What do you do when you're trying to research the market potential or target audience, but all you can find are reports online that cost thousands of dollars to access?

1. Discover what reports are available in our resources (below)

We subscribe to many databases and platforms that contain market reports and related information.

2. Create your own market analysis

Sometimes a topic is too narrow or new to have a lot of published content. When that happens, consider alternative approaches.

3. Check out our market reports FAQs

Learn what market reports are and how to evaluate them.

Below are some of our popular market report databases and search tips.

General (cover a range of markets/industries) | B2B (i.e. engineering, life sciences, IT) | B2C (consumer products/services)

Note: Many other databases contain market reports or data that could be used to create your own analysis. For personalized recommendations, AskUs.

Example market report table of contents in MarketResearch.com Academic

• Contents: Market reports
• Geographies: Global or US
• Search Tip: A keyword search should work well

Example EMIS Dashboard

• Contents: Market reports, industry profiles, news, data, etc. from a variety of sources
• Geographies: Global, regional, or individual countries
• Search Tip: If a general keyword search or browsing isn't giving you helpful results, try the following:

1. Click on the search icon in the upper right and click the More Filters link
2. Add keywords to the search box in the top middle portion of the page
3. Under Reports, select either Country/Regional Market Research or Global Market Research. Refine by geography, date, industry, and more.
4. Press Apply

Example BMI Market Report

• Contents: Market reports, industry profiles, news, data, etc. from Fitch Solutions
• Geographies: Global, regional, or individual countries
• Search Tip: There is no way to search for only market reports, but most of the article and report content included is contains market and industry information and analysis.

Example BCC Report

• Contents: Market reports only.
  • Best for: IT, Life Sciences, Sensors, Materials, Manufacturing, and Energy. Some consumer-focused markets, such as Food & Beverage
• Geographies: Global, some regional
• Search Tip: The keyword search works well and will highlight the search phrase in the report

Example Global Data Market Report

• Contents: Market reports, industry profiles, news, data, etc.
  • Best for: Renewable energy (our subscription does not include Thermal, Smart Grid, and Nuclear)
• Geographies: Global, regional, or country-specific.
• Search Tip: To access the market reports, hover over the Analysis tab and select Market Reports.

Example Global Data Market Data

• Contents: Market data and industry analysis.
  • Best for: Medical devices
• Geographies: Country or region specific. Some market data is global.
• Search Tip:

1. To access, use the Analysis tab
2. Select either Market Data, Industry Analysis, and Expert Insight subtabs

Example Lux Research Report

• Contents: Reports, presentations, company and industry profiles, etc.
  • Best for: IT, tech, energy, and VC/PE (startups).
• Geographies: Global
• Search Tip:

1. Search by Companies or Technologies using the tabs in the upper right
2. Under Technologies, All Technology Content allows you to search for company profiles, news, reports, etc., and Tech Pages pull together relevant information for larger and popular technologies/industries

Example Mintel Report

• Contents: Market reports, industry insight, data from consumer surveys, etc. Most reports have a "market" section.
  • Best for: Most consumer products
• Geographies: US focus. Some reports for a handful of other developed nations.
• Search Tip: The keyword search works well to find reports.

Example Passport Report

• Contents: Market analysis and data.
  • Best for: Consumer products & services, some information in ingredients and packaging. Includes distribution data for many products.
• Geographies: Reports and data are specific to individual countries, with some regional and global.
• Search Tip: If a general keyword search isn't working, try the following:

1. Click Search in the top navigation bar
2. In the Search Full Tree box click the light blue Go button.
3. Browse and/or search the industry options. Note, it is not a "smart search", i.e. if you search preschool it won't show any results because they list it as pre-school.

Alternative Keywords

Most databases don't have "smart searches" like search engines. This means that:

• If you search for coca cola but the database uses coca-cola there may be no results
• You won't necessarily related get results, such as soda, pop, or soft drinks
• If a site-wide search isn't working, try browsing the databases' sections or filtering options

Databases sometimes use more technical language than we use everyday (i.e. we might say smart home but reports use home automation).

Solution: Try using different keywords to find related information. Keep a list of what works well and where to save time if you have to re-run the search.

Tip: Many databases allow you to save a search to make re-running it easier.

New/Early-Stage/Upending Industries

Many of the databases are organized around NAICS codes.

• These are standardized US government codes used to classify industries for statistical reporting.
• Niche, new, or emerging industries are often not well represented with the codes.
• You can search the current NAICS code's list. To browse the whole code structure, select the most recent year under Reference Files on the left.

Solution: If reports specific to your industry are not available, try looking for the next best options by expanding your industry (i.e. from coca-cola to soft-drinks or cold beverages) and/or looking at multiple reports that encompass various parts of your industry.

Alice Kalinowski

Email Alice