Conducting Marketing Research

Trade Associations

Trade and Professional associations are often a useful way to find out what is happening in an industry. Often they will even supply statistics at no cost. Many associations have a Home Page on the Internet, where data can also be located from their site.

To identify the name and address of a trade association:

• Encyclopedia of Associations
  R 061.3 G13e
  This is a multi-volume set which can be found in the library's reference section. It features a comprehensive list of national organizations described briefly, with names, addresses, and telephone numbers. Associations keep track of industry data for their members and may have valuable information on an industry that would not be found in standard business sources. Indexes include name of organization, key word, and geographic area.
• Business Insights Global
  This database has access to the associations related to businesses that are found in the Encyclopedia of Associations listed above. In order to search ONLY for associations, follow the directions below:
  
  
  1. Start by selecting Advanced Search.
  
  
  
  2. In the Search box, type any descriptive word that identifies the trade association you are searching.(Whether you are looking for a specific Association Name or just any association that has a particular word, this is the procedure to follow)
  
  
  
  3. Use the drop down arrow to highlight one of the three words under the term, Associations: if you want names of associations from other countries, highlight Countries, if you only have a descriptive word, highlight Description, and if you have the industry NAICS code, type the number in the search box, and then highlight NAICS.
  4. Select:Search
  5. Once the results page appears, select the View All link to see the entire list.