Links to Research Resources

Business Students’ FAQ:

http://libraryguides.fullerton.edu/businessfaq    

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 

         https://www.census.gov/eos/www/naics/

o          Industry and Product Classification Manual (SIC)    

          http   ://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/sic_manual.html    

 

2.  Analyze the Industry 

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…     

  • CSUF    Library Website:

http://guides.library.fullerton.edu/busifaq/industry

  • U.S. Census Bureau

          http://www.census.gov

       Contains a large amount of demographic and consumer data.  Major source for statistical data on U.S. industries, publishing such titles as    Annual Survey of Manufacturers, Annual Retail Trade Survey, Service Annual Survey, etc…     Includes the following reports:

                                 Useful for analyzing market potential.    
                              Provides subnational economic data by industry.

    • 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.

    • Current Industrial Reports      
      http://www.census.gov/cir/www/index.html      
      Data on production and shipment of products
       
    • Economic Census      
      http://www.census.gov/econ/www/index.html     
      Measure of business and industrial activity every 5 years.  Comprised of the Censuses of Agriculture, Construction, Manufacturing, Retail, Wholesale, and Service industries.

 

    • How People Use Economic Census Data (U.S. Census Bureau)   :   http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/ec97use2.htm     
      Describes the many marketing and business applications.
  1. 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      
https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp.html  
Useful for analyzing market potential.  Provides subnational economic data by industry.

 

o          Yahoo Finance   :   
https://finance.yahoo.com/industries
Gives up-to-date ratios for 100 industries, data provided by Reuters.

  1. 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  
https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/

 

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      
https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp.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      
https://www.usa.gov/statistics   
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.

  1. 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         H   ow 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://libraryguides.fullerton.edu/sb.php