Subject Guides: EMBA Entrepreneurial Innovation: Market & Industry

Industry Reports and Statistics

Research on almost any topic should start with industry reports for a basic understanding of a project's context.

IBIS World This link opens in a new window
User-friendly reports on over 1,000 U.S. industries: size, barriers to entry, segmentation, cost structures, etc.
For educational use only. Content may not be disclosed or resold to outside companies.
MarketLine This link opens in a new window
From Aerospace and Automotive to Media, Mining and Textiles, MarketLine covers industries in every major marketplace, worldwide, using the Porter's 5 Forces model.
Statista This link opens in a new window
An aggregator of statistics on almost any topic.

Average Industry Financials and Ratios

BizMiner This link opens in a new window
For non-commercial use only.
Mergent Key Business Ratios (KBR) This link opens in a new window

Troy Almanac (HF 5681 .R25 T68)

Associations

Trade, industry, and professional associations can be a great source of information. Depending on the association it might have data available on its website, or contacting them might result in good leads. A search in Google is the easiest way to identify associations.

Demographics and Spending

Social Explorer This link opens in a new window
A more user-friendly way to access Census data.

Census Business Builder
An app that uses Census and other government data to help businesses explore demographics and spending patterns.

Statistical Abstract of the U.S. (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
U.S. Census Bureau Data This link opens in a new window

Market Research

Tip 1: Unlike industry research, market research firms specialize in different areas. One may not cover your industry at all, another might be the expert.

Tip 2: It's hard to find secondary research on innovative or niche markets. Try to think of a proxy--an analogous product, use case scenario, or target.

Tip 3: Look for reports on your product category, but also reports on your target. A 200-page report on the American Mother may not mention your product category, but if that's who you're targeting, it will likely provide valuable insight.

Mintel This link opens in a new window
High-quality, in-depth reports on consumer goods and services. Market size, segmentation, branding, positioning, and psychographics. Rich insight into consumer behavior and lifestyles. Primarily covers the U.S.
Euromonitor International Passport This link opens in a new window
Reports and statistics covering international markets. Strong in consumer goods and services, but also demographics, lifestyles, and economic data. Use the Search or Browse trees to drill down to a market, then select geographies. Use Dashboards to visualize data.
For research or private study for academic purposes only. Only students, faculty, and staff may access.
Simmons Insight This link opens in a new window
Detailed consumer survey data. Where else can you cross-tabulate age, media consumption, political viewpoints, and the frequency of Snickers bar consumption? Simmons only provides us two-year-old data. It's very powerful, but there's a learning curve. Start with our tutorial.
May NOT be used for commercial use, consulting, or outside research projects.
eMarketer This link opens in a new window
The internet and mobile, especially advertising, media, and consumer behavior.
Frost and Sullivan This link opens in a new window
Aerospace, transportation, chemicals, materials, food, electronics, energy, environment, construction, healthcare, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, information technology, and communications.
Gartner This link opens in a new window
News, reports, and analysis for information technology (IT) markets.
Data from Gartner may NOT be shared outside of the University.
Sports Market Analytics (SBRnet) This link opens in a new window
Sports and recreation markets and participation rates.

Mary Meeker's Internet Trends

What's the difference between industry and market research?

The line can be blurry, but industry research focuses on the industry size, outlook, and structure. Market research adds an emphasis on branding, trends, and consumer behavior.

Industry research is usually shorter; market research is longer and more likely to include original research. Market research firms typically specialize in certain industries. For these reasons, a high-quality industry report might be 20-30 pages and cost $1,000, while a good market research report might be over 200 pages and, depending on the industry, from $4,000 to $15,000.

If you're in a position where you need to buy some research, you can save money by buying older editions of reports or by contacting publishers and negotiating single chapter or page-by-page purchases. Just remember if you see a cheap report: you usually get what you pay for.

EMBA Entrepreneurial Innovation: Market & Industry