Mktg 489 Links to Research Resources
Business Students’ FAQ:
http://guides.library.fullerton.edu/busifaq/
Frequently asked questions for marketing students can be found at
http://guides.library.fullerton.edu/busifaq/#marketing
A Link to Sample Marketing Plan:
http://www.mplans.com/sample_marketing_plans/
A Marketing Plan Outline:
http://www.quickmba.com/marketing/plan/
Research Resources
1. Find out the NAICS & SIC codes for the Industry
o North American Industry Classification System: United States 2002
http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html
o Industry and Product Classification Manual (SIC)
http://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/sic_manual.html
Use these resources to find out the industry structure, major forces, standards and regulation, barriers to entry, external factors, value chain, key players, market segments, size of the industry and market, financial ratios, trends that may impact the industry, strategic opportunities, etc… When searching the databases, be on the lookout for industry and trade publications because they provide articles, case studies, and statistics on industry operations, trends/issues, market conditions, key companies and products, etc…
http://guides.library.fullerton.edu/busifaq/#industry
Useful for analyzing market potential.
Provides subnational economic data by industry.
Local area supplement to the Statistical Abstract of the United States.
Summary of statistics on the social and economic structure of the counties and cities of the U.S.
- Current Business Reports
http://www.census.gov/econ/www/servmenu.html
Revenue and expense data for the service sector
3. Research Your Industry’s Competitive Environment
Use these resources to research what companies and products are already out there in the industry environment. You will want to gather company information, as well as detailed financial information, market share, and news articles.
Websites:
o
County
Business Patterns
http://www.census.gov/epcd/cbp/view/cbpview.html
Useful for analyzing market potential. Provides subnational economic data by
industry.
o
Yahoo Finance:
http://biz.yahoo.com/p/sum_conameu.html
Gives up-to-date ratios for 100 industries, data provided by Reuters.
4. Research Your Customers (Marketing Plan Research)
Use these resources to develop your marketing plan. Gather socioeconomic data on target markets (customers and locations), sales and market data, consumer expenditure statistics, etc…
Websites:
o
American
Community Survey
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/
o
American
FactFinder
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet
Contains a large amount of free information on population, housing, economic and
geographic data from census and population surveys.
Statistical and descriptive information on the business situation, earnings and employment, commodity prices, general business indicators, etc…
o
National
Compensation Survey
http://www.bls.gov/ncs/home.htm
Survey provides compensation data by occupation
o
Consumer
Expenditure Survey
http://www.bls.gov/cex/home.htm
Complete accounting of nationwide household spending.
o
County
Business Patterns
http://www.census.gov/epcd/cbp/view/cbpview.html
Useful for analyzing market potential.
Provides subnational economic data by industry.
o
County & City
Data Book
http://www.census.gov/statab/www/ccdb.html
Local area supplement to the Statistical Abstract of the United States. Summary
of statistics on the social and economic structure of the counties and cities of
the U.S.
o
Current
Population Reports
http://www.census.gov/main/www/cprs.html
Data on population estimates, consumer income, and poverty.
o
STAT-USA
http://www.stat-usa.gov
U.S. Department of Commerce’s collection of exporting reports, guides, etc…
Contains the National Trade Data Bank, Country Commercial Guides, and foreign
market research reports.
5. Financial Plan Research
Use these resources to develop a financial plan for your business and benchmark your financial data by using industry ratios.
Databases:
o Gale Virtual Reference Library: A database of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources. Contains several volumes of Business Plans Handbook.
Websites:
o
Checklist for
Going Into Business:
http://www.sba.gov/starting/checklist.html
Helps you identify key questions and potential problems.
Assists in the business planning process.
o How to write a business plan and other practical
information about starting a business.
Business Plan Basics
About electronic economy:
http://www.census.gov/eos/www/ebusiness614.htm
Business reference resources at CSUF library:
http://guides.library.fullerton.edu/busifaq/marketing.htm#EBIUpdated: Feb 2009