A nice overview of a product/service/industry?
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IBISWorld
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Industry and market insights, comprehensive data and in-depth analysis. Reports include key statistics, analysis on market characteristics, operating conditions, current and forecast performance, major industry participants, SWOT, and more. The majority of reports are for the US with approximately 75 global industries included.
There are also many specialized terms used in IBISWorld. One term not defined in the glossary but heavily used in reports is sector
From IBISWorld via and email exchange in Dec 2021: A sector can then be designated as either primary, secondary, tertiary or quaternary.
- Companies classified in the primary sector primarily extract and harvest resources from the earth, like agriculture, mining or forestry.
- The secondary sector comprises businesses that are involved in processing, manufacturing and construction.
- Businesses in the tertiary sector provide services, such as retailers or financial companies.
- Lastly, the quaternary sector is composed of knowledge-oriented businesses, such as educational institutions.
With each additional digit added to a NAICS code, the scope of the group of businesses narrows, leaving the most similar companies classified into industries with the longest codes. At the four-digit NAICS code level, companies receive the designation of industry group, which is subsequently further broken down into specific industries as additional fifth and sixth digits are added. An industry is the narrowest classification in NAICS and comprises companies operating in the same business sphere of the economy, with the most similar attributes.
Take a look at this definition of sector from Investopedia.
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Mintel
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Consumer market research and analyst insights for the US primarily with limited insights coverage for other countries. NOTE: Our subscription does not permit the use or uploading of Mintel content or data into external applications, software or websites that use AI technology.
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Passport
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Consumer lifestyle and consumer industry market research reports for countries around the globe. Also includes downloadable economic, population, income, product and lifestyle data. DONATED: The McClure Collection given by J. Warren and Lois McClure in support of the RIT College of Business.
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Gale Business: Insights
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Explore the world's companies through company overviews, financial statements, market share reports, market research, SWOT analyses, company histories, country/territory overviews along with articles from academic, trade, and news sources.
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Hoovers (D&B Hoovers)
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Business database providing company overviews on millions of companies. Records for publicly traded companies include financials. Having trouble accessing Hoovers? Use your browser's incognito or private mode. This option is usually located in a drop down menu accessed from three dots or lines on the top right. Alternatively try a browser you never or rarely use or clear the cookies from your browser of choice. THE DATABASE IS NOT DOWN -- the issue is related to cookies stored in browsers.
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Gartner
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IT only coverage. Provides current reports on computing, information technology and telecommunications issues, trends, news and statistics. Access is provided by ITS.
If you are unfamiliar with NAICS and SIC codes take a look at these sites. They are classification numbers the US government uses to group like industries it has categorized. Not every industry is represented and not every information product uses these groupings.
The SIC system pre-dates NAICS and therefore does not account for industries which emerged after SIC was established. Some databases like Data Axle and Hoovers try to accommodate for this by adding extra digits beyond the 4 digit SIC code. These are not the same as NAICS.
Not all databases use NAICS or SIC codes for searching. It is only one of many methods to use.
The demographics of people in the United States in general?
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Passport
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Consumer lifestyle and consumer industry market research reports for countries around the globe. Also includes downloadable economic, population, income, product and lifestyle data. DONATED: The McClure Collection given by J. Warren and Lois McClure in support of the RIT College of Business.
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Mintel
This link opens in a new window
Consumer market research and analyst insights for the US primarily with limited insights coverage for other countries. NOTE: Our subscription does not permit the use or uploading of Mintel content or data into external applications, software or websites that use AI technology.
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Census Data
Population and other data about the United States gathered by the US Census Bureau. This is a gateway to tons of data. The interface appears intuitive but has some not so obvious filters. Check out the YouTube page linked right after this entry.
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Demographics of people in the United States who might buy a specific product/service?
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Passport
This link opens in a new window
Consumer lifestyle and consumer industry market research reports for countries around the globe. Also includes downloadable economic, population, income, product and lifestyle data. DONATED: The McClure Collection given by J. Warren and Lois McClure in support of the RIT College of Business.
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Mintel
This link opens in a new window
Consumer market research and analyst insights for the US primarily with limited insights coverage for other countries. NOTE: Our subscription does not permit the use or uploading of Mintel content or data into external applications, software or websites that use AI technology.
Business Demographics
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Data Axle
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Basic information on more than 60 million U.S. and Canadian businesses. Can be searched by company name or lists can be created by searching industry, geography or size. Public, private and non-profit entities. Also features a jobs search option powered by indeed.
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Hoovers (D&B Hoovers)
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Business database providing company overviews on millions of companies. Records for publicly traded companies include financials. Having trouble accessing Hoovers? Use your browser's incognito or private mode. This option is usually located in a drop down menu accessed from three dots or lines on the top right. Alternatively try a browser you never or rarely use or clear the cookies from your browser of choice. THE DATABASE IS NOT DOWN -- the issue is related to cookies stored in browsers.
MEDIA KITS
Try locating trade publications for the target industries. They may have Media Kits which detail the demographics of subscribers. For example let's say your product is sold to or competes with the semiconductor industry. The trade magazine Semiconductor Digest has a Media Kit to help advertisers know some of the demographics of those who subscribe to the magazine. Sometimes the data or general, sometimes detailed, sometimes for the person and sometimes for the business. Try a Google search site:.com "media kit" keyword
Examples:
Company Profiles
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Gale Business: Insights
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Explore the world's companies through company overviews, financial statements, market share reports, market research, SWOT analyses, company histories, country/territory overviews along with articles from academic, trade, and news sources.
Competitors for a specific company?
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Hoovers (D&B Hoovers)
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Business database providing company overviews on millions of companies. Records for publicly traded companies include financials. Having trouble accessing Hoovers? Use your browser's incognito or private mode. This option is usually located in a drop down menu accessed from three dots or lines on the top right. Alternatively try a browser you never or rarely use or clear the cookies from your browser of choice. THE DATABASE IS NOT DOWN -- the issue is related to cookies stored in browsers.
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Data Axle
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Basic information on more than 60 million U.S. and Canadian businesses. Can be searched by company name or lists can be created by searching industry, geography or size. Public, private and non-profit entities. Also features a jobs search option powered by indeed.
Companies within an industry?
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Hoovers (D&B Hoovers)
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Business database providing company overviews on millions of companies. Records for publicly traded companies include financials. Having trouble accessing Hoovers? Use your browser's incognito or private mode. This option is usually located in a drop down menu accessed from three dots or lines on the top right. Alternatively try a browser you never or rarely use or clear the cookies from your browser of choice. THE DATABASE IS NOT DOWN -- the issue is related to cookies stored in browsers.
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Data Axle
This link opens in a new window
Basic information on more than 60 million U.S. and Canadian businesses. Can be searched by company name or lists can be created by searching industry, geography or size. Public, private and non-profit entities. Also features a jobs search option powered by indeed.
Market share?
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Passport
This link opens in a new window
Consumer lifestyle and consumer industry market research reports for countries around the globe. Also includes downloadable economic, population, income, product and lifestyle data. DONATED: The McClure Collection given by J. Warren and Lois McClure in support of the RIT College of Business.
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Market Share Articles in ProQuest
Mentions of "market shares" in trades, magazines, and newspapers. Tweak search with names of companies and brands. Sources limited to newspapers, trade journals, reports, blogs, podcasts, websites, magazines, other sources, working papers. Link expires on 6/26/25. You can run your own search in ProQuest with this search string: "market share" OR "market size" OR "brand share"
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SWOT
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IBISWorld
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Industry and market insights, comprehensive data and in-depth analysis. Reports include key statistics, analysis on market characteristics, operating conditions, current and forecast performance, major industry participants, SWOT, and more. The majority of reports are for the US with approximately 75 global industries included.
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Hoovers (D&B Hoovers)
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Business database providing company overviews on millions of companies. Records for publicly traded companies include financials. Having trouble accessing Hoovers? Use your browser's incognito or private mode. This option is usually located in a drop down menu accessed from three dots or lines on the top right. Alternatively try a browser you never or rarely use or clear the cookies from your browser of choice. THE DATABASE IS NOT DOWN -- the issue is related to cookies stored in browsers.
The latest news about a company, industry, product or service?
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Proquest Complete
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All-in-one database that provides coverage for nearly all academic areas of study including arts, business, humanities, health, social sciences, sciences and current affairs.
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Business Source Elite
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Articles on business and management subjects from academic journals, trade publications and daily newspapers. Also includes Company Profiles.
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Gale OneFile: Entrepreneurship
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Entrepreneurship provides insights, tips, strategies, and success stories for business schools and entrepreneurs.
Basic news about the United States economy?
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New York Times Economy Section
From the NYT website a compilation of latest articles on the economy plus a few outside resources. NYT limits number of article non-subscribers can view. Access the library's ProQuest access
here.
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CNBC on the Economy
Segments and articles curated by CNBC on aspects of the economy.
Financials, profit/loss, income statements and balance sheets for companies?
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Hoovers (D&B Hoovers)
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Business database providing company overviews on millions of companies. Records for publicly traded companies include financials. Having trouble accessing Hoovers? Use your browser's incognito or private mode. This option is usually located in a drop down menu accessed from three dots or lines on the top right. Alternatively try a browser you never or rarely use or clear the cookies from your browser of choice. THE DATABASE IS NOT DOWN -- the issue is related to cookies stored in browsers.
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NetAdvantage
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Information on companies, executives, industries, stocks, bonds, funds, dividends, and S&P investment advice. Great source for Industry Surveys for large public industries. B2C and B2B
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Capital IQ Database Link for Already Registered Account Holders
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Capital IQ is an advanced finance database from Standard & Poor's which adds to data already found in NetAdvantage. Access is limited to temporary accounts set up through the business librarian. Already registered account holders for the current semester use this link. Others use the Request form or email jlfwml@rit.edu to request a temporary account.
How long accounts will be valid is yet to be determined. This will be based on demand.
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Capital IQ Request Form
Access is limited to temporary accounts set up through the business librarian. S&P, the vendor, will be provided with names and emails only for account set up. Cohort and location information is for library use only to assess who is using the product. Set up will take up to 2 weeks and is submitted to S&P once a week, Click link above to fill out request form. Account requests will be sent to S&P on Tuesdays and may take up to 10 business days for processing.
Ratios and financials for industries to help build an income statement and balance sheet?
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BizMiner
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Access to industry financial ratios and statistics on a national and regional level.
Last Thoughts
Use the open web! There may be information not listed above that supports your arguments for the viability of your product or service! When you do find info make sure it is reliable and truthful.
Do not use ChatGPT other generative tools to input your patentable or unique ideas as they may become part of the training model depending on what service you use.
Verify any info you do get from a generative ai service as it maybe a hallucination! These services are amazing but they are not lexical or sematic search engines. That means they do immensely powerful pattern matching vs a search specifically designed to match actual concepts. Want to learn more? Visit the guide linked below or make an appointment with me!
Get a New York Public Library Card!
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Get a NYPL Library Card
"If you are 13 or older and live, work, attend school, or pay property taxes in New York State, you can apply for a free library card right now using this online application—then visit your nearest NYPL location to validate your information and receive a physical NYPL card. If your location within New York State can be confirmed, you will receive a free digital library card right now." RIT has no control over this access.
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Statista via NYPL
NYPL offers people living, working or attending school physically in New York State access to a number of resources remotely including Statista. Apply for an NYPL card if you are in New York State. RIT has no control over this access.
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Business Databases available from home via NYPL
List of business databases available from home with an NYPL card. If you are 13 or older and live, work, attend school, or pay property taxes in New York State, you can apply for a free library card. RIT has no control over this access.
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All NYPL Databases Available from home with an NYPL Card
List of all databases available from home with an NYPL card. If you are 13 or older and live, work, attend school, or pay property taxes in New York State, you can apply for a free library card. RIT has no control over this access.
