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Business Information Referrals: A Guide for Trainers, Tutors, and Coaches

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When to refer?

Here are some examples of the types of situations that would benefit from a referral:

- A student-client is working on a business or marketing plan and is looking for: 

  • specific data on the size of a particular industry or market
  • number of competing companies in the area 
  • financial information of similar companies 
  • statistics on consumers 
    • who is my key consumer?
    • how likely is Consumer X to buy/ use my product/service?
    • how should I communicate my product/ service to Consumer X? 

- A student-client is working on an academic paper, project or presentation and is looking for: 

  • a magazine, journal article, or reliable website on their topic 
  • data or statistics that support their argument 
  • help focusing their topic to something that is more manageable for the assignment at hand 

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Purpose

This webpage is intended as an informational guide for student workers (trainers, coaches, and tutors) assisting their peers in the  Chambers College Business Communication Center, the BrickStreet Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, WVU's LaunchLab Applied Innovation Center, and other University centers that provide business coaching and planning services. 

The purpose of this guide is to:

- identify the various service ("referral") points within the WVU Libraries  

- briefly describe the functions and advantages (and limitations) of each service point 

- summarize what the WVU Libraries can offer student-clients by way of research help

A Customer Service Philosophy

Refer the question not the person!

  1. What does that mean? You have a student-client who is in need of research assistance. On your computer screen (or theirs), navigate to the Entrepreneurship & Business Planning Research Guide: https://libguides.wvu.edu/bizplanning . 
  2. Help them fill out an appointment form or draft an email to me! The more information provided, the more I can help! So briefly describe the project (and if possible, the information they are looking for).
  3. Encourage the student-client to explore the Entrepreneurship & Business Planning Research Guide: https://libguides.wvu.edu/bizplanning to locate information for their project. 
  4. Please do not simply hand out business cards and ask users to visit the Library or email a librarian on their own. 

An Online Resource for Student-Clients!

A student-client hasn't conducted any research. Where should they start?