Who is the target customer for your product/service? Be specific about location, age, income, gender, ethnicity, level of education, and any other demographic factor you can. You will not have succeeded in doing so unless it is also clear who is not your customer.

Finding customers (a target market) who are interested in or need a specific product or service:

Best Customers: Demographics of Consumer Demand
Reference HC 79 .C6 R87 2005

This book will help determine a potential target market for a particular product or service. Data for each product/service includes: average spending, indexed spending, and market share of spending by age, household income, household type, race, region of residence, and educational attainment. Each table is accompanied by text identifying the best and biggest customers, analyzing spending patterns, describing spending trends for the product/service over the past few years and predicting future trends based on the nation's changing demographics.

MarketResearch.com Academic
Off-campus, sign in using your Gull Card barcode and last name. Choose Salisbury University as the campus and then click the log in button.

Full-text market research reports and executive summaries. Sources for reports include Kalorama Information, Packaged Facts, and Specialists in Business Information (SBI). Covers the following industry sectors: business services, consumer goods, food and beverages, demographics, heavy industry, life sciences and technology and media. From 1996 to 12 months ago. The most current information will be included in the executive summaries.

Browse reports by industry sector or conduct a 'Quick Search' at the top left of the screen. Click on the link 'Visit Help FAQs' for information on how to search for better results. Researchers can browse or search for demographic reports.
To view the full-text of any report, click on the 'Download Report' button. As needed, remove pop-up blocking on the Internet browser by right clicking on the yellow highlighted area and selecting 'Download File'. Reports download to Adobe as a PDF file.
Read online or print selected pages by clicking on the print icon in Adobe. Since the full-text reports are lengthy, only print pages which provide information needed for the project. When the print box appears, select 'Current Page' or enter a page range.

Who's Buying Series ... (New Strategist Publishers)

Alcoholic & Nonalcoholic Beverages Reference HD 9348 .U52 W46 2005
Entertainment Reference GV 53 .W46 2005
Groceries Reference HD 9321.4 .W46 2005
Healthcare Reference RA 410.53 .W46 2005
Household Furnishings, Services
& Supplies Reference HD 9773 .U6 W46 2005
Information Products & Services Reference T 58.5 .W46 2005
Restaurants & Carry-outs Reference TX 945 .W46 2005
Transportation Reference HD 9710 .U52 W46 2005
Travel Reference G 155 .U6 W46 2005

Each report provides, household spending trends for 5 years across a number of demographic characteristics, household spending for specific types of products/services, and a ranking list. For each product/service, best customers are identified, customer trends are given, and average household spending is provided across a number of demographic variables.

Business Source Premier (EBSCO)
American Demographics, an excellent source of demographic data, is provided in full-print in this database. Off-campus, sign in using your Gull Card barcode and last name. Choose Salisbury University as the campus and then click the log in button.

Click on 'Advanced Search' at the top of the screen.
In the first search box, use the pull-down menu to select 'Publication Name' and type American Demographics.
In the second search box, use the pull-down menu to select 'All Text' and type in a search term that describes your product or service (ex. weddings).

American Demographics is also available on the Internet.

Use networking to make connections or to complete survey analysis on a potential target market.

For example: if data can not be found regarding what type of customer would be interested in astronomical devices in the Salisbury area, you may want to check out Salisbury University student organizations or Salisbury area organizations so that you can survey their members or speak to them face-to-face. You may also want to talk to Science professors at Salisbury University and ask for assistance.

Lifestyle Analytics:
These sources can also be used, in addition to the sources above, to determine target markets based on lifestyle characteristics.

American Generations Series ... (New Strategist Publishers)

Baby Boom: Americans
born 1946 to 1964 Reference HF 5415.33 .U6 R877 2004
Generation X: Americans
born 1965 to 1976 Reference HF 5415.33 .U6 G642 2004
Millennials: Americans
born 1977 to 1994 Reference HQ 796 .M4797 2004
Older Americans: A
Changing Market Reference HQ 1064 .U5 O43 2004

Each book in the series is divided into nine chapters: Education, Health, Housing, Income, Labor Force, Living Arrangements, Population, Spending, & Wealth. For each topic, provides trends and demographic data analysis for a specific generation.

American Men: Who They Are & How They Live
Reference HQ 1090.3 .A457 2006

Provides demographic data showing the size of the male population, its changing age distribution, rising educational attainment, and evolving racial composition. It is divided into nine chapters, organized alphabetically: Education, Health, Income, Labor Force, Living Arrangements, Population, Spending, Time Use, and Wealth.

American Women: Who They Are & How They Live
Reference HQ 1421 .A486 2006

Provides demographic data showing the size of the female population, its changing age distribution, rising educational attainment, and evolving racial composition. It is divided into nine chapters, organized alphabetically: Education, Health, Income, Labor Force, Living Arrangements, Population, Spending, Time Use, and Wealth.

Lifestyle Market Analyst (SRDS)
Reference HF 5415.33 .U6 L54 2005

Provides market analysis at the local, regional, or national level. It breaks down the American population geographically and demographically. It also includes extensive lifestyle information on the interests, hobbies, and activities popular in each geographic and demographic market. Use section 1 to analyze a geographic market in terms of demographic characteristics and lifestyle interests. Use section 2 to analyze a market segment of households interested in a particular lifestyle (ex. foreign travel). Use section 3 to analyze consumer segment groups in terms of their geographical distribution and prevalent lifestyle interests.
*Read the information on how to interpret data in the front of the book.

LEXIS-NEXIS Academic Universe
Off-campus, sign in using your Gull Card barcode and last name. Choose Salisbury University as the campus and then click the log in button.

From L-N's front page, click on the 'Business' category on the left tool-bar.
Use Terms and Connectors button for word searches.

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How big is the target market? How much growth is expected (see items marked by *)?

Determining target market size in specific geographic/market areas:

Chamber of Commerce or Economic Development websites for your city/state may provide information on demographics & market characteristics:

Doing Business in Maryland (Maryland Dept of Business & Economic Development)
Ready Reference (Ask for this title at the Research Services Desk)

Provides information and data to help those who are trying to start a business in Maryland:

Salisbury Chamber of Commerce - Provides a concise overview of Salisbury in Facts & Figures.

Maryland: Department of Business & Economic Development: Facts & Figures

Maryland Economic Development Directory

Maryland State Data Center

Missouri Census Data Center - click on Maryland and then search for zip & county data

Salisbury University: The Office of Institutional Research, Assessment, and Accountability
For college student population demographics in Salisbury.

Salisbury-Wicomico Economic Development, Inc.
Helps develop the economy and promotes small business development for Wicomico County, MD. Provides data on location, lifestyle, business, demographics, property search, and more.

Other demographic sources:

*Community Sourcebook of County Demographics (ESRI)
Reference HA 203 .S65

For each state, provides county level data per Population, Race, Age, Households, Families, Median Household Income, Income, Spending Potential Indices. Also provides, business data per county (number of firms, top industry).
*Use this source for 2009 population projections per county. Refer to front of book for data interpretation guidelines.

*Community Sourcebook of Zip Code Demographics (ESRI)
Reference HA 203 .S66

For each zip code, provides county level data per Population, Race, Age, Households, Families, Median Household Income, Income, Spending Potential Indices. Also provides, business data per county (number of firms, top industry). See 'consumer type' data for top lifestyle and % of households that fit that lifestyle. Tapestry consumer types defined in the front of the book.
*Use this source for 2009 population projections per zip code. Refer to front of book for data interpretation guidelines.

U.S. Census Bureau

U.S. Census Bureau: American FactFinder

*U.S. Census Bureau: Population Projections (forecasts to 2050)
The Population Projections Program creates projections of the resident population for the United States and for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

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Location, Location, Location:

Traffic counts/intersection counts can be useful in determining the best location for a small business.

Maryland's Traffic Volume Maps by County For the Years (1998-2004)
The Traffic Volume Maps depict the Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) at various locations on Maryland's roadways. Traffic volume data is collected from the 3000 program count stations, 79 automated traffic recorders (ATR), and the 7 toll count stations located throughout Maryland. Program count data is collected on a three year cycle, while the ATR and toll count data is collected on a continual basis. The AADT figures, shown on these maps, are estimated. The AADT estimates were derived by taking 48 hour machine count data and applying factors from permanent count stations.

Property rates can also be a determining factor in where you start your small business.

Maryland: Dept of Business & Economic Development
Look up current rates for property (facilities, sites, and industrial parks) in Maryland.

Library Catalog

Ebsco eBooks

(off-campus access
to databases)