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Frequently Asked Questions


What is IMI?
Industrial Market Information is an industrial markets research firm located in Boulder, Colorado. For more than 25 years, we’ve helped industrial products manufacturers, distributors and others make data-based decisions for market planning, product analysis, territory management, strategic planning, account management and potential analysis, joint distributor/vendor planning and competitive analysis.

IMI supports a wide range of industrial market research needs with standardized market research reports, custom research projects and software tools. For ongoing research needs, we offer a subscription service with unlimited access to the IMI database for the U.S. and Canadian markets for more than 200 MRO/OEM industrial product classes (link to list of products). This allows your staff analysts 24/7 IMI database access at the zip/postal code level and ability to create custom classes for analysis. We provide support and training. It offers an ongoing tool to segment effectively by customer SIC and optimize sales and marketing efforts.

Learn more about IMI's products and services. (link to video on products and services maybe?)


How long has IMI been serving industrial markets?
IMI has been serving industrial markets since 1986. Company founder Rusty Duncan, whose grandfather started and grew an industrial distribution company in Minneapolis, Minnesota, continues in an active role as a consultant and advisor. The roots of the company go back to 1967, when the economic models were developed and refined from other economic sectors.


For which product categories do you offer data?
IMI offers reports for more than 200 industrial MRO/OEM product groups. View the full list here.


In what format will I receive reports?
Data sets and reports are delivered in Excel spreadsheet format. Click here to download sample reports.


How long does it take to get a report?
Most data sets and reports are delivered within a few hours of request. It is rare for even a complex project to take longer than 24 hours.


How much do your reports cost?
IMI provides more standard research reports and data sets at a lower cost than any other source today. Visit our report pricing page for details.

 

What types of reports does IMI offer?
IMI offers two core types of reports: Market Demand and Account Potential.  Account Potential reports provide an expanded telemarketing record for prospect company locations with IMI-estimated demand at each account for products analyzed in the market demand report.

Market Demand Reports provide the following data:

  1. Estimated product potential by geographic area (national, state, county levels)
  2. Estimated product potential by SIC code (by customer segment)
  3. Company demographics by SIC (size by employees and number of accounts in defined geography)

Learn more about Market Demand reports.


What’s an Account Potential report?
The IMI Account Potential report is a powerful tool to identify additional opportunities with existing customers and prospects. Those who have used this model successfully for more than 20 years focus on two areas:

  • Existing accounts. Where does the report identify greatest potential? Where are the surprises in the gap between our actual sales and identified potential? Are there tangential products identified that indicate strong potential? Based on the answers, the next step is to research and qualify accounts with greatest potential for growth. The report narrows the focus, channeling the company’s resources in the areas of greatest potential return.
     
  • Prospect accounts. What segments and accounts offer the most potential? The report prioritizes the focus of your sales efforts on accounts and customer segments (by SIC code) with the highest potential. The next step is to qualify those accounts with the highest potential.

Learn more about Account Potential reports.


Does IMI just offer market research reports?
No! IMI supports a wide range of market research needs with custom research projects and software tools. For ongoing research needs, we offer a subscription service with unlimited access to the IMI database for the U.S. and Canadian markets for more than 200 MRO/OEM industrial product classes. This allows your staff analysts 24/7 IMI database access at the zip/postal code level and ability to create custom classes for analysis. We provide support and training. It is a tool that can help you segment effectively by customer SIC to optimize sales and marketing efforts.

 

What are NAICS and SIC codes, and what’s the difference?
The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the standard used by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy.

NAICS was developed under the auspices of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and adopted in 1997 to replace the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system .


Why does IMI use SIC codes, not NAICS?
IMI in fact updates its proprietary ratio models using the most recent government data, for which the standard is now NAICS codes. Our customers have overwhelmingly retained SIC codes as the basis for their marketing analysis, and so we deliver IMI data sets with 4-digit SIC format as the standard. We continue to monitor the needs of our customer base to be sure we are meeting current needs. 

 

How does IMI estimate market sizes?
Over 25 years, IMI has analyzed end-user consumption patterns across all NAICS (formerly SIC) sectors for more than 200 MRO and OEM industrial products. IMI has refined a proprietary statistical model using consumption ratios (see ratio marketing FAQ below) applied against both government and private database sources. Learn more about IMI's analytical model. (link to video on analytical model)


What is database marketing?
Database marketing is a systematic approach to the collection and analysis of data regarding consumers, businesses and resulting insight to marketers. At its core, effective database marketing gives marketers better insight into the purchasing patterns of customer segments to then focus sale and marketing efforts on identified areas with the highest return on dollar and resource investment.


What is Ratio Marketing?
Simply put, ratio marketing and analysis uses estimated dollar consumption per employee per year to approximate total demand for a given product. It is one of the three components that make up IMI’s analytical model. Market quantification traditionally has been difficult and expensive. Ratio marketing, on the other hand, provides solid statistical results on the relative sizes of different markets or accounts – at a cost-effective price. By using all available data, we can profile the consumption of more than 200 MRO and OEM product classes against nearly 1000 NAICS-code-defined customer segments. Watch this video for a more complete description. (link to analytical model video)


Do you have resources that can help me better understand the use of market data in creating my sales strategy?
Yes. Please visit our Resources page and download our free white papers, or watch these videos about using IMI data to develop market strategy and improve sales planning. Or visit our Market Insights blog for regular updates and tips on industrial marketing.

IMI is also happy to answer any questions you have. Call us today at 1-877-224-9677, or fill out the form below to request information.