Industry Research Step-By-Step

Industry research is a great tool to build lists and target the right people. Use this resource to help guide your research on an industry, and start a foundation for your marketing and sales.

Example: “Seafood Wholesalers”

1. US gov NAICS database – https://www.census.gov/naics/
2. Search the NAICS for “seafood” – https://www.census.gov/naics/?input=seafood&year=2022
3. Review the list and choose a few that you think match what you are looking for: https://www.census.gov/naics/?input=seafood&year=2022&details=424460
   1. Fish (except canned, packaged frozen) merchant wholesalers 424460
   2. Fresh fish merchant wholesalers 424460
   3. Fresh seafood merchant wholesalers 424460
4. Review the description to confirm that these are the types of organizations you want.
5. Go to the IBIS World (industry research firm) site: https://www.ibisworld.com/
6. Search for “424460” to see if they have a report – https://www.ibisworld.com/united-states/market-research-reports/fish-seafood-wholesaling-industry/
7.  Go to Reference Solutions (this is a free database to look up companies that you can get to via a Cincinnati library card) – http://www.referenceusa.com.research.cincinnatilibrary.org/Home/Home
8.  On the left-hand side, choose Keyword/SIC/NAICS, choose Search all NAICS, and type in the NAICS code (424460) in the box
9. Click on each of the results (they move to the “selected” section)
10. Click “view results” (green button on the top right)
11.  Click on “download” (in menu bar)
12. Choose Excel, detailed results and “download records” (see attached file – it’s just a sample)
13. Get feedback from sales and others internally to confirm that the NAICS and the list are correct
14. Consider buying an industry report from a company like IBIS (mentioned in step 5

Download the example HERE