The New Patriotism: Filling Out Census Surveys
Market research almost always relies (or should rely) on U.S. Census data. The data are rigorous, reliable, and fundamentally important to every business, not-for-profit, and government body in the United States. So if you get a package that looks like this, as a neighbor did last week, here is what you should do:
Open it up. Fill it out. And do it quickly so that all of us together save money by not having to track you down.
Why should you do it? Because it provides essential information that supports your job, your business, your personal well-being, and your family’s well-being. It helps each of our communities understand who their citizens are and how best to serve them. It helps businesses map their markets so they can operate and grow efficiently and profitably. It determines where roads, bridges, and hospitals are built. It makes us a better, a stronger, and a more prosperous country.
In fact, census data are so important that even in this dismaying age of government domestic snooping, the census is the only repository strictly off limits to government and corporate intrusions:
Individual records are not shared with anyone, including federal agencies and law enforcement entities. By law, the Census Bureau cannot share respondents’ answers with anyone—not the IRS, not the FBI, not the CIA, and not with any other government agency. We never reveal your identity to anybody else. Ever.
Marketing professionals need the Census. Market research companies need the Census. Your business needs the Census. And we all benefit when we do our patriotic duty in making the Census a success.
OTHER ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC:
Why Every Business Needs the Census Bureau
Ten Things You Can Do with Census Data
