TOUR 112: Marketing I

Industry research looks at an entire industry: you'll need to find information about consumers, finances, regulations, statistics, and more. It's often helpful to identify the relevant NAICS code for your industry and industry associations.

Market research examines a specific market for a product. You can find a definition of market research here. Industry associations may have useful information.

One way to figure out where to search is to ask "Who cares?"

• What organizations would care about this market?
• How would it benefit their organization to make information about the market publicly available? If it won't benefit them, they likely won't post it.

For example, tourism associations like the TIABC want to make information available to their members because it'll support their businesses; however, a small kayak touring company might not want to share information since it may give their competitors an advantage.