Industry & Market Research Guide

This guide was created to provide a starting point for conducting industry and market research. 

Industry analysis can help you answer the following questions:

• how does the industry operate?
• what is the competitive landscape? who are the key players and what is their market share?
• what is the current size and value of the industry?
• how is the industry performing?
• what is the current outlook for this industry? is the industry growing?
• what are the key products and services?
• what are some barriers to entry?
• what what some threats to the industry?
• what current trends are affecting the industry?

Also, industry surveys usually contain financial data and industry ratios.

Market analysis can help you answer the following questions:

• what is the current size of the market? what is the market potential?
• what are the current market drivers?
• how is the market segmented?
• who is my target market? what are their demographic, psychographic, and geographic characteristics? 
• what are consumer purchasing habits? where do they make purchases? how much do they spend?
• what are current product trends?
• who are the key players in the market?

Market research reports may also contain product and brand data (e.g. sales, shares) and consumer behavior/attitudes survey data.

Research Consultations: Research Help by Appointment

Research Consultations are scheduled one-on-one meetings with a reference librarian. You can also schedule these consultations for a small group. Consultations usually last 30 minutes and take place during Reference Librarian Hours as listed above. 48 hours advanced notice required.

Research Guides

Research Guides are resources created by Bentley Librarians to guide you through research. These guides will contain a map of best bet resources of where to find information and search tips to make the research process easier. A research guide may include a list of relevant databases to search in, suggested search terms, recommended book titles, lists of websites, and more. Browse our list of Research Guides to see if one has been created for your class, a subject area, or a topic you are researching.

Frequently Asked Questions

Bentley Librarians keep a database of some of the most Frequently Asked Questions (and answers!) by the Bentley Community. Browse our FAQs to see if your question has already been answered!