Industries

Industry refers to a segment of our economy, such as the textile industry or the software industry. The industry is determined by the type of business a company engages in. Corporations are compared, and compare themselves, to others in the same industry. Your company may operate in several industries, or just one. Don't assume your company's managers know what is going on in the industry in which you operate. They may not, but they almost always think they do.

Market and marketplace are interchangeable terms referring to customers or prospective customers who might have a use for your product. Competing firms operate within the same market. Determining the exact size and makeup of a market is impossible, but successful companies try to learn as much as they can about their market for planning. The word market might also refer to the stock market, depending on the conversation.

Marketable refers to the saleability of a product or service. If you have marketable skills, you are able to sell your skills for a salary or fee. If a product is marketable, you should introduce it as soon as possible, to beat your competition to the punch.

Market share refers to a percentage of the total dollars generated in an industry in a given time frame. If your boss says, "We had 40 percent market share last year," that means your company got 40 percent of the total dollars spent on products of the same kind. In certain industries, such as dry cereal or fast food, increasing your market share by as little as one-half of one percent can mean millions of dollars. Market share does not appear on a financial statement for shareholders, but it is very important to many companies. In some cases, management follows market share more closely than the company's own sales revenue or profit. Often managers must explain to others in management as well as shareholders why the company has gained, lost, or maintained market share.