MKTG 361 - Introduction to Marketing: Library Research Guide
Industry Research Target Market Research
Industry research
Researching with industry codes
One way to start your industry research is by using a classification code for your industry. The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) classifies business establishments by their primary type of activity.
View this tutorial to learn how to identify the NAICS code for your industry:
NAICS code tutorial (Flash)
Once you have identified your NAICS code, you can use that code to search for information about your industry in various business resources. The information you find using your NAICS code will generally be very broad.
View this tutorial to learn how to search the Economic Census using your NAICS code:
Economic Census tutorial (Flash)
Researching by keyword/topic
Researching with your NAICS code is a useful way to get a broad overview of your industry, but to locate more specific information about your particular product or service, or a smaller part of an industry, you should now use keyword searches in business databases.
A key way to research industries is to read through articles or other reports from business newspapers, business magazines, trade publications, and business journals. Often, this is the only way to find some types of information, and you may need to read through many articles to find the information you need. The library subscribes to business databases that enable you to search across thousands of articles from different business publications.
View these tutorials to learn how to:
- search two major business databases
- get tips on finding information about your industry
- help you understand how to gather information for a SWOTT analysis
- identify competitors
- get ideas of who your target markets may be
ABI/Inform tutorial (Flash - about 6 ½ minutes)
Business Source Complete tutorial (Flash - about 6 minutes)
Another resource for finding information about your industry and product or service are market research reports. The library subscribes to MarketResearch.com Academic, which includes full text reports on industries, products, and consumers.
MarketResearch.com Academic tutorial (Flash - about 4 minutes)
Additional resources for industry research
The resources listed above are just a few of the resources available for finding information about your industry and market. Other resources you may want to search include:
Business NewsBank
In-depth company, industry, product and executive news, covering both private and public companies. Offers full text coverage from hundreds of regional and local business publications (e.g., Inside Tucson Business).
Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe
Full-text articles from thousands of news sources. Choose the Business search form on the left-hand side of the page, then search in the Industry & Market News section.
Regional Business News
Full text for over 50 regional business journals, newspapers, and newswires, including Inside Tucson Business.
Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys (reference book)
HG4921 .S68 Information Commons Reference
Excellent source for broad industry overview of and trends.
Target Market Research
Reading through articles and reports when doing your industry analysis will often help you identify potential target markets. In the earlier tutorials, you learned how to find some information about target markets in different business databases.
View this tutorial to review how to find target market information in business databases:
Database Review (Flash - about 2 minutes)
Now you’ll want to look at additional resources to get more detailed information about these targets, as well as possibly identify additional targets.
So far, we’ve looked at online resources. There are also excellent print resources available with lots of data about consumers. One is a reference book called Lifestyle Market Analyst. It is available in the library at call # HF 5415.33 U6 L54 Info Commons Reference.
View this tutorial to learn how to find data about target markets in the reference book, Lifestyle Market Analyst.
Lifestyle Market Analyst tutorial (Flash - about 4 ½ minutes)
Other reference books useful for getting more data about consumers include:
Demographics USA - County Edition
HF 5415.1 D46 Main Reference
Household Spending: Who Spends How Much on What
HC110 .C6 H68 Info Commons Reference
Based on the Consumer Expenditure Survey, this book contains extensive, detailed data about how consumers spend in different categories, in different areas of the country, and in different age groups.
Sourcebook of Zip Code Demographics
HA203 .S66 Main Reference
Additional resources for target market research
What your product or service is will influence where else you can find information/data about your target market(s). Be creative – brainstorm about what else you need to know about your target market and where you might find this information:
Example: Healthy Fast Food Restaurants
- Based on the articles and reports we’ve seen, who might be target markets for healthy fast food restaurants?
Parents of young children
Baby boomers
- Are there any industry associations or trade organizations who are interested in healthy eating or have a stake in the restaurant industry? If so, check their Web sites for more information.
National Restaurant Association
American Dietetic Association
- What other data do you need about your target market(s) and where might you find that data?
For example: Where would be the best location for a healthy fast food restaurant based on where the target market(s) live?