Market / Competitor Research & Analysis

A strong business plan requires going beyond intuition and experience, and supporting your idea with fact-based market research. Investors need to have confidence in your understanding of the market, so don't let yourself down by skimping on research.

We have access to subscriber-only databases and other resources, allowing us to provide market research for all areas of your business plan and beyond:

• Industry Analysis: We help you identify just how big your industry is in terms of revenue and numbers of players. Keeping up with trends (technological, cultural, demographics) is also important for this section of your business plan and we scour industry and news sources to identify those trends.
• Competitive Analysis: You know you have competitors, but what do you know about them? This section of your plan needs to include an analysis of your key competitors, how they market their services/products, how they differentiate themselves in their marketing efforts, and what kind of market share they possess. We can help you with competitive intelligence for both national and international companies.
• Target Market Analysis: Identifying and prioritizing specific target markets is another key part of your business plan where research is crucial. You need to think about such questions as: What are the demographics and psychographics of your target audiences? How can you best reach them? What kinds of concerns do they have? How do they like to be marketed and sold to?

Research Beyond the Business Plan

Research doesn't stop once you've written your plan and have found interested investors. In addition to the ongoing research into your industry, competitors, and customers/clients, we can also help in numerous areas including:

• Client Prospecting: Creating a list of potential qualified prospects for your service or product can be daunting when you're beginning your business. However, this needs to be considered as a follow up on your Target Market Analysis so you can hit the ground running.
• Web Site Research: Developing a company web site where people will return again and again often means providing your audience with information or resources that are useful to them. These resources need to be carefully selected, authoritative, and regularly maintained. We can help identify useful and robust online resources for your specific target markets.

Featured Consultant

Jan Knight, MA - Market Research Specialist

Jan delivers both marketing and advertising experience to her role as our market research specialist. Her focus is on providing customized business intelligence and secondary market research. Her work has helped to shape business plans, marketing strategies, and new business development for a diverse set of clients. She has research experience in fields such as medical devices, software, IT, healthcare, publishing, beverages, and many others. Jan has access to professional subscriber-only databases that provide authoritative data, nationally and internationally and help her to far beyond what the Internet alone can offer.

Previously, Jan has spent over 15 years working as a client liaison for two successful Advertising/Marketing Agencies and as a Purchasing/Manufacturing Manager for an international educational publisher. She regularly speaks to business groups on the topic of advanced online search strategies and market research related topics. Most recently Jan has begun working with a number of start-up companies researching both government grant funding as well as research for the companies' SBIR/STTR proposals.

Currently Jan is an active member of the Association of Independent Information Professionals and has been active in both committees and conferences for over 9 years. She has previously served as a Board Member for the Greater Tucson Chapter of National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) and on committees for the American Marketing Association.

Jan earned her M.A. in Information Resources & Library Science from the University of Arizona, and her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley.

I'd Like to Learn More!