As we discussed in this chapter, monitoring changes in demographics and other consumer trends is an important part of the marketing intelligence included in an MIS. Today, much of this information is gathered by government research and is available on the Internet. The U.S. Census Bureau provides tabled data for cities and counties across the nations at its site, www.census.gov.

On the home page, click on Statistical Abstract. In addition, most states produce their own statistical abstract publications that are available on the Web. You should be able to locate the statistical abstract for your state by using a search engine such as Google and entering something like "Florida Statistical Abstract." Using both state data and U.S. Census data, develop a report on a city or county of your choice that answers these questions:

1. What is the total population of the city or county?

2. Describe the population of the area in terms of age, income, education, ethnic background, marital status, occupation, and housing.

3. How does the city or county compare to the demographic characteristics of the entire U.S. population?

4. What is your opinion of the different Web sites you used? How useful are they to marketers? How easy were they to navigate? Was there information that you wanted that was not available? Was there more or less information from the sites than you anticipated? Explain.