Market Research: How to Use Library Databases Like a Pro

This guide is informational and designed to help you feel confident using library databases for business research. It does not contain financial or legal advice.

Why Market Research Matters

Market research is about understanding the world around your idea: customers, competitors, and the trends that influence them both. It is the difference between guessing and knowing.

  • Why it saves time and money: Without research, you may launch a product no one wants, or set prices too high or too low. With research, you reduce waste and focus on what matters.
  • Why it reduces risk: Business involves uncertainty, but data gives you a clearer map.
  • Why it builds credibility: If you’re talking to investors, partners, or even family, it’s easier to gain support when you can point to evidence.
  • Why it helps long term: Markets change. Good research habits mean you can adjust when customers or competitors shift.

Think of research as the foundation of your house. Without it, everything you build is on shaky ground.

Define Your Customer

Before you open a single database, define who you are looking for. Numbers make sense only when you know who they represent.

The easiest way is to create personas — simple character sketches of your ideal customers.

What to include in a persona:

  • Age range and stage of life: Student, young professional, parent, retiree.
  • Goals and motivations: Save time, save money, impress others, live healthier.
  • Challenges: What frustrates them? What problem do they want solved?
  • Habits: Where do they shop, how do they search for solutions, what do they trust?

Example 1:

  • “Sam, 35, a parent of two, values quick healthy meals. Shops at supermarkets weekly. Chooses convenience over lowest price.”

Example 2:

  • “Leila, 22, student, uses second-hand fashion apps. Cares about sustainability, spends carefully, follows Instagram trends.”

These are not stereotypes; they are working tools that help you connect the dots between data and real people.

Map Your Market (TAM / SAM / SOM)

Market size can feel abstract, but it helps to break it into three layers.

  1. TAM – Total Addressable Market
     The largest group possible. Example: All people in the UK who drink coffee.
  2. SAM – Serviceable Available Market
     The slice you could realistically reach with your current resources. Example: Coffee drinkers in Southampton who go to cafés.
  3. SOM – Serviceable Obtainable Market
     The smaller slice you can realistically capture in the short term. Example: 2% of Southampton café-goers who are open to trying a new independent shop within walking distance of the city centre.

Why this matters:

  • TAM shows potential size.
  • SAM shows your realistic playing field.
  • SOM keeps you grounded: what’s actually possible now.

Even rough estimates help you explain your market clearly to yourself and others.

Finding Data at the Library

Libraries often subscribe to powerful business databases that cost thousands commercially. You can access them for free at business & IP centres or through your library card. Here are the main categories you’ll find:

  • Company lists
     Directories of businesses by sector, location, size, or turnover. Great for competitor scans or identifying potential customers.
  • Demographics
     Information about people: age, gender, income, family size, education, or location. This helps you check if your customer personas match real population profiles.
  • Consumer trends
     Reports that explain how people’s buying habits are shifting. Example: more people shopping online, rising demand for sustainable packaging.
  • Industry reports
     Overviews of entire sectors, with growth forecasts, challenges, and regulatory notes. Useful to see whether your sector is growing or shrinking.
  • Trade news archives
     Articles and updates from specialist publications that show what insiders are talking about.

Together, these sources give you both breadth (the big picture) and depth (specific companies and customers).

Build a Search Strategy

Databases can feel overwhelming. A simple strategy keeps you on track.

Step 1: Keywords
 List words people actually use for your product. Example: “vegan snacks,” “plant-based treats,” “healthy snacks.”

Step 2: Industry codes
 Some databases classify businesses with numerical codes (often called NAICS or SIC). In plain English, these are like labels that group similar businesses. For example:

  • “Coffee shops” and “tea rooms” might fall under one code.
  • “Software publishers” is another.
    Using codes helps you capture all relevant businesses, not just the ones that happen to use your chosen keyword.

Step 3: Boolean basics
 Databases use simple logic words to combine searches:

  • AND = must include both. (“vegan AND snacks”).
  • OR = can include either. (“vegan OR vegetarian”).
  • NOT = exclude. (“coffee NOT instant”).
  • Quotation marks = exact phrase. (“organic coffee”).

Step 4: Filters
 Narrow results by location, company size, revenue, or publication date.

Think of searching as detective work. You rarely get the perfect answer on the first try — you refine, combine, and adjust until the results make sense.

Read and Record

The biggest mistake is forgetting where your data came from. Prevent this with structured notes.

Note-taking template:

  • Source (database/report name)
  • Date accessed
  • Keywords or codes used
  • Key numbers (market size, growth rate, competitor count)
  • Quotes or insights in plain English
  • My interpretation: why this matters for my idea

Keeping this record means you can back up your numbers later — for pitches, business plans, or your own memory.

Validate with Street-Level Insight

Library data is essential, but it doesn’t replace real-world feedback. Validation means testing your assumptions with people.

Options:

  • Surveys: A short set of questions you give online or in person.
  • Interviews: Informal chats with people in your target group.
  • Observation: Watching how people shop, interact, or choose.

Ethical tips:

  • Be transparent — tell people why you’re asking.
  • Respect privacy — don’t collect more personal info than you need.
  • Keep it short — people are more likely to help if it only takes minutes.
  • Say thank you — appreciation matters.

The mix of hard data and street-level insight is powerful. Numbers show patterns; people explain why those patterns exist.

Turn Insight into Action

The goal of research is not to fill notebooks, but to shape decisions. Here’s how to turn insights into practice:

  • Offer: Adjust your product or service. If surveys show people care more about convenience than price, make convenience your priority.
  • Pricing: Compare what people say they’ll pay with competitor prices. Position yourself accordingly: budget, mid-range, or premium.
  • Channels: Choose where to reach customers. If your persona spends more time on Instagram than Facebook, that’s where your energy should go.

Always ask: “So what?” If a piece of research doesn’t change what you do, either it wasn’t relevant or you haven’t yet linked it to your next step.

Research Worksheet (Text-Only Template)

Step 1: Define Customer Persona

  • Age / role / lifestyle:
  • Motivation:
  • Where they spend time:
  • Current alternatives:

Step 2: TAM / SAM / SOM

  • TAM estimate:
  • SAM estimate:
  • SOM estimate:

Step 3: Keywords & Codes

  • Keywords:
  • Industry codes:

Step 4: Sources & Notes

  • Source name:
  • Date accessed:
  • Key insight:
  • Why this matters:

Step 5: Validation

  • Survey questions:
  • Who to interview:

Step 6: Action

  • Adjustments to offer:
  • Pricing decision:

Channel strategy:

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