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The National Business Survey (The NBS)

Actionable insights to boost economic vitality

The National Business Survey® (The NBS®) from Polco is a robust tool designed to gather critical feedback from the local business community, helping governments and economic development leaders make data-driven decisions to improve the business climate. With its scientifically valid methods and comprehensive data collection, The NBS provides an accurate snapshot of how businesses perceive their community, government services, and local economic conditions. Whether you’re looking to enhance business retention, encourage investment, or improve public services, The NBS gives you the insights you need.

What is The NBS?

The National Business Survey (The NBS) is designed to capture the perspectives of local business owners and operators on various aspects of operating a business in your community. The survey covers critical topics like business climate, business growth, workforce readiness and quality, employee opportunities, and overall satisfaction with community amenities.

By gathering scientifically valid feedback, The NBS provides local governments with the data needed to shape economic policies and programs that resonate with the business community. The results also offer valuable benchmarking against national norms, enabling municipalities to gauge how their local business environment compares to others across the country.

Polco Platform - Benchmark Surveys - NBS

Key features of The NBS

Data-driven insights to strengthen your business environment

Statistically valid business feedback

Representative Data: The NBS uses robust sampling techniques to ensure that survey results reflect the broader business community, from small businesses to large enterprises. This ensures that the feedback collected is representative of diverse business perspectives.

Comprehensive Survey Design: The NBS provides a 360-degree view of the factors impacting your local business environment by covering critical topics like business climate, business growth, workforce readiness and quality, employee opportunities, and overall satisfaction with community amenities.

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National benchmarking for business climate

Compare Results Nationally: The NBS allows local governments to compare their results against a large national database, providing context for performance. Benchmarking provides critical insights into where your business environment excels and where improvements are needed.

Track Trends Over Time: Conducting The NBS regularly allows local governments to track changes in the business environment, assess the impact of policy changes, and identify emerging issues or opportunities.

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Customizable to local business needs

Tailored Questions: In addition to core questions that assess the overall business environment, The NBS offers flexibility for local governments to add custom questions that address specific issues or opportunities in your region.

Focus on Key Business Priorities: Whether it’s understanding workforce challenges, examining the effectiveness of local economic development programs, or gauging satisfaction with permitting processes, The NBS can dive into areas that are most critical to local businesses.

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Clear, visual reporting

Easy-to-Interpret Results: The NBS provides visual reports that make it simple to understand key insights from the data. Charts, graphs, and dashboards highlight the most critical trends and comparisons, helping local leaders quickly identify areas for action.

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Engage a broader range of businesses

Multiple Distribution Channels: Reach residents through a combination of mailed invites and sharing the survey through targeted outreach channels, maximizing participation and ensuring that all segments of the community are heard.

Mobile-Optimized Surveys: The NBS is optimized for mobile devices, making it easier for business owners to respond on the go, resulting in higher response rates and broader engagement.

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Ready To Go (RTG) Benchmark Surveys

Ready To Go (RTG) Benchmark Surveys

While our gold-standard surveys like the NCS and NES have set the bar high, we know that sometimes you need something a little lighter. That’s where the RTG versions come in. These streamlined benchmark surveys are not only more affordable, but they’re also fully digital and can be activated instantly with the flip of a switch. You get the trusted insights you need with modern convenience—benchmark surveys built for the 21st century. Going fully digital means faster results, easier, and more affordable pricing, all while maintaining the trusted benchmarks you expect.

Empower local businesses

Gain critical insights from The National Business Survey to support local economic growth and improve business satisfaction in your community.

Benefits of using The NBS

Understand the business community to foster economic growth

Encourage business-friendly innovation

With clear data on the factors affecting business success, you can foster innovation and entrepreneurship by addressing critical concerns and creating an environment where new businesses can flourish.

Strengthen local economic policies

Use real data from business owners to design and implement policies that better support the needs of your local economy, improving conditions for businesses to grow and thrive.

Boost engagement with the business community

The NBS gives businesses a direct voice in local governance, allowing leaders to understand their challenges and respond with policies that support growth, retention, and job creation.

Benchmark your business environment

Compare your local business climate against national standards, helping you identify strengths and areas for improvement in economic development, permitting, and government services.

Track economic progress over time

Conduct The NBS regularly to monitor changes in business satisfaction, measure the impact of economic development initiatives, and stay responsive to evolving business needs.

Why you need the NBS

Local businesses are a vital part of any community’s economic engine. The National Business Survey (The NBS) offers local governments the opportunity to understand the challenges and needs of their business community through scientifically valid data collection. By capturing insights on critical topics like workforce availability, business satisfaction, and government services, The NBS helps leaders create policies that drive economic growth, retain businesses, and attract new investments.

Benchmarking your business climate against national standards offers a valuable perspective on how your community compares to others, providing a roadmap for improvement. With the ability to customize survey questions, track trends over time, and gather representative feedback from a diverse range of businesses, The NBS equips you with the data needed to support a dynamic and thriving local economy.

Polco Platform - Benchmark Surveys - NBS

Shape a business-friendly future

Use The National Business Survey to gather the data you need to create policies that foster innovation, growth, and success for local businesses.