Business Communication (22:373:551)

Questions to consider:

1. What are the most critical issues and emerging trends?
2. Who are the major players in this industry?
3. How have technology, globalization and competition affected this industry?

Resources:

• Search for your industry's profile on MarketLine and look for the Five Forces Analysis. (Rutgers-restricted access) *** Searching MarketLine (PowerPoint Show) ***
• IBISWorld provides reports for all of the 723 industries in the United States as categorized by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) as well as hundreds of smaller product or service categories. Find out trends, statistics, and analysis on market size, market share of competitors, and industry growth rates. (Rutgers-restricted access) *** Searching IBISWorld (PowerPoint Show) ***
• Use the Business Source Premier database to find articles on your industry from magazines and journals. Consider the following search terms: expansion, forecast, future, growth, outlook, overview, planning, trends. (Rutgers-restricted access)
• For consumer products and services, consider searching Mintel Reports to learn about consumer attitudes and preferences. (Rutgers-restricted access)
• Refer to Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys (DANA Reference Desk) for industry overviews, major players, and basic statistics: production, shipment, sales, revenues.  (The S&P NetAdvantage database, which includes Industry Surveys, is accessible at the Newark Public Library, 5 Washington Street, next door to the Rutgers Business School in Newark)
• An informative "how to" which explains more about SWOT and Porter's Five Forces Analysis can be found in the Conducting a Situational Analysis section of the Lumen guide to creating a marketing plan
• Refer to the Industry Research Guide for other print and online resources, as well as the list of sources for Industry News and Trade Magazines.