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Marketing Plan Assignment

Course Number: BU352

Subject: Business

Welcome to Laurier Library's Marketing Plan Assignment course guide for BU 352. This guide provides information sources to help you research and analyze each section of the Marketing Plan assignment: Market Trend Analysis, Environmental Analysis, Competitive Analysis, Segmentation Analysis and Consumer Buying Behaviour, and Financial Analysis. You may also want to visit the Business subject guide for additional resources that will help you develop your Marketing Plan and research your new product or service. You can find links to helpful video tutorials to the right under Key links.

Use the links below to navigate to the different sections of this guide.

Market trend research

Key resources for finding information on market trends

Key industry databases

Locate industry reports, market reports, and articles. Enter the industry or market in the search box or search by NAICS code (found under the "More search options" heading). Narrow your results by source type/ document type/ location and/or publication date.

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.

Includes industry research and analysis, including Market Overviews. Learn how to conduct industry research using Marketline from this video tutorial.

Contains market research data, i.e. information on consumer lifestyles and market size.

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.

Article databases

Contains trade and industry articles covering market trends, products, and companies

Includes articles from Canadian journals, magazines, and news resources

Provides business articles, case studies, industry reports, and market research data

Global database of newspaper and other popular articles, excellent resources for consumer information and market trends.

Key websites

Contains Canadian industry statistics

Environmental scanning research

Key resources for finding information on environmental factors

Key databases

Locate industry reports, market reports, and articles that discuss external factors impacting your product or service. Enter the industry or market in the search box or search by NAICS code (found under the "More search options" heading). Narrow your results by source type/ document type/ location and/or publication date.

Provides industry research and analysis, including Five Forces Analyses. Learn how to conduct industry research using Marketline from this video tutorial.

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.

Contains expert analysis on factors impacting markets, including social and demographic trends.

Comprised of detailed surveys for over 50 U.S. industries. Coverage includes current market environment. 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.

Includes SWOT analysis and industry research reports. Go to "Screening & Analysis"> "Research"> "Research Search" > search by SIC, NAICS or text. N.B. Be sure to change the report date to a longer period than the 90 day default range so as to retrieve a good selection of reports. **You must use Internet Explorer for full functionality of the database. Learn how to use Thomson One to find industry analyst reports from this video tutorial.

Canada's Information Resource Centre (CIRC) provides a listing of Canadian Associations. Associations can provide detailed information on their respective industry such as current market forces. N.B. Be sure to uncheck all databases, with the exception of Associations Canada.

Article databases

Contains trade and industry articles covering market trends, products, and companies

Includes articles from Canadian journals, magazines, and news resources

Provides business articles, case studies, industry reports, and market research data

Key websites

Consult a Canadian company’s annual report for environmental factors affecting its respective market

Review annual reports of a U.S. company for environmental factors affecting its particular market

Competitive analysis research

Key resources for finding competitive intelligence and market share information

Key industry databases

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.

Includes information on brand competition, market sizes, company shares, brand shares, etc.

Allows the creation of a company list to compare companies operating in the same industry by specific industry classification codes. Above the search box, click "Search by Subject or Topic" > Click "Dossier(Company, Executive, & Industry)" > Select the "Create a Company List" tab> Enter SIC or NAICS Code(s) and any other criteria> Once search options are chosen, hit the "Create" button. Click "Customize" to customize the list. For step-by-step instructions, view the video tutorial Build a Company List.

Contains industry reports that discuss competitors, market share, and Porter’s Five Forces analysis, i.e. degree of rivalry and new entrants. Learn how to use Marketline to find Five Forces analysis from this video tutorial.

Provides comparative market share information.

Includes industry reports with emphasis on an industry’s competitive landscape. Go to "Screening & Analysis"> "Research"> "Research Search" > search by SIC, NAICS or text. N.B. Be sure to change the report date to a longer period than the 90 day default range to retrieve a good selection of reports. **You must use Internet Explorer for full functionality of the database. Learn how to use Thomson One to find industry analyst reports from this video tutorial.

Article databases

Contains trade and industry articles covering market trends, products, and companies

Provides business articles, industry reports, and market research data

Key websites

Provides Canadian industry reports and government publications on key sectors

Segmentation analysis and consumer buying behaviour research

Key resources for finding information on a market segment and consumer buying behaviour

Key industry databases

Contains industry reports that discuss Porter’s Five Forces analysis, i.e. buyer power. Learn how to use Marketline to find Five Forces analysis from this video tutorial.

Contains market research data, i.e. information on consumer spending patterns and market size

Includes industry reports with emphasis on consumer spending. Go to "Screening & Analysis"> "Research"> "Research Search" > search by SIC, NAICS or text. N.B. Be sure to change the report date to a longer period than the 90 day default range to retrieve a good selection of reports. **You must use Internet Explorer for full functionality of the database. Learn how to use Thomson One to find industry analyst reports from this video tutorial.

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.

Article databases

Contains trade and industry articles covering market and product trends, consumer behaviour, and company information.

Provides business articles, industry reports, and market research information, including consumer buying trends.

Key websites

Locate Census profiles for specific geographical (market) areas, i.e. City of Toronto, Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), Province of Ontario, etc.

Find NHS Profiles that include data on topics such as Income, Occupation, and Education for specific Canadian geographical areas.

Provides Canadian socio-economic data such as neighbourhood income and demographics as well as population estimates.

  • Survey of Household Spending (SHS) via <odesi>

Provides data on expenditures such as household spending on food expenditures (Table 203-0028), as well as household equipment (Table 203-0027, Table 203-0031).

For access: Select "Browse" link at top right. In new window, select "Consumer Surveys" at top left. Expand "Canada" and then expand "Survey of Household Spending (SHS)". Choose most recent year and then the title. Click "Metadata" then "Study Description" through to "Data Access" then click "Access Data here" (right pane). Or select CANSIM table: Survey of Household Spending - 3508

Financial research

Key resources for finding financial information

Key databases

Contains sales data and statistics (historical, current, and forecasts) for a variety of different products and services.

Provides annual reports and company financials - i.e. income statements, cash flow statements. Run a company search> Select the "Company Financials" tab> From the drop-down menu, select "Balance Sheet", "Income Statement", "Retained Earnings", "Cash Flow" or "All Sections"> Click "Refresh". Adjust date range if needed. Also see "Business Segments" under "Company Details" for possible financial results for subsidiaries. The data can also be downloaded into an Excel format. Learn how to find company financials using Mergent Online from this video tutorial.

Includes financial information on public companies, such as balance sheets and cash flow. Select "Companies/Markets"> "Company" > and enter a company name or symbol. Select "Financial Results" to choose various financial statements for the company in question.

Comprised of detailed surveys for over 50 U.S. industries. Coverage includes a financial review of an industry-specific company, i.e. income statement analysis of a broadcast/cable company. 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.

Contains financial analysis, forecasts, and filings. Use the "Company Views" tab to access estimates, filings, and price charts. Or go to "Screening & Analysis"> "Research"> "Research Search" > search by SIC, NAICS or text to find analyst reports. N.B. Be sure to change the report date to a longer period than the 90 day default range to retrieve a good selection of reports. ** You must use Internet Explorer for full functionality of the database. Learn how to use Thomson One to find analyst reports from this video tutorial.

Key websites

Review annual reports of Canadian companies for financial statements.

Review annual reports of U.S. companies for financial statements.

This website provides a broad range of information about stocks, public and private companies, including quotes, charts and estimates analysis. Search and display your company> scroll down and click on "More from Reuters" in the middle of the screen> click on the "Financials" tab at the top of the screen.

Current and historical company information for companies listed on the major US and Canadian stock exchanges. Includes stock data, charting capabilities, performance, financial ratios (including beta), and comparable companies.

Additional marketing resources

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.

Provides information on key marketing concepts, including a section on how to develop a marketing plan.

Advanced guides for multiple industries

Citing your sources

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