Subject Guides: Entrepreneurship: Discover Customers

Overview of Discover Customers section

This page contains resources to help you discover your customers.

Characteristics of your customers will help you find data about population density, age preferences, brand usage and more.

News sources can help you spot trends in consumer attitudes and behaviors. Keep your finger on the pulse of current events by browsing headlines.

Books encourage self-education, and success! Here you will find some of the titles recommended by your professors.

Articles from sources such as trade journals, magazines and academic authors can provide helpful insights.

Librarians are ready to help you navigate information sources.

Library Resources

Simmons Insight This link opens in a new window
Contains rich data about demographics and psychographics in US markets.
May NOT be used for commercial use, consulting, or outside research projects.

Simmons video tutorial
Simmons is a consumer insights platform that helps generate consumer personas. Just getting started with Simmons? Check out this video tutorial to learn how to use the Cross Tab tool in Simmons Catalyst to surface insights about consumer demographics and phsychographics

Mintel This link opens in a new window
Reports on consumer markets and trends. Segmentation, branding, positioning, and psychographics. Rich insight into consumer behavior and lifestyles. Coverage is deepest for the U.S.
Sports Market Analytics (SBRnet) This link opens in a new window
Market research and participation rates for a wide range of sports and recreational activities.

US Government Resources

Bureau of Labor Statistics
Includes the Consumer Expenditure Survey and the American Time Use Survey.
US Census Bureau Data
Data to inform consumer profiles, marketing plans, and business growth.
Social Explorer
A more user-friendly way to access Census data. Including mapping features.

Newspaper Collections

Factiva This link opens in a new window
Global news and business information. Thousands of national and international newspapers in multiple languages.
No Systematic Downloading. Factiva may not be used for data mining, text mining, or trend analysis functions.
Gale Newsstand This link opens in a new window
A one-stop source for current news and searchable archives.

National News Sources

New York Times
Follow these instructions to create a free account through the BYU Library.
Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition)
Includes access to online-only articles.
The Washington Post
Articles from the print and online editions

Books for Entrepreneurship 301 - Dr. Halverson's List

Talking to Humans
Success starts with understanding your customers
Testing With Humans
How to use experiments to drive faster, more informed decision making
The Design Thinking Toolbox
A Guide to Mastering the Most Popular and Valuable Innovation Methods
Value Proposition Design
How to Create Products and Services Customers Want
Testing Business Ideas
A Field Guide for Rapid Experimentation

Business Model Generation by Alexander Osterwalder; Yves Pigneur
ISBN: 9780470876411
Publication Date: 2010-07-13
Disciplined Entrepreneurship by Bill Aulet
ISBN: 9781118720882
Publication Date: 2013-07-31
Running Lean by Ash Maurya
ISBN: 9781449305178
Publication Date: 2012-04-03
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
ISBN: 9780307887894
Publication Date: 2011-09-13
The Four Steps to the Epiphany by Steve Blank
ISBN: 9780989200509
Publication Date: 2013-05-01

Library Databases

Small Business Reference Center (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Up to date information on relevant topics from starting a company, operations management and sales to growing or rescuing a business.
ProQuest One Business This link opens in a new window
An intuitive and comprehensive business library including market research reports.

Top Journals