ReferenceUSA is an extremely useful resource for the small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs that use our library. The Heat Map tool in the U.S. Consumers/Lifestyles Database is extremely useful for entrepreneurs who are looking for a business location and for businesses that are looking to advertise their goods or services to a more targeted market. Most of the other mapping tools can only create concentration maps based on geography and one additional variable, but the Heat Map tool in ReferenceUSA can create a concentration map based on geography and a multitude of variables to get very targeted results that fit our patron’s needs. This tool also allows you to overlay restaurants, transportation, and additional points of interest onto your concentration map, which is tremendously valuable for businesses that are looking for the perfect location.

We’ve had great success with the ReferenceUSA product, especially with our business students. It has a simple interface that provides a quick lookup or an in-depth screening mode that allows the user to locate a specific company or group of companies based on a wide variety of criteria. The information provided about corporate linkage to a parent and subsidiary is especially useful as is the rest of the information returned with the search results. We have come to rely heavily on ReferenceUSA as a first stop for much of our directory lookups.

ReferenceUSA is a robust tool that not only provides rich data but helps users better understand the information through its mapping and visualization features.  Our library patrons use ReferenceUSA for competitive intelligence, marketing information as well as tracking and monitoring neighborhoods for potential trends in consumer purchase patterns. In addition to entrepreneurs, we see many job seeking and re-careering clients use the database to acquire deeper insight on the companies and industries that match their career interests.  Similarly, patrons also search the database to identify the potential employers.  ReferenceUSA is a central part of our business information offerings and a resource that continues to captivate staff and patrons alike.