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SALEM -- A market research and information tool known as SizeUp Salem launched Tuesday, giving local businesses access to intelligence specific to the community and their industries 24/7.
"I encourage everybody to go to the SOD Center website and try it out," Julie Needs told members of city council's Economic Development Committee.
Needs serves as executive director of the Sustainable Opportunity Development (SOD) Center, which oversees economic development for the city. She reported on recent activities, including the launch of SizeUp Salem, which the city helped to fund.
SizeUp Salem is accessible through the SOD Center website at sodcenter.com.
According to a press release about the launch, "Local businesses can now access industry-specific and hyperlocal information to help them grow and make smarter decisions using Big Data analysis. The research is individually customized for each company. By using the website service local businesses are able to: rank their business performance compared to industry competitors; discover potential customers, suppliers, and better understand their competitive landscape; and optimize advertising to target ideal customer segments."
Using SizeUp Salem, smaller companies at no cost can gain access to some of the same information larger companies pay to get. Data comes from hundreds of public and proprietary data sources covering firmographic, demographic, geographic, labor, wage, cost, consumer spending, transportation, and more.
"In today's information economy, if you don't have access to information your business is at a significant disadvantage. With the launch of SizeUp on the SOD Center website, we are empowering our small businesses in Salem to be able to make more data-driven decisions to better operate, succeed, and grow," Salem Mayor John Berlin said in the release.
Needs said Salem is a city of small businesses, over 300 of them, all employing less than 500 employees. Businesses as small as a few workers can access the same information as one with 300 employees. That's a powerful tool to help them.
In the press release, Needs said "locally-owned businesses create a larger economic impact on the local economy because more money spent with them is re-spent locally. The SOD Center and the City of Salem are committed to helping our local businesses succeed. They are the foundation of our local economy, employ our residents, create new jobs, and make our community a more prosperous place. Providing SizeUp business assistance service on our website is another way in which we are partnering with our local businesses for their success."
Needs presented a summary of activities from 2021, about seminars for downtown businesses, the fact that there's interest in industrial development and shortcomings for industrial development, such as the lack of industrial space and property and the need to find additional land for development and acquire it.
She also talked about the training center and an upcoming hiring event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 13 at the SOD Center office on Pennsylvania Avenue for manufacturing, healthcare and techology companies to hook up with local job seekers. The event is sponsored by the SOD Center, Columbiana County Port Authority and Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition.
A recruiting for training program known as WorkAdvance will be coming up this year, with trainees earning a paycheck while getting trained for work at several Salem manufacturers.
mgreier@salemnews.net