One source that may work for some marketing reports is IBISWorld. (It's also available from Rod Library Business Portal and home page.)

IBISWorld contains about 700 industry market research reports. The one on caterers, for example, covers topics like market characteristics, industry conditions, key sensitivities and success factors, competitors, and outlook for the industry.

Most reports are updated at least once a year.

Other tools for finding industry and market reports are listed on the Business Portal and on a handout called Industry and Market Research Steps.

Posted by Stanley Lyle at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

There are different ways to find economic and demographic data on the states. One way is to go to government agencies collecting and distributing such data, like the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Another way to get started, which does not require knowing which government agency may collect desired data, is to use LexisNexis Statistical; it also can be accessed from the Rod Library home page, under Databases A-Z.

This product's Find a Table search form includes a box in which to enter a variable such as per capita income and checkboxes for narrowing the search. These narrowing options include:
*geographic areas, such as by states
*demographics, such as by sex
*economic, such as by occupation
*frequency of data, such as annual
*period of coverage (all years, last x years, or a range of years)

LexisNexis Statistical includes data from the U.S. government, state governments, associations, and international organizations.

Some tables are in PDF format and some are in Excel.

Posted by Stanley Lyle at 10:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)