by: Miriam Buhr

As business owners, the idea of knowing your target market is quite important for the ultimate survival of a business. If you know who they are then it is easier to meet their needs by way of your service or product. Using research is a great way to identify issues, characteristics, behavior, beliefs, and of course lots more about the people that you serve as customers or clients. If the main population that you serve is women then The Center for Women’s Business Research has research publications that you can acquire and use as a resource.

“For nearly 20 years, the Center for Women’s Business Research has produced cutting edge, research-based intelligence showcasing the achievements and documenting the challenges, characteristics, and trends of women business owners and their firms on topics such as: Access to Capital, Access to Markets, Financing and Risk-taking, Nontraditional Industries, Growth of Firms Owned by Women of Color, Leadership and Decision-Making Styles, and Trends in Women’s Entrepreneurship.”

For example below are current statistics from the Center for Women’s Business Research’s website about women business owners:
• 10.1 million firms are owned by women (50% or more), employing more than 13 million people, and generating $1.9 trillion in sales as of 2008.
• One in five firms with revenue of $1 million or more is woman-owned.
• 3% of all women-owned firms have revenues of $1 million or more compared with 6% of men-owned firms.

“The Center for Women’s Business Research is a 510(c)(3) nonprofit, tax-exempt organization established in 1989 to validate and accelerate the economic power of women’s entrepreneurship by conducting groundbreaking research, sharing myth-busting information, and creating new knowledge.”

When attempting to identify your target market, it helps to have resources that can reveal aspects of this population of people that will help you serve them in the best possible way. The available resources from this organization are by no means inexpensive. I would venture to say that you may be able to find this type of information in other places if you have the time and desire to search the internet for it.  One thing is certain and that is that the Center for Women’s Business Research has survived for about 20 years offering quality service and products by way of their rigorous research. They have definitely exposed the state of affairs of women-owned business all the while bringing focus and integrity to this sector of the population.

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Filed under: Marketing Tips and Ideas • Resources

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