Trade Association
Definition:
An organization that represents the interests of the member firms of an industry
Have you ever thought about joining your industry’s tradeassociation? Trade organizations offer a wealth of information,such as market statistics, lists of members, and books andreference materials. Talking to others in your association can beone of the most valuable ways of gaining informal data about aregion or customer base. You should also read your tradeassociations’ publications to get an idea of current and futuretrends and buying patterns.
To track down the association for your industry, visit yourlocal public library. You’ll find a listing of the more than 23,000U.S. trade associations in the Encyclopedia of Associations,published by Gale Research, which is generally available in thereference section of most large public libraries.