Our increasingly digitized world offers unique opportunities for businesses hoping to expand their impact. eMarketer is a valuable resource for finding data and reports on electronic marketing. This database allows you to find charts and tables of digital usage across a variety of countries and industries. These can be exported to excel, jpeg, or PowerPoint and have citations built-in for easy usage.

In addition, eMarketer provides detailed reports on industry and consumer trends. For instance, in the “Online Holiday Shopping Preview,” eMarketer reported, “Consumers have become more resourceful and versatile at finding deals online. They effortlessly move across sites offering coupons, Black Friday promotions, flash sales, daily deals and comparison shopping tools.” This type of information allows companies to create better strategies to engage customers.

To access eMarketer, click here.  A video tutorial, found here, demonstrates the key features of eMarketer. Also, this website allows anyone (including students who have graduated) to receive a daily newsletter with two new articles every weekday. You can sign up for this service here.

KLD Research and Analytics, a database available to students through the library’s subscription to Wharton Research Data Services, is the leading authority on social research for institutional investors. KLD offers statistical data on 90+ social, environmental, and governance indicators for up to 3,000 publicly traded companies.  Over 40 peer-reviewed articles have used data from KLD to research trends in corporate social responsibility.

Access to KLD is quick and easy for students; first, access the WRDS database by clicking here. Log in using your BYU Net ID and password, enter your email into the email bar on the left-hand side of the page and you will be emailed an all access link to the WRDS database. Once you follow the link a list of all WRDS data sets will be on the left-hand side of the page, including the KLD database.

Interested in the sports, fitness, and recreation industry? The Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA) database is an excellent source for sports participation rates and an extensive amount of industry and market segment reports. SGMA industry reports highlight key trends in the industry, with statistical information on industry sales and outlooks for major product segments. Some of the reports you will find on the SGMA database include:
• Participation Report
• Industry Reports
• Market Segment Reports
• Financial Reports

The fastest growing team sport in the United States last year was lacrosse, with an increase in participation of 33%! Want to know the other fastest growing sports in the United States and which sports are expected to decline in future years? Check out the SGMA database by clicking here!

• • Transportation
• • Tourism
• • Leisure and Entertainment
• • Multicultural American Lifestyles

This means not only can you find in-depth market research and analysis on things like tablet computers and lunch meat, but now you can also find reports like “Health and Fitness Clubs,” “Hispanic Media Consumption,” “SUVs and Crossovers,” and “Travel and Tourism – Turkey.”

Did you know that thanks to the economic downturn, 41% of families are dining out less, and 25% are playing boardgames more often? Now you do, and you didn’t even have to pay the $3,995 sticker price for the “Family Leisure Trends” report. This is some of the highest-quality market research available to us. Check it out here: Mintel market research reports

Check out the Encyclopedia of Major Marketing Campaigns in the Gale Virtual Reference Library to learn about the most recent and influential advertising campaigns.  Companies from Adidas to Yahoo! are represented with an in-depth look into the marketing strategies for their products.

The EMMC is in alphabetical order by company.  Each listing gives company contact information, an overview of the campaign, historical context, target market, competition, marketing strategy, and outcome.  Advertising strategies were selected based on innovation, importance of the company, and success of project.

Click here to go to the encyclopedia.  You can also find it by searching for Gale Virtual Reference Library and clicking the plus sign on the drop-down menu for business.  Searches by company or product can be run using the box on the right side of the screen after clicking on the Encyclopedia of Major Marketing Campaigns or you can browse by company using the table of contents.

Interested in learning about the histories of the world’s most important companies?  The International Directory of Company Histories in the Gale Virtual Reference Library provides profiles on 11,370 public, private, and non-profit companies.

Each company profile provides contact information, number of employees, sales volume, ticker symbol, and NAIC industry code.  This resources also gives a detailed description of a company’s history as well as an overview of the products or services it provides.  Along with this information, the articles give a list of further reading to assist in company research.

The International Directory of Company Histories can be found here.  It can also be accessed by searching for the Gale Virtual Reference Library in the “Find a Database” toolbar. After clicking the plus sign next to the business category, various editions of the IDCH can be located.  Search by company in the toolbar on the left side of the screen after opening the directory to find full articles.

Have a great idea for a company but need some help making it come to life?

The Business Plans Handbook offers examples of business plans from entrepreneurs in a range of endeavors. If you’re thinking about creating your own landscaping service, marketing consulting firm, apartment complex, steak house or even something else, this resource from Gale Virtual Reference Library is the perfect way to understand what is required in a business plan.

It shows various ways to effectively organize the plan, gives ideas of what kind of market analysis to conduct while investigating your plan’s feasibility, and outlines the data that the financial world expects when you apply for loans. The appendix includes a host of other useful resources as well.

To access this resource, click here.

Or search Gale Virtual Reference Library in the “Find a Database” toolbar. After opening the database, click on the plus sign next to the business category, and select the most recent edition of “Business Plans Handbook.”

To view the plans available in other editions, click on the cumulative index in the eTable of Contents, and search for your idea. The number next to the company name gives the volume number in which the plan appears.

• • Nationwide the restaurant industry’s gross margin is 59% of revenue, but net profit is only 5.5%
• • The asset turnover ratio is 1.4 and the quick ratio is 0.5
• • Provo-Orem area restaurants record sales of about $30,000 per employee
• • And what is the failure rate for restaurants in the Provo-Orem area?  37%

BizMiner is a great source for industry research and a wonderful tool for fleshing out your business plan.

Frost & Sullivan’s 1800 analysts and consultants cover more than 300 markets and 250,000 companies from 35+ global offices. Frost & Sullivan is a key addition to our collection of market research providers, providing in-depth coverage of technology, chemicals, materials, energy, healthcare, biotechnology, and communications. Whether you need to research the market for mobile video transcoders or whether you want to read technical alerts on new alloys for dental implants, Frost & Sullivan is the place to look. Try it out here.

Through an arrangement with the Utah Academic Library Consortium we now have access to Mergent’s Investor Edge. This tool allows users to screen for stocks based on Beta, industry, and analyst recommendations. It includes price data, ten years of annual statements, SEC filings, and industry reports.

Mergent’s Investor Edge takes its place in our suite of financial databases, alongside our existing access to Morningstar, S&P NetAdvantage, and Value Line. While less sophisticated than our existing resources, it is very easy to use and provides unique content like Ford Equity Research Reports, Moody’s Bond Reports, ratings, and Corporate Bond Yield Averages.