Modernizing the U.S. Census (1995) / Chapter Skim
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F Business Uses of Census Data
F Business Uses of Census Data
Pages 292-300
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From page 292... ...
. This appendix contains some examples of uses of census data by various segments of the business community-evidence of the great use of census data by businesses is provided by the Division of Research and Statistical Services of the South Carolina Budget and Control Board (the state data center for census information in South Carolina)
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From page 293... ...
or maps showing moderate-, high-, or low-income areas-can be produced using census data. Data also can be used to create consumer profiles, which can help in targeting advertising to current and potential customers; finding new customers; and analyzing locations, selecting sites, and competing against other businesses in a market area.
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From page 294... ...
Or a children's clothing retailer could use age data, income data, and retail statistics to select a location. A fast-food restaurant chain was able to better target employee recruiting efforts and improve service by analyzing concentrations of the population with desirable employee traits/lifestyle characteristics (including longevity of employment)
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From page 295... ...
More importantly, however, banks and financial institutions require median household income and income distributions by census tracts to ensure compliance with federal mortgage lending guidelines regarding race, and for meeting other regulatory requirements, particularly the Community Reinvestment Act, Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, and the Federal Insurance Improvement Act of 1992. For example, the Community Reinvestment Act mandates that financial institutions meet deposit and credit needs in the communities they serve.
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From page 296... ...
Using the average state performance of branches as a benchmark, the bank can determine the amount of increased business for areas performing below the state average if those areas grow to the state average level. This can help the bank determine areas for increased market analysis and marketing efforts, while also pinpointing markets that are performing at or above the state average that need to be maintained and protected from competitors (Thomas and Kirchner, 1991:11 1-1 13)
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From page 297... ...
HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS Health care providers use census data to determine the need for additional hospital services, physicians, urgent care facilities, or other type of medical services in an area. For example, a hospital used data to study population trends when looking into building an off-site facility in a rural area, so that better health care could be provided to residents in that area.
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Such clinics provide access to important medical services and establish reimbursement rates for services to ensure that clinics can remain in service. Community service organizations help small communities prepare grant applications for funding based on census data.
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From page 299... ...
The system was initially used by retail business and real estate developers in site selection applications, but it is also currently used by financial service organizations, media, government agencies, and health care providers. Another database system classifies neighborhoods into 47 different lifestyles, and is available at the blockgroup, census-tract, and zip-code levels, and can be linked with other data, including a company's own customer files (Thomas and Kirchner, 1991:215-2161.
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From page 300... ...
In addition, a business's information on its own customers can be incorporated into a specialized program designed by the client and National Decision Systems (Thomas and Kirchner, 199 1:21 8-219~. In addition, there are several marketing and demographic information firms that produce marketing and demographic analysis programs specifically for use by the health care industry.
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