Non-Profit Benchmarking Provider Launched

Two US researchers, Rich Woller and Nancy Stoll, have founded a new research firm focused on helping non-profit organizations better understand how they perform in their local marketplaces. Plum Market Research is based in Berkshire County, Massachusetts.

The new company will provide a subscription-based benchmarking service to help clients better understand their market position in relation to their peers.

Data will be supplied in the form of a monthly report, which compares the subscriber to their competitive or comparative set for various time periods. No business sees any other business's raw data, as Plum acts as a confidential, third party aggregator of the information, ensuring the validity, reliability, and security of collected information.

The linchpin of the business is proprietary software designed to handle up to 300 customers. In addition, the firm already has plans to build a web-based platform where customers will be able to securely log in to its server and input their data and generate reports automatically.

'We have taken a demonstrated and highly successful business model and applied it to industries we know would benefit, particularly here in the Berkshires, as well as in national markets', explains Woller. 'In the long term, we'll have a very good snap shot of how particular segments of the Berkshire economy perform, and be able to spot trends and compare them to statewide, regional, and national performance and economic indicators.'

The system is already being used by Stuart Chase, Executive Director of the Berkshire Museum, who says it provides confidential, real-time, quantitative data to help his organization understand the cultural arts market and compare its performance and position to other museums in the local marketplace.

The new company is based in Lenox and is on the web at www.plummarketresearch.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.