Market Research for Small Businesses

Make informed business decisions with market research. Whether you’re starting a new small business or seeking growth for your existing one, market research can help optimize your business.

What is Market Research?

Market research is a key part of developing a successful small business plan, which includes collecting and analyzing data on your target market, competitors, and industry. These insights enable you to make informed business decisions, create a marketing strategy, and improve your business offer.

Why is Market Research Important for Small Businesses?

  • Understand your market

  • Benchmark against competitors

  • Develop a marketing strategy

  • Improve your product or service

  • Inform decision-making

  • Validate your market opportunity

Our Services

Regardless of where you are in your business venture, conducting market research is essential. Whether you’re in the initial stages of assessing a new business idea or fine-tuning your business plan, our free secondary market research services have you covered.

Consumer demographics

Household consumer spending

Business databases

Industry news & trends

Industry financial ratios & benchmarks

International importing & exporting trade data

How it Works

1

Fill out the market research request form

2

Schedule a consultation appointment

3

Receive your data from our team within 10 days

4

Book a follow-up meeting

Get the Edge with Business Link

Gain access to North America’s top 5 market research databases including IBISWorld, Data Axle, D&B Hoovers, Sitewise Analytics, & Statista

Receive dedicated, one-on-one support from our market research experts

Benefit from expert insights and data collection that align perfectly with your business needs

Access a comprehensive, ready-to-use secondary data list

Ready to Elevate Your Business with Market Research?

Schedule a meeting to access market research for smarter and faster decision making.

Ready to Elevate Your Business with Market Research?

Connect with a member of our team.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Primary market research typically entails engaging with potential buyers of your product or service, or reaching out to businesses within your industry to get their insights on your idea. This process might help you make informed business decisions.

Secondary market research consists of conducting online searches (I.e. Google) and looking at publicly available materials from government sources, industry associations, paid databases, etc.

For a deeper understanding of the classifications between primary and secondary market research, please refer to our handout.

When considering adding market research to your business plan, there are 3 key areas to keep in mind: industry analysis, customers/local market assessment, and competitor analysis.  

Industry Analysis 

Include details about the historical performance of the industry, emerging industry trends, and future industry outlook. 

Customers/Local Market Assessment 

Include demographic information and primary market research findings regarding consumer behaviour and preferences to gain insights into your target market and audience.  

Competitors Analysis 

Include a comprehensive evaluation of your main competitors in relation to your company. Typically, this involves conducting a SWOT analysis to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. 

Certainly, you can utilize a combination of primary and secondary market research for your business. Primary research involves data gathered directly from personal experiences and customer interactions, while secondary research relies on data generated online or by external sources. Both these approaches to market research offer valuable insights that can benefit your business, as they offer distinct types of information and address various questions.

Market research will help identify the number of sales you will need to break even and cover expenses. These expenses will influence the level of demand necessary for your business and inform your strategic marketing efforts to meet that demand.

We’re here to assist you if you find yourself unsure about the specific information or data required for your business plan. Simply complete our intake form and schedule an appointment with our experienced team, who can guide you through the process of identifying your research needs.

What you do with the data is entirely up to your business goals and objectives. This is precisely why it’s crucial to have a clear understanding of the questions you need answered before conducting research. Your specific research objectives will determine how you analyze and utilize the data effectively.