High level description of practical hands on tools to conduct market research for your business idea. Primary and secondary, qualitative and quantitative, and mobile market research. Auto tools for your competition and industry trends.

1. Market Research!
Your Action Plan
Delivered by: Mark Eversfield

2. Market Research Topics
• Why Market Research?
• Process for Tech Market Research
• Resources for Market Research
• Search Tips and Techniques
• Industry Trend Resources

3. Why Research Your Market?
Accessing Your Market Potential
• Define products & services you are offering
• What are the benefits from your idea?
• How do prospective clients value your idea?
• What alternative options are there for your target?
• What evidence is there to
support your value
proposition?

4. A Strategy for Your Market Research
• Identify your information needs - You don’t know
what you don’t know (bplans.com)
• Breakdown your information needs into
categories and subcategories to make it more
manageable
• Define your research needs as specifically as
possible
• Formulate hypotheses or assumptions.
Ideas that you will test during
the course of your research

5. Market Research Sources
Answers to market research questions come from
primary and secondary sources:
• Secondary Data: information that already exists
from various sources ie: StatsCan & BC Stats.
• Primary Data: firsthand information
that you gather by
conducting focus groups,
interviews, or surveys.

6. Types of Market Research Answers
There are two general types of data:
• Quantitative data: quantities, percentages, or
numbers that results from closed questions. (What!)
• Qualitative data: information about people’s feelings,
perceptions, opinions, behaviors, beliefs, attitudes, and
observations. It’s great for insights into your customers
motivations. (Why!)

7. Market Research Plan
Primary Research
• Create a primary research plan
• Conduct primary research
Secondary Research
• Conduct secondary research on your target
market, competition, and industry.
Compile information for your viability decision
• Decide to pursue or postpone

8. Process for Tech Primary Research
• Opportunity identification: interviews, focus
groups, and surveys
• Product concept generation research:
develop products and features to meet needs
• Concept Testing: determining market size,
customers willingness to pay, determining
highest value products and features,
effective marketing techniques

9. Process for Tech Primary Research
• Marketing strategy development: product,
price, promotion, and place achieved through
surveys
• Test market research phase: have customers
experience the product and take feedback
including attitudes
• Product launch: feedback,
monitoring to avoid pitfalls,
looking for additional
opportunities

10. Tips for Tech Primary Research
• Involve the potential customer in developing
the concept
• Invite potential customers to experience the
solution
• Use focus groups
for idea generation
and screening

11. Tools for Tech Primary Research
• Online survey apps
• Mobile market research
• Online focus group applications

12. Secondary Research & Demographic Info
• Demographic information includes
characteristics about your target market such
as age, gender, income, marital status, and
occupation
• Try to keep the list of important
characteristics to a minimum (3)
• BC Stats & bizmapbc.com

13. Psychographic Information
• More subtle and describes values, lifestyle,
leisure, attitudes, self image
• There are 66 Canadian psychographic groups
• Identify your demographic groups first (easier
access) and then use psychographics to find
out what makes them tick!
• The most effective marketing strategies use
psychographics to reach the target market

14. Secondary Resources
Take advantage of free sources of data:
• Small Business BC
• SBBC/Libraries (on-line databases)
• Government Sources (Stats Can, BC Stats,
Data BC, Small Business Accelerator)
• Sedar, the database of publically traded
companies. Edger in the U.S.

15. Secondary Resources
• Twitter/Google Alerts
• Licensed Databases
• Internet Accessible (unlicensed) Databases
• Industry or Trade Associations
• City Hall

16. Market Research Search Strategy
• Set up tools that will work for you while you
take care of business
• These tools can work for all aspects of your
market research: target market, competition,
and industry trends
• creating effective search
strings

17. Effective Search Techniques
• Combine “phrases” (double quotes) and key
words to get the best results
• Use funnel approach to your searches
• Beware of industry jargon and special terms
that identify your business type

18. Periodical Indexes (licensed database)
• Periodical indexes are expensive databases
that you can access through Small Business
BC or your local college, university, library for
free
• They are an important resource for
secondary information about your target
market, competition, and industry trends

19. Other Proprietory Databases
• Euromonitor’s Passport Database.
• IBIS World database
• First Research (US only)
• Marketresearch.com (US only)

20. IBIS World

21. BC Stats for Age Projections
• Population Projections by Age Groups
• Male/Female counts
• Local Health areas are used for Geography
• Use 5 year window for what the future may hold.

22. Google Alerts
• Google Alerts is an automated search tool
that looks for your search strings every day.
• It will keep you current on the latest trends.
• Get information on your target market,
competition, and industry trends.
• You can have as many search strings as you
like.
• Delivers Alerts to
your email daily.

23. Secondary Information on Your Competition
• Use automated tools to monitor your
competition’s marketing strategy
• You can use Twitter to “follow” your
competition’s tweets (use lists)
• Check if the company has a Facebook or
Pinterest page to gather ideas for your
marketing
• Create a Google Alerts on selected
competitors and stay connected
• Use Google Maps “My Places” to map your
competition.

24. Your Unique Selling Proposition
What is your advantage?
What do you offer consumers?
• What pain does your product or service address?
• What time does it save?
• Does it increase productivity?
• Is it easy to understand?
• Link for more info:
http://onforb.es/1pAYmy6

25. Questions About Your Industry Trends
• Is your industry new, leading edge, growing,
peaking, stagnating or declining?
• What are your current industry trends?
• What are the opportunities/threats?
• What is the outlook for your industry?
• What regulatory issues will you face?

26. Secondary Info on Your Industry Trends
Find key industry trends and projected growth by:
• Setting up a Google Alert/Twitter accounts
• Using licensed databases to search for information
on your industry. (IBIS World)
• Subscribing to springwise.com & trendhunter.com
• Small Business Accelerator

27. Upcoming Event: INSPIRE 2015
30% off Coupon Code:
VanStartupCity

28. 13th Annual Small Business BC Awards
Categories
1. Premier’s People’s Choice
2. Best Apprentice Training
3. Best Community Impact
4. Best Company
5. Best Concept
6. Best Emerging Entrepreneur
7. Best Employer
8. Best International Trade
9. Best Online Marketer
10.Best Workplace
Nominations Open on
Oct 1st!

29. QUESTIONS?
Contact Information:
W: www.smallbusinessbc.ca
E: eversfield.mark@smallbusinessbc.ca
Twitter: @sbbcinsights LinkedIn
Blog: Market Research Around BC
P: 604-775-5699 | 1-800-667-2272
A: 54 - 601 West Cordova Street, Vancouver, BC

30. THANK YOU!
@smallbusinessbc
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Join our Small Business BC Group
Sign-up today at www.smallbusinessbc.ca/community