Grapevine businesses stay competitive with free market intelligence tools

Grapevine businesses stay competitive with free market intelligence tools Main Photo

20 Jan 2025


News, Blog

High-quality market research data and business intelligence provide insights everyone needs to launch and grow, whether you’re in startup mode or expanding rapidly. Compiling this information in-house or enlisting the service of a professional firm can be prohibitively expensive for small businesses, leaving room for missed opportunities. But Grapevine Economic Development is committed to helping local businesses succeed and offers free online SizeUp access here to companies ready to take market data to the next level. SizeUp, a business intelligence tool, provides a variety of information small businesses can use to scout the best locations, target customers, locate suppliers, and assess potential revenue. 

How does SizeUp work?

SizeUp is incredibly easy to use. Input basic business data into the search box – starting with industry and location – and the tool will provide an assortment of information. Competition analysis identifies similar businesses in the same geographic area and highlights potential customers and suppliers. Advertising data includes the zip codes of local communities with the top revenue in a given industry and can identify revenue per capita, underserved markets, average revenue, total employees, and household income in the same regions. Demographics utilizes a heat map to display essential demographical data, such as household income, labor force details, and household sizes at the micro level.

How can SizeUp help a Grapevine startup?

A vast number of decisions must be made when launching a small business. For startups, SizeUp can provide the insights necessary to inform key decisions, such as potential locations, suppliers, and more. Under the competition tab, there is a list of competitors in the same industry. Each entry can be clicked on to reveal more data, such as years in business, type of business, and social media pages. Businesses are displayed on a map, making it easy to note potentially underserved areas for later review.

Business-to-business startups can list categories of companies with the potential to become customers under the “Customers” tab and see map results to use when location scouting or planning sales calls. Similarly, the “Suppliers” tab shows local wholesale and retail options for restocking. 

How does SizeUp boost marketing efforts?

The “Advertising” tab in SizeUp contains essential data for businesses ready to level up and attract new customers. A diverse set of filtering tools makes identifying areas with potential customers simple, an essential step for targeting traditional or digital advertising. In addition to sorting neighboring cities by annual revenue in a specific industry, additional filters allow for sorting by distance and key demographic data such as household income, household expenditures, median age, education, and employment type. 

Can SizeUp tools benefit an established business?

Beyond tapping into key advertising data, SizeUp’s demographic sorting can help existing enterprises identify new customers or find the best region for a second store or office. On the demographics tab on SizeUp, heat maps are generated when clicking on demographic data, including housing units, education level, household size, and work status. This information can identify additional areas where potential customers are located. When partnered with the underserved data available on the advertising tab, it points to new opportunities and can help streamline decision-making if an expansion or site acquisition is in the works.

Similarly, many of the details startups may use to simplify a launch can help existing businesses stay focused on the bottom line. Adding more details on the “My Business” page, such as average salaries and number of employees, can inform compensation decisions. SizeUp also provides a cost-effectiveness score to assess how a business stacks up when dividing revenue per employee by average salary and comparing it to other businesses. It’s an essential tool for judging overall competitiveness and keeping a small business on track.

Please contact Grapevine Economic Development for assistance with your small business needs. Follow us on FacebookTwitterLinkedIn, and Instagram, and sign up for our newsletter!

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