Free business research tools

Statistics New Zealand continues to release more information and make it easier for us all to access a wide range of statistics. It’s now even easier to find information that applies to our daily business needs – such as data drawn from many sources such as Census and IRD statistics.

We use these tools to profile and monitor our city’s population and economy changes. As a business owner this information can provide you with real insights into target markets, market sizes and demographic data that can match you with potential customers.

Business toolbox Market Mapper - a great place to start for finding target markets and industry profiles.

NZ.Stat (table builder) - a useful tool for accessing wide data ranges from various Government agencies. Give this a go if you have tried the toolbox and you want to find out more about what’s behind the numbers. For example if you find that there were more jobs in the Hutt this year, you could drill down and see that growth only occurred in retail and manufacturing sectors.

Infoshare is a treasure trove of raw data. This is the source of much of the information used to compile national reports on, for example, the number of building consents or electronic sales data. You can often use this to drill down to access local data too.

Video tutorials explain how these tools can be used and each of them are backed up by a really useful online help service. Check them out and keep them in mind as useful free information available to you anytime.

For more information, more great tips and more easy to use e-resources to help your business, get in touch with us.