Conduct market research

Entrepreneurs and business owners need to understand their customers, competition, and market trends. Using data can help you make better decisions and estimate costs.

On this page

• Target market
• Competitor analysis
• Current and future trends
• Operations and management

Target market

Learn who your customers are, what they want, and how they spend.

Identify your target market

Use search engines to find out:

• Who your customers are
• Where they live
• What they like
• How they behave

Search for terms like 'trends,' 'target market' and 'purchasing patterns'.

Access licensed online databases to identify markets and current trends by visiting your local public library.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can also help define and analyze target markets using demographic, psychographic and behavioural data.

For more information, see resources for market research.

Assess your target market’s spending habits

Check Statistics Canada's Average Household Expenditures tool to see how much your customers might spend on your product or service.

Identify your customer’s preferences

Gather feedback to help you understand what your customers like and dislike about your idea, product, or service. This can be done through:

• Surveys
• Focus groups
• Interviews 

Identify consumption trends

Use Google Trends to identify the key trends of your target market.

Set up Google Alerts using the name of your industry and the phrase “consumer trends” to keep up to date on any new trends identified.

Project your target market

Check population trends for your target market. Visit BC Stats for projections on the size of your target market.

Competitor analysis

Find out who your competitors are and what makes them successful.

Know your competition

Check if your local library has access to databases, such as Data Axle, to find details on your competition, such as:

• Products and services
• Age of business
• Number of employees
• Sales

Know your competitor’s advantage

Track your competition and watch for:

• Advertising techniques
• Brochures
• Website updates
• What customers they are targeting

List the areas that you can and cannot compete with.

Current and future trends

Watch for changes and new opportunities in your market. Track key trend resources to identify:

• Future technological opportunities or threats for your business
• Social media opportunities
• Potential developments or repositioning of products, like a paper-based product converting to an electronic version

Access a full list of market trend tools and resources for market research.

Use AI tools to help analyze:

• Large datasets
• Industry reports
• Market gaps and opportunities

Operations and management

Understand the typical costs and earnings for your type of business.

Identify and forecast your business costs and revenues including:

​This can provide insight into the operations of similar businesses in your industry. Visit the federal Financial Performance Data website for more information.