An industry is a group of competitors who produce/sell the same or similar products.
Another way of saying this is an industry is a grouping of all the companies involved in the manufacturing or selling of similar products or services.
The United States government classifies industries according to NAICS codes. You can use the NAICS code link to find the code for your industry, OR you can look up your company in the database Hoover's Online and see the 6 digit code in the "key information" box.
The database IBISWorld has industry reports at the 5 digit NAICS code level.
TIPS: Keep your search simple: 1 or 2 words
Once in a report, Navigate the report by the tabs circled in green below.
SCROLL. Sometimes the information at the top of the page is not promising, but there may be more valuable info down the page.
Be willing to try a different word to describe your industry. For example, automobiles instead of cars
For an analyst's report on the market, try the database Mintel.
This report will have more consumer behavior, target market, and advertising information than the industry report from IBISWorld.
To use Mintel, you must first create an account using your TCU email and a password of your choice.
TIPS: Keep your search Simple! 1 or 2 words at most.
Use the LIMITERS on the left side of the page. For instance, I only want information about the lipstick market in the United States in the screenshot below.
You may want to limit your search to just Reports (these are the analyst reports).
You may have to broaden how you are defining your market. For example, lipstick really falls within the Color Cosmetics market.
Once on the report page, navigate it as shown in the screenshot below.
