Market Research Tips
Learn About Market Research
Market research is an opportunity to gather information on how potential buyers will react to your current or prospective products and services. Complete market research is critical for new start-ups and should be a key element of your business plan.
The goal of market research is to equip yourself with the information you need to make informed business decisions about start-up, innovation, growth, and the four Ps: product, price, placement, and promotion.
Product
Improve your product or service based on what your customers want and need.
- Function - how can your product or service be more effective?
- Appearance - what would make the image of your product or service more appealing?
- Customer service or warranties - how can you add value to your product or service through the support you offer for it?
Price
Base your price on one or a combination of:
- Popular profit margins
- Competitors’ prices
- Financing options
- The price a customer will pay
Placement
Decide where to set up and how to distribute a product. Compare the characteristics of different locations and the value of points of sale (retail, wholesale, and online).
Promotion
Figure out how best to reach your particular market segments (teens, families, students, professionals, etc.) in areas of advertising and publicity, social media, and branding. Then create your value proposition, the statement that details how your product or service will add value to your customers, or solve their problem better than a competitor’s offering.
Market research helps you avoid unpleasant surprises. Intuition and experience can be helpful at times, but research and facts present a more accurate picture of your market. This is particularly important if you are new to Canada. There may be differences in the market to what you expect.
Get to know your customers and competitors. It is important to find out as much as you can about the people you want to sell to, the competition you might face, industry trends, and your potential market share.
Research the Customer
The first thing you need to do is to consider whether the market wants or needs your product or service. Once you have done this, see if others agree with you. You could ask a group of potential customers, or your ISANS business counsellor.
- Who will buy your product or service?
- Where do they live?
- What are they like (age, gender, do they have children, etc.)?
- Why would they buy your product or service?
- How often would they buy it?
- Where would they buy it? At a store, or market, or online?
- Do your buyers have preferences towards your product or service?
- Will you be able to build customer loyalty for your brand?
- What sort of image do you want your product or service to have?
Research the Competition
You also need to research your competition. To get information on the types of businesses that operate in your area, try an online search. Contact organizations with access to databases that list companies by location and services (the Canada Business Network has several that are available for free). Databases help you collect information, but you have to interpret the information yourself.
For example:
- Who are your competitors?
- What are their strengths and weaknesses?
- How do you compare to them?
- How do you think they will react when you open your business?
- Will people purchase your product or service from a new source or are they already loyal to another business?
- Does your business already have goodwill?
Reliable market research information – Access research on the topics you need:
- Demographics (e.g., age, household income, marital status, etc.)
- Potential competitors
- Suppliers and distributors
- Industry performance
- International market and industry data
- Financial benchmarking specific to your industry
- Consumer trends
- Import and export statistics
If you need help with Market Research, ISANS refers you to:
ACOA Business Information Services
Cindy Allen
Communications Officer
902-426-6286
1-877-456-6500
cindy.allen@canada.ca