Selected Market Research Resources



Selected Market Research Resources

The SBDC National Information Clearinghouse



 

 

General Business Information:

American City Business Journals - . Business related news for many US cities. Search for articles on industry trends, compare similar businesses in other cities, and check your competition.

American Demographics Magazine - . Good for discovering trends, obtaining marketing ideas, and identifying markets for businesses that market to consumers; fee for full text.

Edward Lowe Foundation - . The Ed Lowe Foundation maintains a searchable database of articles, book chapters, and SBA publications dealing with a wide variety of small business issues.

EntreWorld (Kauffman Center) - . The Kauffman Foundation supports entrepreneurial education. Their website provides a good source for training materials.

Fedstats - . Internet portal for U.S. government created statistics. Start here if you are not sure which government agency produces the statistics you need.

- . Search for full text articles of newspapers, industry trade periodicals, and general business magazines.

Forbes - . Online version of Forbes magazine.

Inc Magazine - . Search for general business trends at this popular business magazine’s website.

- . This is a portal site for manufacturing industry information and links to suppliers.

NAICS (North American Industrial Classification System)- The new system that will replace the SIC within the next few years. NAICS was created in order to compare and track the economies in Canada, Mexico and the United States. The 1997 US Economic Census is reported by NAICS. NAICS codes can be located at: . See also: SIC.

SIC (Standard Industrial Classification)- All establishments are assigned a classification by the Federal Government for statistical and other reporting purposes based upon their primary business function. Most private and public statistics are reported at the SIC level. SICs can be located at: . See also: NAICS.

Small Business Sourcebook (Gale Research) – Contains sources of information related to starting specific types of small businesses. Typical entries include citations for start-up info, associations, trade publications, reference works, statistics, supply sources and databases.

Small Business Profiles (Gale Research) – Provides short vignettes about selected small businesses. Includes brief statistics and contact information for associations and franchise opportunities.

SmartStart Your Business (Oasis Press) – Part of a series that contains a variety of general business information and some knowledge specific to individual states. It includes federal and state agency contacts, sample legal forms, business plan guidelines, marketing information, and human resources advice.

Stat-USA - . This site provides information related to international trade and domestic industry. Some of the resources are fee-based, but many items are free.

Strategis - . This Canadian government site provides insights and statistical reports about United States industry markets.

Valuation Resources - Provides links to associations, industry reports, and other pertinent industry specific information (classified by SIC).

  

  

Financial Information:

 

Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios (Prentice Hall) – Provides ratios and industry norms in actual dollar figures derived from IRS data. Each industry includes performance indicators such as total assets, cost of operations, wages, asset turnover, and profit margins.

Federal Reserve Banks - . Federal Reserve Banks provide statistics, conduct surveys, and research special topics. For instance, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City maintains the Center for the Study of Rural America ().

Financial Studies of the Small Business (Financial Research Associates)- Similar to RMA, but surveys only small and micro-businesses. Organized by industry. Provides five year trend data.

IRS Small Business Resource Guide - . Provides an overview of specialized small businesses, including financial concerns and tax related issues.

Market Share Reporter (Gale Research) – Organized by SIC categories (industry groups). Reports percentage of market held by leading companies in each category covered. Usually gives total market size for each category.

Robert Morris Associates (RMA) Annual Statement Studies – Disk or print. Contains ratios derived from statements of commercial bank borrowers and prospects. Organized by 4 digit SIC code, most editions contain only national averages.

Standard & Poor’s Industry Surveys – Industry surveys in each of 52 topics. Each topic contains trends comparative company analysis and forecasts. Each survey is published independent of the other topics.

US Industry & Trade Outlook 2000 (McGraw-Hill/US Dept. of Commerce) – Hundreds of tables and charts, industry reviews, trends and forecasts divided by 50 major industry groups. Each group essay may contain more specific information about products and services in that category. Update in question.

 

 

Demographic Information:

 

American Factfinder (US Census) - . Users can access statistical data about their geographic area. Includes demographic and economic statistics. See also: .

ESRI Lifestyle Demographics (Zip Code) - . General demographic data and lifestyle characteristics available at no charge.

Household Spending: Who Spends How Much on What (New Strategist) – Gives household spending averages based on Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Expenditure Survey. Includes 35,000 different spending records from homes and cars, to apparel and food. Also contains average spending by age and gender.

The Sourcebook of ZIP Code Demographics (ESRI) – Demographic information by zip code. Includes population, race, income, and expenditure information for each ZIP code in the US.

State Data Centers - . In partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau, State Data Centers provide estimates and projections and other economic data for each state.

 

 

See also: and .

 

 

Directories:

American Society of Association Executives - . Some trade associations are listed on this site.

American Wholesaler and Distributor Directory (Gale Research) – Provides listings of wholesalers and distributors sorted by product category and by state.

Catalog of Catalogs (Woodbine House) – Billed as “ The Complete Mail-Order Directory” this resource contains the descriptions and contact information to 14,000 catalogs. It is indexed by subject and by company name.

Corporate Information - . Search for data about a specific company. Mostly for public companies, but some private company data is also available.

Directory of Manufacturers' Sales Agencies (Manufacturing Agents National Association) – . Lists manufacturer’s sales agencies alphabetically and by state. All companies included are members of the Manufacturers’ Agents National Association. Also has information on how to select a sales agent.

Encyclopedia of Associations (Gale Research) – Guide to thousands of National and International organizations. Contains contact information and descriptions and is indexed by name, key word, and geographic area. (Database is Gale Ready Reference.)

Franchise Handbook – . Online version of the handbook, which lists franchises by industry or name. See also for a directory and articles supporting the franchisee and their startup.

- . Provides overviews of public companies as well as industry reports. Includes some free reports.

Thomas Food Industry Register - . Directory of food manufacturers and suppliers to the food industry.

Thomas Register of Manufacturing - . This widely used directory includes national listing of most manufacturing firms.

Trade Shows – . Fill in the blanks and obtain a list of upcoming trade shows for a particular industry, domestic and foreign locations.

Virtual Community of Associations - . Locate industry associations from this site.

 

Market Research Tutorials:

 

Search for a company online -

Typical steps to find information on a company -



  

Industry Information -

Small Business Administration -

Sample Business Plans/Business Planning Guides -

SBA Women’s Business Center - . Provides startup business tutorials for anyone, including women, and helpful links for further information.

 

Search Engines:

 

Simple Search Engine:

Search Engine w/ Directory: ;

Multi-Search Engine: ;

 

Please e-mail additions and/or corrections to Michael Cline at mcline@utsa.edu.

Revised October, 2002.

This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Small

Business Administration under Award Number SBAHQ-99-B-0001.

 

Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed

in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily

reflect the views of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

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In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

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