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

Learn more about primary vs. secondary research methods

Industry profiles identify leading companies and provide market forecasts, market segmentation and industry trends.

For freely available information, check out consulting firm (Deloitte, Ernst & Young, PWC, KPMG) websites to see if they have industry reports. You can often search offices by region.  Also check bank websites; law firms may have reports for industries like mining or M&A industry reports; government industry and statistical data sites are also good sources of information. 

For more statistics and data resources useful in market research, see the Data and Statistics page or contact the Map and Data Library.

Learn how to calculate the market size for any product. Get a practical 30-minute introduction to market sizing and learn the fundamentals of market research with this video from MaRS Market Intelligence.

Companies may be competitors, potential customers, partners or an exit strategy. Search company profiles in the databases and directories below, or jump to information resources for Annual Reports and Regulatory Filings.