If you're one of the more than 33,000 subscribers to Converting who work at businesses with 20 or more employees, there's an important piece of mail headed your way next month.

The 2002 Economic Census, conducted every five years by the U.S. Commerce Dept., will go out to approximately 5.1 million businesses across the country in December. Except for most very small firms, every company in the country can expect to get the census forms.

Government applications of Economic Census data fit a broad context. It's the primary benchmark for measuring 96 percent of GDP and the foundation for most economic

indicators. Federal and state agencies look to the Economic Census to judge the effectiveness of various programs from trade policy to job retraining, and the Federal Reserve uses the data to estimate productivity and help set interest rates.

The Economic Census is important—not just for government statisticians but for your own business' health and future. Results from the 200,000 manufacturers surveyed will be available in early 2004, with all data issued on the Internet by 2006. Here are a few examples of how you can make use of the numbers:

Gauge the competition: Thinking of expanding into related converting operations? Economic Census data can shed light on specialized industries, company size, and expense-to-receipt ratios.

Calculate market share: You can determine your slice of the pie for your primary sales region.

B2B targets: Got a converted niche product and want to know your prospects? Census numbers will help you find top customers based on their potential growth.

Design sales territories and set sales quotas: By comparing your customer records with census figures, you can find which businesses are better prospects than others.

Enhance presentations to banks or venture capitalists: Entrepreneurs can support loan applications with data that reveal current and potential growth for more than 1,000 industries and over 50,000 geographic areas around the country. Support your sales forecast by using census stats to assess the feasibility of introducing new materials.

The 2002 Economic Census will also feature many "firsts," such as the first official measure of E-commerce for all industries; new data on changing business supply chains; and the first information on leased employees—all increasingly important numbers in today's rapidly evolving business world.

Be on the lookout for your Economic Census form; take the time to fill it out and respond by February 12, 2003. Make use of filing the form electronically at the Census Bureau Web site. Two-thirds of the forms being sent can be processed this way.

As recovery in the manufacturing economy continues to take its own sweet time, contributing your data to the census can be one key to boosting our national economic health.