A NAICS code is the number the US government uses to say what kind of business a company is. You can use it to measure a market before you chase it: pick one or two codes for your buyers, look up how many such businesses exist in your county and how big they are, and then turn that count into a list of named companies. The code tells you how many. Directories tell you who.
The step most guides skip is the one in the middle, going from a count to a list you can write to. Below is the whole path, with a made-up county so the numbers add up.
The path in five steps, with time
- Pick one or two codes (10 minutes).
- Look up the county count by establishment size (15 minutes).
- Keep the size bands that match your buyer (5 minutes).
- Collect the first 25 names from directories and registries (about an hour).
- Add owner or manager names, then write to the 25 before you build the rest (another hour or two).
Under half a day gets you a counted market and the first batch. The rest of the list can follow while replies come in.
What a NAICS code is
NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) sorts businesses into categories with codes of two to six digits. The longer the code, the narrower the category. 621210 is Offices of Dentists. 238220 is Plumbing, Heating and Air-Conditioning Contractors. 722511 is Full-Service Restaurants. The Census Bureau publishes the code list and a search for it on its website; type a few words about your buyer and read the definitions, which say what is included and left out.
Pick one or two codes for your buyers
Describe your best customer in a sentence (what an ideal customer profile is helps), then find the code or codes that match. Cobalt Signs makes and installs signs for restaurants. The buyer is the owner of a sit-down restaurant, so the first code is 722511, full-service restaurants. A second, 722513, limited-service restaurants, is a different buyer with a different budget, so Cobalt leaves it for later. One or two codes keep the list sharp.
Count the market in your county
The Census Bureau's County Business Patterns tables give the number of establishments with paid employees by county, by NAICS code and by employment size. Find them by searching "County Business Patterns" on census.gov, then choose your county, your code and the size breakdown. Cobalt's numbers below are invented for a county called Marlow County, and your real ones will differ.
Filter by employee size
| Employees | Full-service restaurants in Marlow County | Fits Cobalt? |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | 12 | No, too small to buy a sign package |
| 5 to 9 | 31 | Some |
| 10 to 19 | 48 | Yes |
| 20 to 49 | 41 | Yes |
| 50 or more | 8 | Often chains with a head office deciding |
The total is 12 + 31 + 48 + 41 + 8 = 140 restaurants. The two rows that fit are 48 + 41 = 89. Adding 11 from the 5-to-9 group brings the target to 100. Now Cobalt knows the market is about 140 locations, 100 worth writing to, and that a list under 40 names would miss most of it.
Turn counts into named companies
The tables never name a business. For names you need a directory or a registry, and none is complete. Good sources are the county health department's restaurant inspection list or the state liquor license list (both public in many places), a Maps search for the category and county, and the local chamber's member list (free B2B database options says where each stops). Searching Maps takes about two minutes per name once you add the owner, so 100 names is a few hours spread over a week; start with 25 and write to them before building the rest. How to build a lead list sets out the sheet, and how to find local business leads goes through the local sources.
The count is useful as a check. If Cobalt's sheet reaches 70 of the 89 target locations, coverage is about 79 percent, and they know the gap is 19 businesses, not an unknown number.
The limits of codes
A code reflects what a business reported on forms, so it can be wrong or broad: a bar and grill might be filed as either a restaurant or a drinking place. Many firms do several things. The tables count locations, not companies, so a chain with 12 outlets counts 12 times. They leave out self-employed people with no staff, and they run a year or two behind. For brand-new businesses you will find nothing in them; how to find new businesses in your area to sell to covers that. Use the code to size the market and aim, and use your own eyes to judge fit.
Keeping the list alive
Restaurants close and change hands quickly. Every quarter, recheck the 25 oldest rows against Maps and remove closed ones. When you want a different kind of trigger, how to find recently funded startups uses filings to catch new money, and how to find leads in trade association directories uses member lists, which often carry the owner's name.
Counting the market is quick. Writing to a hundred of them is the long job. Rocketship finds the buyers by name, emails them from your own Gmail, follows up, and books the meeting on its own. Plans that get you customers start at $24.99 a month (Launch), and both Launch and Frontier start with a 7-day free trial, card required.