey: Child and spousal support 2001/02
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030617/d030617b.htm

Couples living apart 2001
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030610/d030610c.htm

Marriages 2000
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030602/d030602a.htm



TRADE

Do Canadians pay more than Americans for the same products?
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030522/d030522c.htm

Foreign affiliate trade statistics 1999 to 2001
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030528/d030528d.htm



TRANSPORTATION

Airport activity statistics First and second quarter 2002 (preliminary)
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030520/d030520e.htm

Canadian Vehicle Survey 2002
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030604/d030604f.htm

Civil aviation statistics 2001 (preliminary)
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030605/d030605e.htm

Civil aviation operating statistics 2002
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030514/d030514g.htm

Port activity January to June 2002
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030514/d030514c.htm

Passenger bus industry 2001 (preliminary)
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030605/d030605f.htm

Trucking industry 2001
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030603/d030603g.htm



WORK PLACE

Non-wage job benefits 2000
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030521/d030521c.htm

 

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FINDING OUT MORE ABOUT YOUR MARKET: PSYCHOGRAPHICS

When you are conducting market research you want more information than basic
market size and growth.  You need to understand your market's attitudes,
interests and opinions. The aim is to more narrowly define your target
market so you can more effectively sell to your best customers. This more
in-depth information is often referred to as psychographics.

While psychographics can be the most revealing information about your
market, they can also be the most challenging to find.

The most readily available psychographic information is in the publication
FP Markets - Canadian Demographics by the Financial Post.  This annual
publication actually has two sets of consumer "PSYTE" categories.  The first
examines lifestyle patterns and segments the population into 60 different
categories.  For example:

THE AFFLUENTS:  Very affluent and educated middle-aged executive and
professional families.  Expensive, large lightly mortgaged houses in very
stable, older, executive sections of larger cities.  Older children and
teenagers.

The second set of PSYTE categories provide a different segmentation based on
financial psychographics.  For example:

MORTGAGES & MINIVANS: Large suburban families with young children.  The
average household income is above average but dwelling values are
significantly below average.... Dual incomes predominate and jobs are a mix
of white and grey collar... The tendency towards larger families results in
significant expenditures on child care, toys and sports equipment.

FP Markets - Canadian Demographics provides you with the number and
percentage of households that fall into each category by city or town.
(E.g. 0.61% of households (342) in St Catharines, Ontario are classified as
"The Affluents").  You can access this publication at most major libraries
and business development centres.  You can also purchase it online at:
http://www.financialpost.com/product/prodframe.htm ($199)

The publication used to include business psychographics as well.
Unfortunately they stopped publishing such information with the 1999 issue.

While the above psychographics are useful oftentimes you will want more
specific insights.  If you have the budget, the best option is to hire a
research firm to conduct a poll or survey for you.  (This is not a sales
pitch from GDSourcing.  We do not conduct any primary research).  Be aware
however this option can be very expensive ($000s).

If your research budget is limited, it is sometimes possible to uncover
detailed data free of charge.  Instead of (or at least before) hiring a
polling firm to conduct a survey, look at the information they have already
collected.

The big names in Canada are:

Ipsos-Reid (http://www.ipsosreid.com)
Leger Marketing (http://www.legermarketing.com),
Pollara (http://www.pollara.ca)
Decima Research (http://www.decima.ca)
Environics (http://erg.environics.net)
NFO CF Group (http://www.cfgroup.ca)
Compas Research (http://www.compasresearch.com)
SOM (http://www.som-inc.com)

The poll results available at the Ipsos-Reid web site are by far the most
comprehensive.  Detailed tables often include results by region, gender, age
group, income and education.  The available releases range from who wears
sandals to mow the lawn to home buying intentions of 18 to 25 year olds and
the features they look for in a new home.

While each of the above web sites has its own search engine, I find it
easiest to use the "only return results from this domain" feature of
Google.com.  This gets Google to search and return results from only one
site.  Simply type in your search words then "site:" and the site address
(without the http://).  I run the search on one site then cut and paste the
next site's address into the search string to search the next polling firm's
releases.

For example if we were interested in Canadians filing taxes especially via
the Internet we would use the following search:


SEARCH STRING FOR NFO CFGROUP:

tax returns Internet site:www.nfocfgroup.com



GOOGLE RESULTS:

NFO CFgroup - Resources
... were $20 to $25 per month, suggests a study of Canadian Internet users
conducted ... Dread
Doing Their Taxes When it comes to preparing their tax returns each year ...
www.nfocfgroup.com/news/news.html - 16k - 18 Jun 2003

PDF]News Release
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
... cent of tax filers have already filed, or plan to file, their 2001
personal income
tax return over the Internet. Last year, 24 per cent of returns were filed
...
www.nfocfgroup.com/news/-taxes.pdf



SEARCH STRING FOR IPSOS-REID:

tax returns Internet site:www.ipsosreid.com



GOOGLE RESULTS:

Ipsos-Reid - Press Release
... those who have been connected to the Internet for three ... way of
filing, although mailed-in
returns have decreased ... and revenue potential the online tax tool can ...
www.ipsos-reid.com/media/content/ displaypr.cfm?id_to_view=1212 - 26k



SEARCH STRING FOR LEGER MARKETING:

tax returns Internet site:www.legermarketing.com



GOOGLE RESULTS:

No result BUT when we drop the keyword "Internet" and search on:

tax returns  site:www.legermarketing.com



GOOGLE RESULTS:

[PDF]Canadians and Income Tax
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
... by an acquaintance ...by an accountant ...by a firm specialized in
income
tax returns Dnk/Refusal Canada 37.5% 12.4% 33.5% 13.5% 3.0% Page 4. ...
www.legermarketing.com/english/ call.asp?type=1&page=40


As a sample of the data this type of search uncovers consider the first
result from NFO CFgroup.  In 2003 35% of Canadians filed their taxes via the
Internet, a 4% increase over 2002.

What is even more interesting are the reasons people filed online and the
reasons they didn't.  These insights into people's attitudes give us a
marketing edge whether we are trying to promote Internet filing or counter
it with our own services.  The top reason for filing via the Internet was
"faster refund" while the top reason for not doing so was lack of computer
or Internet access.

Some polling firms have also released publications which draw on data from
many different polls.  One recent release is Fire and Ice: The United
States, Canada and the Myth of Converging Values by Michael Adams
(President, Environics Group of Companies).  It examines social values in
Canada and the United States.  For more information on the publication see:
http://erg.environics.net/fire_ice/

Pychographics are also important for the business market.  If you can get
insight into issues and attitudes prevalent within a sector or within
specific types of businesses it can give you an information edge in your
marketing strategy.

The above sources are not particular effective for searching out this kind
of information for the business market.  Nevertheless the Compas Research
site does include opinion polls of top business leaders (e.g. "Banks:
Business Leaders Welcome Mergers While Wanting More Competition and Better
Service") and the Ipsos-Reid site includes the odd business survey.  One
example is the Alberta Technology Report.

This study reveals the opinions of senior technology executives on how the
province's technology industry is currently performing and what's expected
in the future.

For example it states "Only half (49 per cent) of the respondents said that
their companies were adequately capitalized - and 68 per cent said that
access to capital was significant to the future of their companies. The
challenge of attracting investment capital may be tied to the inability of
many Alberta-based technology companies to achieve significant
globalization."

It should be noted that most business psychographic studies are sponsored by
consulting firms who are trying to demonstrate their corporate knowledge and
establish market credibility.  The above mentioned survey found on the
Ipsos-Reid site was sponsored by Ernst & Young who have made the full report
available online free of charge:
http://www.ey.com/global/content.nsf/Canada/Alberta_Technology_Report_-_Over
view

The purpose behind most of these studies is to get corporate publicity so
firms generally try to make the results widely known.  One release vehicle
often used is Canada Newswire (http://www.newswire.ca/).

Use the Google site specific search technique described above to search the
Canada Newswire site.  I make this suggestion for two reasons:

1. The Canadian Newswire site search engine is quite simple.  By using
Google you can search on phrases and more word combinations.

2. Canada Newswire does not archive news releases past 24 months while
Google keeps them in its cache.  If a link does not work from the Google
search results click on "Cached" to the right of the Internet address to
access the information via Google.

With Canada Newswire you will always want to follow up with the source
releasing the report or study.  They will be able to provide you with
further information and options for accessing more detailed information.
Oftentimes you can get these reports free of charge.

For example if we wanted to get insight into business outsourcing practices
we might use the search string:



SEARCH STRING FOR CANADA NEWSWIRE:

"Trends in outsourcing" site:www.newswire.ca



GOOGLE RESULT:

Outsourcing Is Preferred Method to Improve Business Processes, ...
... Among other findings the study addressed were offshore outsourcing, the
trends of
outsourcing core business processes, and measuring the value of outsourcing.
...
www.newswire.ca/releases/March2003/28/c5003.html - 12k - Cached - Similar
pages



Accenture is the sponsor of the above report and by going to their web site
(http://accenture.ca/xd/xd.asp?xd=_home.xml) we find we can have the full
report mailed to us free of charge.

Whether you are researching the consumer or business markets, do not get
discouraged if the above sources prove fruitless.  One of the rules of
market research is "don't give up!"  The next strategy is to conduct a
comprehensive newspaper/magazine search using a periodical database.  Most
public libraries provide access to such databases some even via their web
site.  Again you are looking for sources of psychographic data.  Follow up
directly with any sources that appear promising.

Finally do not forget to talk to people in your market and industry. Talk!
Talk! Talk!  Personal contact is one of the most effective ways to discover
psychographic information.

Successful market research relies on more than market size and growth.  You
need to understand your customers as fully as possible.  It is much easier
to sell to someone who truly wants your product and is confident you
understand his or her needs.

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CANADA E-BOOK


Statistics Canada has a new easy-to-use feature on their web site called the
Canada E-book. (http://.67/r000_e.htm)  For those of you familiar
with Statistics Canada publications this is an electronic version of the
Canada Year Book.  The Canada Year Book was first published in 1867 to
celebrate confederation.  To this day it remains one of the nation's top
sources of information on social trends and the economy.

The E-book lives up to the 136-year tradition of the original.  It provides
an "in-depth overview" of Canada, its land, people, economy and government.
It also takes advantage of the Internet to link to the most up-to-date
tables and graphs found on the Statistics Canada web site.

In addition to statistical tables, commentaries and insights are provided on
specific topics:



For example:

House Dads

The number of families with stay-at-home mothers has declined over recent
decades, as single-earner families have become less common. Meanwhile,
between 1976 and 1997, the proportion of families with stay-at-home fathers
increased from 1% of all families to 6%.

The average father who stays at home to look after the children is 42 years
old. He is less likely to have a postsecondary education than a father who
is earning outside the home (40% compared with 55%), and less likely to have
been in a managerial or professional position...



The E-book can be browsed by table, graph, text topic, photographs or sound
bytes.  You can also search by keyword.  While the information is by no
means comprehensive it is an efficient way to get quick facts on Canada.

The only draw back of the E-book is that most of the main text is based on
the 2001 Canada Year Book so some of the references are old (e.g. they refer
to 1996 Census data when 2001 is now available).  However with an effective
electronic framework now in place it should be easy for Stats Can to update
it when the 2003 year book is released.  The data tables themselves have
already been updated where possible (E.g. 1996 Census data is provided with
2001 Census updates.)

I highly recommend this new feature of the Stat Can site.  It is an easy way
to access essential Canadian facts.

 

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SMALL BUSINESS STATS FACTS

Each Business Researcher Newsletter ends with a collection of five
statistics that every entrepreneur should be aware of.

1. How many hours of training do small businesses average a year for a new
employee?

Small businesses average 113 hours of informal training and 23 hours of
formal training per year for a new employee.

Source: CFIB (May 2003)


2 What percentage of business owners in Canada consider regulations/red tape
as a major constraint on expansion?

34%

Source: Grant Thornton  (May 2003)


3. What % of Small and Medium-sized businesses in Toronto experienced a
decrease in customer traffic due to the SARS outbreak?

66%

Source CFIB (May 2003)


4. What % of Canadian senior executives who lost their jobs in 2000 opted to
start a new business?

12%

Source: Drake Beam Morin  (April 2001)


5.  In 2002 what was the most common "nature of complaint" filed with the
Ombudsman of Banking Services and Investments by Canadian small businesses?

Complaints pertaining to "Account & transactions" - 33%
(Second was "Card services" 22%)

Ombudsman of Banking Services and Investments (Annual report 2002)

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