1. Market Research Licensed under Creative Commons
Attribution – ShareAlike 4.0 International

2. Discover what your customers want
Business is lousy – I wonder if it’s my pricing model?

3. Discover what your customers want
Customer values
Personal and professional goals
Pain points
Purchasing decisions
Customer profile
Age range
Job status
Education
Location
Market size
What geographic area are you selling in?
How many people in this area fit your customer profile?
If you were to reach 1% of this group, how many potential customers is that?
Primary research: Talk directly with customers
Secondary research: Collect data from existing sources

4. Understand your competition
Colin could see that his competitor had obviously done his market research.

5. Understand your competition
Consider both direct and indirect competition.
Direct competition
Organizations offering the same product or service to the same customer base
Example: Nike vs. Adidas
Indirect competition
Organizations that produce similar products and fulfill similar needs
Example: McDonald’s and a local sushi restaurant

6. Understand your competition
Google it!
SEARCH…
…for the key words that you use to describe your idea.
E.g., “Travel app for seniors”
RECORD…
…a summary of other organizations that are offering a similar product or service.
IDENTIFY…
…the key features that distinguish your idea from what is already out there.
E.g., price, functions, ease of use

7. Understand your competition
Search start-up databases to find companies doing similar work:
CrunchBase
Techvibes

8. Your primary competition
Build a competition matrix
Value 1
Value 2
Value 3
Value 4
Your company
Competitor 1
Competitor 2
Competitor 3
The essential values your customers look for (discovered through primary research)
Your primary competition
(both direct and indirect)

9. Example: Travel booking app
Price
Available on iPhone, Android and BB
Includes suggested local activities
Connects to social media
Your company
$0.99
Yes
Super Trip
$1.99 No
Booking Smart
$2.99
Your Trip, Your Way

10. How do I identify competitors?
Additional resource
MaRS Library
How do I identify competitors?