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On the heels of the pandemic, Consumers Energy has been focusing on assisting small businesses who have been impacted by the economic instability of the past year. One way they are helping is to provide free access to a business intelligence tool called SizeUp. SizeUp can help you learn things about your business that you may not have known, and it can possibly help you discover new opportunities to grow or expand.

The online tool can be used to determine your Business Ranking against industry competitors, test assumptions about future performance, and gain access to industry-specific data points. The information can be obtained at a remarkably local level.

You can also use SizeUp to Discover Customers, Suppliers and Competitors. Learn about disposable income and consumer spending in your market area while also gaining access to lists of potential customers. There are opportunities to discover new suppliers and to better understand the competitive landscape in your industry, including the competition for your labor force.

Lastly, you can utilize SizeUp to help Optimize Your Advertising. Using customizable business and demographic data, SizeUp has the ability to reveal optimal places to target marketing efforts by accessing reports on industry revenue, underserved markets, and where average business revenue is highest.

Consumers Energy has signed a three-year contract with SizeUp to provide this service at no cost to Michigan-based businesses. To access it, simply log on to www.consumersenergy.com/smallbiztool.

We know that entrepreneurs are self-starters, are innovative, and are always looking to take their business to the next level. Consumers Energy hopes that SizeUp is a tool that you can successfully use to help your business rebound and grow as we move into the era of the new normal.