Where industry research focused on the industry as a whole, market research looks at your operating area and target markets. The bulk of your market research can be done using online tools, but going out and hitting the streets has the potential to get you firsthand data as well as network.

Before starting your market research, be sure you have done a thorough industry analysis. It is especially important that you have an idea of who your target market is. Another thing to consider before beginning is your operating area. Most market research is location focused, especially if you are going to operate a brick-and-mortar store or offer services in a limited area. If you are selling online, then your research strategy will need to change in order to accommodate the quantities of data you will need to parse through.

What is a Market?

Your market is made up of the people, businesses, and economic circumstances in your area of operations. You want to compare the same aspects of the industry report to their market equivalents. A simple example is to compare ratios or benchmark information such as annual revenue and employee count. Does your local market adhere to the national average, or does it deviate in any way? If it is wildly different, you will want to research as to why that is and whether it presents a challenge or an opportunity.

The primary things to look for during market research are as follows:

• target market location
• competition
• suppliers, wholesalers, or distributors
• consumer demographics
• pricing
• advertising strategies
• locations

Aside from knowing where to find the data, there are some things will need to consider before doing your research and analysis. Again, most of this can be found during your industry research.

• Your target market and their demographics including age, income, spending habits, education level, etc.
• Your operating area: Is your business location based or will the target market determine.  There will be different strategies for online retailers
• The material needs of your business: The same tools we use to research our market can be used to find supplier, wholesalers, or exporters

Doing a little research beforehand will pay off in the long run. Successfully identifying your target market and their characteristics saves time and money when implementing your marketing strategy.

Where to Find Market Data

Online Databases: Market research is done using a combination of online databases and real world observation. Some databases like those offered through federal agencies such as the Census, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis are free to access online. Other databases are specialized market research tools. They draw data from federal and proprietary databases and are searchable using a wide array of criteria. The data is exportable to spreadsheet where you can arrange it to your liking. If you are skilled with spreadsheet programs, you can even make your own formulas to calculate ratios for individual businesses or the entire market.

CLP offers several resources to help you with your market research. These include Data Axle, Mergent Intellect, and Dunn & Bradstreet Business Browser. All three resources are available remotely with a CLP card. We advise you to make use of multiple databases in your research as some fall short where others excel.

From the tab above, you will find instructions for doing market research in Data Axle. This is one of the primary resources CLP offers for market research. 

Click HERE for a complete list of our online business resources 

Hitting the Pavement: Have you ever wanted to play secret shopper? Now is your chance!  If you can, go out and observe similar businesses in your area. This is a great opportunity to see things on a level that is not often captured by the available data.  Here are some things to consider:

• The people who frequent the business
  • Pay attention to demographic characteristics
• Interaction between the business and its patrons
  • Is the experience self directed or do the staff provide a "customer experience" 
• Common payment methods
  • Are people ordering and/or paying ahead of time?
  • Cash or card?
• Location and proximity to other businesses
  • Do nearby businesses and residences provide an opportunity for increased customer traffic?