High-Tech Marketing
Course Number: BU479
Subject: Business
This guide is intended to help you with your marketing plan project. Use the separate sections below to navigate a variety of business resources in researching the industry, market, and consumer base for your partner company and their project.
Researching high-tech industries can, at times, be difficult because many of the companies that make up those industries and markets tend to be smaller start-ups who do not release a lot of information publicly (outside of product information). It is advisable to look up similar companies, to your partner, and similar industries. You will also need to make great use of business articles to find usable information.
Research Help
Your business librarian, Matt Rohweder, is always available to help with research with your assignment.
Book a research consultation with me:
Researching High-Tech Industries and Companies
Using your partner company, Clicks, and their product (the keyboard case) as a starting point, you will need to occasionally think outside of the box to adequately research and build your marketing plan.
You might not find a specific set of reports for mobile keyboards, but you might find some good information on mobile or smart phone cases, as well as the smart phone accessories category. It is also helpful to brainstorm as many possible competitors as possible, you might be able to start seeing trends and connections around potential industries and markets.
Use the various resources listed on this guide to find information about the industry, market, products, and consumer base for your marketing plan.
Key Resources for the High-Tech Marketing Plan
Top Library/Online Resources:
The following resources provide industry, company, market, and consumer reports that will be useful for your project.
Industry reports that include an industry outlook, an overview of the competitive landscape and key statistics. Search by keyword and limit to geography: Canada or U.S.
- Gartner (Top Pick)
Provides current research for the technology industry. It is a great resource for information technology-related research and analysis directed at IT decision-makers, including magic quadrants and hype cycles.
Run searches for your industry and related industries, as well as products.
Company information contained in this database typically includes a list of brand names associated with the company. Select the "Major Products and Services" link to see a list of major brands associated with a chosen company.
Provides business intelligence on companies, countries, industries, and consumers. This includes some reports on technology themes. This includes category reports on consumer electronics, and ISIC reports (see Industrial subtab under the Economies main tab) on some technology/computing related sectors in Canada specifically. The consumers section of the database also contains data on consumer trends related to IT themes.
Useful for consumer trend analysis and consumer behaviour analysis, but is a paid subscription service, so some materials will not be available.
Comprised of detailed surveys for over 50 U.S. industries. Coverage includes industry trends and a guide to analyzing companies in each industry. To access> Click on the "Industries" tab at the top of the screen and select your industry from the drop down menu or use the drop down menu under "Quick Links – Recently Updated Industry Surveys" from the main page.
Canada's Information Resource Centre (CIRC) provides a listing of Canadian Associations. Associations can provide detailed information on their respective industry. N.B. Be sure to uncheck all databases, with the exception of Associations Canada.
The Government of Canada has tons of statistical and analytical information on the IT sector in Canada.
Finding Articles for the High-Tech Marketing Plan
Finding Articles:
Articles are a key resource when doing any kind of marketing research. You will want to do general searches for your industry and market (smart phone accessories, smart phone keyboards, mobile keyboards), as well your company and competitors.
You may also want to search specifically for key IT and technology based journals, including: Wired, MIT Technology Review, Technology Review, and PC Magazine. (Note: All of these are available through the Library).
Finding Articles in a Specific Journal
Finding Articles in a Specific Journal
- From the library homepage, click "Search for journal titles" below the Omni search box. Enter in a journal title.
- Click on the relevant hyperlinked journal. In the new window, select the appropriate database.
- Tip: Look at the year(s) listed in the "Available from" field.
- Two options: run a search in the journal or browse by volume and issue number
- Option one: Use Advanced Search. Start broad, use keywords and/or subject terms (subject headings). Connect terms using Boolean operators: AND, OR, & NOT.
- Tip: Click on ? or Tips links (usually found near the search box) for additional search techniques
- Too many results? Narrow your search by publication date, geographic location, source type, etc.
- Option two: Browse specific issues by expanding the year(s) and if necessary, expand the month. Review articles in each issue.
Finding Articles: Search Tips
Search Tips
These tips may apply to searching through Omni or the article databases mentioned above.
- Start broad, use keywords and/or subject terms (subject headings). Connect terms using: AND, OR, NOT. Examples: therapy OR care, promotion OR marketing
- Use quotation marks if you wish to search terms together as a phrase. e.g. "service marketing", "musculoskeletal care"
- Click on ? or Tips links (usually found near the search box) for additional search techniques such as how to use truncation and wildcard symbols as well as proximity operators.
- Too many results? Narrow your search by publication date, geographic location, source type, etc.
- Look for "Full-text" links or try the "Get it at Laurier" button for more options.
Key Article Databases
The following are key resources to find business trade & scholarly articles.
Includes articles from Canadian journals, magazines, and news resources
Provides business articles, case studies, industry reports, and market research data
Provides access to newspapers and other popular articles from an international perspective. Excellent Branding Resource
Provides access to key business journals
Other Useful websites
Contains Canadian industry statistics
A UK based online portal that offers a number of online resources including reports and articles related to market research. Includes global coverage but with a strong emphasis on Europe. To locate market research articles and reports see the menu and select “Market Research Findings”, “Library of Research Articles”, or “Market Research News”.
Nielsen is a global information and measurement company that provides market research related reports. Coverage includes over 100 countries. When searching for relevant reports select “Insights” from up-top and then use the tool-bar on the left to narrow your results. Alternatively, you can enter in keywords into the search bar located at the top-right to locate relevant results. Most reports are available for free immediately, while others can be requested free of charge.
Citation Help
The resources below will help you create and use citations in your report effectively and correctly.
The Laurier Library provides guidance on citing in APA and other styles. You may watch a tutorial on how to cite.
Developed by business librarians at Bronfman Business Library at York University, this guide puts together great examples on citing business resources including books, articles, industry reports, company reports, and analyst reports from databases.
The Laurier Library provides guidance on citing AI tools like ChatGPT both in-text and in the reference list in APA and other styles.