ENT 480: Creating a World-Class Venture

Clark Library has several databases that can give you lists of competitors around the world, in the United States, or on a particular street.
Use one of these strategies to search effectively:

• Name a competitor
  • Think of a business already in the same industry, and search for it
• Know your North American Industry Classification System (NAICS, rhymes with "snakes") code(s)
  • These codes, 2-6 digits long, are a uniform way to find information on an industry and its companies
  • Locate a NAICS code by looking up a competitor in these resources:
    • Mergent Market Atlas -- Look up a company and then look for Description and Contact Information on the Overview page.
  • Search NAICS system directly if you have a good sense of vocabulary; also use this search to see industry segments.

Two searches possible:

1a. Name a publicly traded competitor
1b. Look for this company in Search by Company Name or Symbol box on main screen.
1c. Select Analysis tab, then Industry Peers filter, and select from three lists of competitors (by revenues or sales):

• ICB (Industry Classification Benchmark, developed by Financial Times Stock Exchange International)
• SIC (Standard Industrial Classification code, developed by US government, largely replaced by NAICS)
• NAICS (North American Industry Classification System, developed by US government)

2a. Know your NAICS code 31525
2b. On the home page, follow the hierarchy to select your NAICS code
2c. Select the View Results button.
2d. Check/uncheck boxes to create a company list for output or select the Send to Active List button to create a list that you can return to.
2e. Select the Output Options button to select the data you want to output.