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Researching Markets & Competitors

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One common question that many AlBusiness readers have is how to find information on current markets they serve or markets or industries they plan to target for expansion.

Let’s take a deeper look at these questions and consider a few suggestions

Why Do the Research?
Up to date, accurate and timely information is essential for any growing and evolving business.  When companies stop changing and looking for information on current or potential markets or competitors, they begin the long road to decline.  It’s critical to understand the trends in the markets or industries a company serves and to know who competitors are in each market and for every product or service a company offers.  Quite simply, companies that don’t do the research run the risk of being disrupted.

What are the Options?
The most obvious options are to either do this research yourself or hire a professional to do it for you.  If you are large enough or with enough financial resources, your best option is to hire a professional who is skilled at market research and competitive intelligence.  If your company fits this description, my recommendation is to search for contractors who are members of the Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals, better know as SCIP, look under the Resources tab at the SCIP website: https://www.scip.org/index.cfm

However, if your company is smaller or with limited resources then you’ll need to be prepared to do this research yourself.  The remainder of this column will focus on how to do this work yourself.

Step One:  Identify Primary Research Questions
It may seem obvious, but the first step is to narrow the scope of your research because you can’t study everything, so pick your shots.  If you want to research the current industry or markets you serve you should do the following:

  • Identify the #1 and #2 markets or industries your company serves, based on current profitability
  • Use the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) to clearly and accurately identify the market segments your company serves.  Here’s a link for more information on NAICS, https://www.naics.com/faq.htm, you can also find lots of free information at the US Small Business Administration, here’s a link to an up to date listing of all NAICS codes: https://www.sba.gov/advo/research/us07_n6.pdf
  • Armed with this information, you are now ready to research the primary market segments your company serves.  The first step is to track down current Industry Information on the following:
    • What are the industry trends and areas of growth?
    • Who are the leading companies in the industry?
    • What products and services are in the greatest demand?
    • What new technologies are impacting the industry?

Sources for this information include:


Step Two:  Identify Companies in Market Segments
Now that you have some background data on the primary markets your company serves, you need to identify all of the companies that consider this market segment to be their primary business.  This information will give you intelligence on current and prospective customers and help you understand how to grow in your primary markets.  To accomplish this you need to find detailed company information, including:  company name, corporate affiliation, locations, addresses, phone numbers, key contacts, etc.

For very small companies that serve one main geographic area, you can probably find everything you need at your local library.  Just go to library and ask for help, you’ll probably be amazed at what you find.  You may even have access to proprietary databases that will allow you to go much deeper.

However, if your company is larger and more complex, you need more help.  Things you can do yourself include doing a Google Search for companies in the target NAICS code, or try these links:

To dig deeper, you will need access to Dunn & Bradstreet products, such as Selectory and Marketplace, or any alternatives you can find.  Here’s a link to D&B:  https://www.dnb.com/us/dbproducts/sales_marketing/find_customers.html

Note:  Dunn & Bradstreet owns AllBusiness.com, however this is not a plug for using their products.  They happen to be the ones that I have used for years.

Look for the second article in this series later this week.



Charlie Alter owns Bentbrook Advisors LLC based in Sylvania, Ohio.  He specializes in Growth Strategy, Innovation and Coaching and can be reached at calter@me.com visit https://bentbrookadvisors.com  for more information on his business advisory practice.

Profile: Charlie Alter

Charlie Alter has spent the last 25 years working with manufacturers of all sizes on projects focused at growing sales and profitability. He writes for The Manufacturing Line on AllBusiness.