While many of the terms mentioned at the beginning of this article could be used interchangeably, one to keep separate is market research.
For some, market research conjures up images of panels of people taste-testing the newest noodle bowl or smelling a new fragrance. And while this is one area of market research, in the context of industry research, market research is a study of groups of potential customers broken down by geography, demographics, psychographics (attitudes, interests, etc.), or any combination of those.
While conducting market research analysis can go hand-in-hand with industry research, market research usually looks at:
If you’re looking for industry research, be sure that’s what you actually find, and don’t get it confused with market information.
Although there is a Products and Markets tab on Industry Reports within IBISWorld, check out the Marketing Research guide to hone in on market research.