Hi Andrew!

I’m currently working on market research to find a market/industry/niche I would like to get involved with my next business venture. I owned an IT company and sold it off successfully 3 years ago. After a quick break I’m ready to get back to work again!

Do you know any sources, websites where I could find some industry related reports (like how big the market is, main players etc.)? I know there are specific companies selling reports like these but they’re quite expensive and I just wanted to explore other options.

Thanks,
John K. (US, TX)

Hi John,

Thanks for your question.

Market research is something you really want to concentrate on before moving into any new business venture. As you already stated, there are industry related companies selling all kinds of reports but yes, they can be pretty expensive (as it’s really not a mass product).

However, there are other, FREE alternatives to explore:

1. FREE Industry Reports – these can be found in almost any industry – just type in Google “your niche + industry report” and chances are you’ll find an in-depth industry report put together by a business organization or trade professionals.

These reports are usually yearly and features lots of important market analysis, like market volume, biggest players & their shares, trends, predictions etc. etc. in a word – FANTASTIC resource! And these reports are usually free and publicly available.

From my experience, I can tell that industry reports are easier to find in the US than UK so it’s worth taking a look @ US market first (that data still should be very valuable to you).

2. Google Keyword Tool – while it’s not exactly a report, Google Keyword Tool can be invaluable to evaluate market’s potential, especially on the web. Using this tool you can find exactly how many searches are done for your targeted phrases (general terms, products, products groups, competitors etc.). This effectively shows you the potential volume & demand.

What’s even more, GKT also shows you AdWords competition for each search phrase which directly reflects real time competition on the web if you ever consider getting into that particular niche.

3. Google Trends – if you’re looking for market trends in general, you want to use Google Trends. As simple as it is, Google Trends will show you where’s your market/niche heading. It can also help to find new opportunities and get in time on a wave with new products, opportunities.

4. Yearly Reports – this one is a real gem! Most public companies (with stocks on exchanges) publish yearly reports. And these reports are FREE and publicly available (usually via their corporate websites). While most data will be based around each particular company, these reports quite often includes industry related information.

5. Alibaba Industry Reports – something totally new from sourcing giant Alibaba – Industry Reports. These reports cover industry trends (over 5 last years) as well as hot searches on Alibaba and other useful information. Again – totally FREE and invaluable information in your market research! (especially if you plan to source products from China).

6. Global Sources Magazines/Reports – these magazines can come handy at last stage of your research, when you start looking for potential suppliers. Global Sources Magazines contains information about hundreds upon hundreds of fully verified suppliers, mostly based in China. Again, totally free and trust able resource.

As you can see, it’s not that bad You can find great deal of information from these 6 sources! Put together, they’re all you need!

Thanks,
Andrew

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