1. Jigsaw Puzzles, Pyramids, and Stars
Secondary Market Research
Shapes and Sources
Mark Bodnar SFU Burnaby & Surrey

2. High-Level View Wrong geography Wrong industry Wrong scale Wrong topic
9/9/2010
High-Level View
Secondary = perfect?…
Secondary = (im)perfect…
Wrong geography
Wrong industry
Wrong scale
Wrong topic
Wrong time
SFU Library

3. High-Level View Secondary = unnecessary… Secondary = necessary…
9/9/2010
High-Level View
Secondary = unnecessary…
Secondary = necessary…
Image credit: A Floating Castle of Dreams by Torley
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License.
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4. High-Level View fragmented Secondary business/market information is...
9/9/2010
High-Level View
fragmented
& incomplete
Secondary business/market information is...
Image credit: ClkerFreeVectorImages via
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5. High-Level View Likely to be published?
9/9/2010
High-Level View
Likely to be published?
Data on imports of cheese to Canada by country of origin for 10 years.
Explicit details on the strategic plan of a small, private, artisan cheese producer in Chilliwack.
Details on the supply chain of a processed cheese spread manufacturer?
The number of people in South Surrey who buy cheese frequently.
SFU Library

6. Layered business information…
9/9/2010
High-Level View
Big name
analysis
Below + analysis
Aggregated information + gaps filled with primary research
Aggregated and incomplete information
Dispersed and incomplete information
$$$
Layered business information…
SFU Library

7. 9/9/2010
High-Level View
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8. 9/9/2010
High-Level View
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9. High-Level View MarketLine forecast for 2019 is $3,132,800,000
9/9/2010
High-Level View
MarketLine forecast for 2019 is $3,132,800,000
Passport forecast for 2019 is $4,192,700,000
Passport number is about 33% higher than MarketLine.
Why are they so different?
Is one right and the other wrong?
SFU Library

10. Layered business information…
9/9/2010
High-Level View
Layered business information…
$$$
analysis
+ analysis
+ primary research
Aggregated
Dispersed
Issues below (again)
Issues below, plus…
Expertise
Experience
Track record
Issues below, plus…
Methodology
Varying definitions
Varying quality
Gaps
SFU Library

11. High-Level View Likely publishers…
9/9/2010
Regulations, Trade Data, Industry Overviews, and more...
High-Level View
NEWS
Governments
Associations
Companies
Researchers
Private
Academics
Likely publishers…
Directories and Industry Overviews
How and Why Questions
Pyramid peak! (See previous slide)
Key financials? News about actions taken?
SFU Library

12. Information about fish consumption in Canada?
9/9/2010
High-Level View
NEWS
Governments
Associations
Companies
Researchers
Private
Academics
Likely publishers…
Information about fish consumption in Canada? ?
SFU Library

13. High-Level View A few takeaways…
9/9/2010
High-Level View
A few takeaways…
Not all information is publicly available
You will have to make some estimates & inferences
Estimates & inferences need a foundation
“Peak” reports are great, but not sufficient
Get to know your local librarians!
SFU Library

14. High-Level View Ask or be asked… Why would this info be published?
9/9/2010
High-Level View
Ask or be asked…
Why would this info be published?
Why might it not be published?
Might someone have estimated it?
Can we bend the constraints a bit?
Can we look for disaggregated info instead?
SFU Library

15. Small Business Accelerator sba.ubc.ca
9/9/2010
On the Ground
Starting points
Sources & Strategies
Small Business Accelerator sba.ubc.ca
SFU Library’s business guides Help > Find materials by subject & course > Business > Additional resources
IBISWorld
Passport
ORBIS
SimplyMap Canada
Vividata
(e)books
Factiva & TechNavio
Google site limiting
Realtor.ca
Google Scholar
Private research firm blogs
Reports from major consulting firms
+ Statista!
SFU Library