Expert Business Resources: Business Statistics

Businesses of all sizes and in every industry can generate massive amounts of data in their normal day to day activities. Whether it is information about product sales, customer satisfaction surveys, or accounts payable, data are generated as a result of business processes.

What can companies do with all this data? How can they use it to their advantage? All companies attempt to increase profitability and gain market share by minimizing expenses and increasing their sales and profit margins. 

By analyzing data from both their own business and from other sources, companies can make better decisions that they hope will lead to a better bottom line. This is the domain of business statistics.

The United States Federal government collects and publishes a wide variety of statistical data that are useful to businesses. The Census Bureau publishes demographic data on U.S. households that can be helpful in product marketing efforts. Data compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics cover topics ranging from the consumer price index to unemployment percentages.

While the term “business statistics” can be defined as the aggregated operational data of a business, it also involves the use of statistical methods to analyze this data. College business majors typically prepare themselves for positions in the corporate world by completing a business statistics course. There they learn about statistical topics such as confidence intervals, linear regression, probability, and descriptive statistics. This knowledge can be extremely helpful to the future business person when they begin to work with business data.

Statistical analysis is commonly used to improve business processes. Pharmaceutical companies test the safety and effectiveness of new drugs by comparing test results between experimental and control groups using statistical techniques. Measuring the quality of each item can be cost prohibitive when manufacturers produce large quantities of a product. Random sampling techniques are used to make inferences about the quality of the entire production run. Companies conduct marketing research by collecting survey data from randomly sampled households. It would be impractical to build a marketing campaign by collecting data from all potential customers. 

Business statistics can be used by a wide variety of people. Investors holding stock in a company analyze financial data such as balance sheets and profit & loss statements to determine whether to hold or sell their shares in the company. Venture capital firms make decisions on funding start-up companies after careful analysis of both the target company and industry trends. 

Banks and other financial services companies make decisions on business loans, business insurance and lines of credit based on company statistics. Industry analysts from both the private and public sector can gauge the health and trends of an industry by analyzing business statistics published by companies. 

Many companies have invested heavily in business intelligence and decision support computer systems to distill raw operational data into actionable information. This allows businesses to determine current performance levels, identify promising business opportunities, and assist in planning for the future.

Statistics Publications

Statistics of U.S. Businesses: Provides detailed annual data on U.S. businesses by geography, industry, and enterprise size.

Business Dynamics Statistics: U.S. Census Bureau tool to view key economic data.

Bureau of Economic Analysis - Interactive Tables: Statistical tables on regional, national, international scales as well as by industry.

globalEDGE Database of International Business Statistics: Dataset for international business research.

BEA Papers and Working Papers: Papers and presentations by staff at the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Databases, Tables & Calculators by Subject: Bureau of Labor Statistics data reports.

Bureau of Transportation Statistics: Business statistics in the transportation industry.

International Statistical Agencies: Links to statistical agencies from around the world.

The 2010 Statistical Abstract: Comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States.

2007 Economic Census: Profiles U.S. national and local economies every 5 years.

Nonemployer Statistics: Information about businesses without paid employees that are subject to Federal income tax.

Survey of Business Owners (SBO): Provides selected economic and demographic characteristics for businesses and business owners by gender, ethnicity, race, and veteran status.

U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA): Collects, analyzes, and disseminates independent and impartial energy information.

Facster: A tool to view statistical data from The Statistical Abstract of the United States and other statistical abstracts.

FDIC Statistics on Depository Institutions: Various reports about FDIC-insured financial institutions.

Statistics at a Glance: Provides the latest quarterly and historical data for FDIC-insured institutions, the FDIC insurance fund, and the number of FDIC employees.

Federal Reserve System Statistics & Historical Data: Principal Economic Indicators and other financial statistical data.

FedStats: Online portal for access to U.S. Federal agency statistics.

Small Business Indicators: Economic Indicator data pertaining to small businesses in the United States.

Economic Research Studies: Small business research reports from the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy.

Plunkett Research: Statistical information about the retail industry.

Weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey: Home mortgage rate data from Freddie Mac.

FEMA Flood Insurance Statistics: Policy & Claim Statistics for Flood Insurance.

Educational Resources

University of Denver Business Tutorial: Lists sources of business statistics and pointers on doing company research.

Business Statistics Colleges: Information on the Top 10 Most Popular Business Statistics colleges.

Statistics Tutorials

Business Statistics tutorial: Guide to Using Excel 2003 for Basic Statistical Applications.

Interactive Statistical Demonstrations and Tutorials: Compilation of statistical tutorials.

Stattrek: Free online statistics tutorials.

Mailing Lists and Discussion Groups

Quirk's Discussion Forum: Forum on various marketing research topics.

AI_GEOSTATS: Mailing list focusing on issues in spatial statistics.

AllStat: A UK-based worldwide e-mail broadcast system for the statistical community.

ASSUME: Forum for people using the statistical capabilities in Microsoft Excel.