Purpose of this Guide
Impressive business and marketing plans are well researched. You have to understand the industry, its current and future trends, and the factors affecting it. Use this guide to explore industries.
Industry Profiles: Marketing Research and Industry Trends
Industry profiles are in-depth documents that give insight into an industry, where it came from, and where it appears to be going. A typical report looks at the industry leaders, forces affecting the industry and financial data for the industry.
- IBISWorld This link opens in a new windowCanadian and U.S. industry reports at the NAICS 5-digit level. Each report consists of 30 to 40 pages of key statistics and analysis on market characteristics, operating conditions, current and forecast performance, major industry participants and more.
- Industry Profiles in Business Source CompleteSearch for Industry Profiles using the ADVANCED SEARCH. Insert your search terms (e.g. Alcoholic Drinks AND Canada) and check mark the "Industry Overviews" box under the Search Options for Document Type.
- Industry Profiles in ABI Inform Trade and IndustryAfter running a search, use the "Document Type" filter on the right side of your search results to filter to "Industry Reports." You may have to click on "More Options" at the bottom of the "Document Type" list to find "Industry Reports."
- Business Market Research Collection This link opens in a new windowInternational company, industry, economic and geopolitical market research.
Financial Performance Benchmarks
If you're preparing a business plan, you'll need to understand what the financial averages ("norms") are for companies in your industry. Use the following tool to find net profits and net losses, detailed financial data on revenues and expenses, industry averages for income statements and balance sheet items as well as financial ratios.
- Financial Performance Data - Industry CanadaA tool for retrieve detailed financial norms on small businesses by industry. Designed for the comparison of industry averages to a specified set of financial and operating data. Just a few key ratios are reported.
Industry Statistics
Look for statistics on financial performance, market share, labour costs, capital investment, and more using the following sites:
Canadian Statistics
- Canadian Industry Statistics - Industry CanadaAnalyses industry data on many economic indicators using the most recent data from Statistics Canada.
- Statistics Canada - PublicationsSearch for industry reports. Use broad terms, e.g. Fruit rather than Bananas.
- Industry Sector Data - Canadian Business NetworkConnect to Canadian government statistics related to a number of broad industry sectors.
- Trade Data Online - Industry CanadaSearch by product or industry
- Canadian Importers Database - Industry CanadaSearch for companies importing goods into Canada.
U.S. Statistics
- Manufacturing and Distribution USAA single source of comprehensive data covering 500 manufacturing industries. US data.
- U.S. Economic Census - Business and IndustryBrowse by Industry. Covers retail trade, wholesale trade, service industries, construction, manufactures, mineral industries, transportation, communications, utilities, and financial, insurance, and real estate.
Search Specialized Databases: Find Articles and Reports
Sometimes you have to dig for industry information. Using the following databases, search for the name of an industry and terms like economic trends, market research, forecasting, supply & demand, distribution,financial performance, demographics, etc.
- Business Source Complete This link opens in a new windowContains academic journals and professional magazines. Also includes country, company and industry reports.
Learn to Use Business Source Complete - ABI/Inform Collection This link opens in a new window
Contains academic and trade journal articles, dissertations, market reports, industry reports, business cases and global and trade news. Canadian content.
Learn to use ABI Inform / Terms of Use (ABI Inform) - Business Market Research Collection This link opens in a new windowInternational company, industry, economic and geopolitical market research.
- Asian & European Business Collection This link opens in a new windowBusiness and finance topics across Asia and Europe, from academic journals, newspapers,and magazines. Information on companies, economies, markets, international trade, etc.
- Nexis Uni This link opens in a new windowContains newspapers, newswires, radio transcripts, trade and business magazines, country and company reports. Formerly LexisNexis.
- Canadian Business and Current Affairs - Business Database This link opens in a new windowContains a unique collection of Canadian trade-based / professional, and business magazines.
Learn to use Canadian Business and Current Affairs - Business Database
Gain Insight Through the Professional Association for Your Industry
The professional association(s) which exist related to the industry can be valuable sources of trend reports and statistics. Checking with the association will help you understand the regulatory environment. Visiting their website or contacting an association directly can yield great results in you industry/market research.
- Associations Canada DirectoryA searchable, eBook listing all Canadian associations.
- Directory of Associations - American Society of Association ExecutivesAmerican focus, but some Canadian content.
You can also try simply Googling to find a relevant association. The detriment to a Google search is that it will not provide comprehensive results, since associations may be named in a way that doesn't match your keywords.