Do market research

Think about what you want to learn from your market research. You’ll probably want to research some combination of your:

• customers, including who they are and what they want from your business
• products or services, and what people think of them
• competitors
• business location and local area
• industry, including current trends.

See if you can draw on research that others have done. You might get information about your market from:

• government data
• industry and market reports
• news articles
• trade and industry associations.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

The ABS is an Australian Government agency. It offers:

• statistics about Australia’s economy, industries, people, jobs, health and environment
• data about your local area
• more in-depth data services, many of which are free.

Overseas markets

Use Austrade’s market search tool if you’re planning to export products or services to other countries. The tool helps you find the markets your business is most likely to succeed in.

• Data.gov.au – has a wide range of data from federal, state and local government agencies.
• Employment – Jobs and Skills Australia publishes the latest labour market insights.
• Farming, fishing and forestry – data and insights from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences.
• Food export quotas – the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry publishes data on Australia’s export quotas, including current usage.
• Health – the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare publishes reports and data on Australians’ health and wellbeing.
• Immigration – the Department of Home Affairs has information on migration and visas.
• Tax – the Australian Taxation Office has statistics about tax and superannuation.
• Tourism – Tourism Research Australia collects data on domestic and international tourists.
• Trade and investment – the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has trade and investment statistics, as well as economic data on most other countries.
• Transport – the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics publishes aviation, maritime, rail, road, freight and transport safety data.
• Work health and safety (WHS) – Safe Work Australia has data and insights on WHS and workers compensation.

State and territory government statistics

State and territory governments publish data and statistics that may be useful for market research.

Finding out what your customers want and how they behave lets you better target your marketing. It can also help you identify problems your product or service can solve.

Things you could research about your customers include:

• their likes and dislikes
• what their needs or problems are (including any that your competitors don’t address)
• their experience with your business so far
• where they usually find out about products or services
• how they like to shop (for example, in person or online)
• what they're willing to pay for your products or services
• how often they use (or would use) your products or services.

Some of the methods you can use for customer research are:

• surveys, either online or in person
• one-on-one interviews, either in person or over a video call
• asking for feedback from customers who buy from you
• talking to people who visit your business.

If possible, do research with a mix of:

• your customers
• your competitors’ customers
• people who haven’t bought from any of you.

Using existing customer data

If you've been in business for a while, you might already have information about your customers that you can use in your research.

See what you can get from your:

• customer relationship management (CRM) system
• loyalty or reward program data
• sales records
• online reviews
• customer feedback or complaints
• reports on customer service benchmarks and targets
• website statistics.

Researching a new product, service or business idea helps you understand if it will be successful.

Things you could research are:

• if people want your product or service
• why people want (or don’t want) it
• how much demand there is for it
• how customers will use it
• any problems with it
• where your product or service is positioned in the market – is it a high-end, competitive or low-cost alternative to your competitors?
• the right price for your product or service.

Some of the methods you can use for product research are:

• surveys, either online or in person
• one-on-one interviews
• focus groups, where you get a group of people together to discuss your product or service
• product testing, where you observe people using your product (or a competitor’s) to see what they do and if they experience any problems
• looking at online reviews of similar products.

Researching your competitors helps you understand the market and identify what makes your business stand out.

Things you could research about your competitors include:

• who your main competitors are
• the size of their business
• what they sell, and how this compares with your business
• their target customers
• the marketing strategies they use, including how they position themselves in the market
• how they communicate with customers
• the price of their products or services
• what their customers think of them.

To collect data on competitors you could:

• review their ads
• look at their websites and social media accounts
• sign up for their email list
• analyse any other marketing materials, such as catalogues or flyers
• visit their business in person
• buy and use their products
• look at their online reviews
• talk to their existing customers.

You might like to capture the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors by doing a SWOT analysis of each of them. Compare this against the SWOT analysis of your own business.

Once you’ve done your market research, it’s a good idea to write a report on what you discovered. Include:

• what you wanted to find out
• your research methods
• the main insights from your research
• actions you can do to take advantage of these insights.

Use your research results to develop or update your business plan and marketing plan.