This research guide is designed to help OCT 1133 Professional Practice 3 students complete a needs analysis of their populations for their consulting projects.

For more resources, please visit the Health Entrepreneurship guide.

The two terms tend to blur together, but it’s worth thinking about the difference between a market and an industry.

When we say “Market”, we generally refer to the purchasers and users. That is, a group of customers buying a certain product or service from the same sellers.

On the other hand, we use the term “Industry” to refer to the supplier side. That is, a group of sellers offering similar products or services to the same customers.

Customers that share similar characteristics are defined as “market segments”. Companies providing similar services or products make up a “sector”. Sometimes they are also referred to as “verticals”.

Market research is divided into two parts:
1. Primary market research: interviews and other research involving YOUR (potential) customers, competitors, etc. done in the field.
2. Secondary market research: pre-packaged market research reports and data about customer or user groups, relevant industries and competitors or partner companies

This page contains best bets for UTL library databases to find secondary competitor/company, industry/sector, and customer/user data.

Thanks, but I want primary research strategies and tools.

Fictional scenario: Your team is working with Youthspeak Performance Charity Organization, who is looking to improve mental health programming and outreach for youth in North York. How will you best reach this population?