Market research
Which market analysis tool should you open first? Start with the research question, not a ranked software list. Local context, international trade, relative search interest, your own site’s behavior, public-company filings and buyer needs call for different sources. Choose a task below and leave with an evidence plan you can check and export. This page does not pull live data from those services.
Workspace
Choose one research task. Open its original source, then record your decision, audience, observation, checked date and next test. The optional manual market map is a separate second step.
Free step 1 of 2
This is a starting-point selector, not a live data feed. Your notes stay in this browser when storage is available. Switching tasks keeps each task’s notes separately.
Select a research task to see a source and start a blank evidence plan.
Optional step 2 of 2
The manual map below is free. It does not fetch data from the research sources above. An optional AI draft uses credits and must be checked before you rely on it.
先写一个领域，可加入你已经知道的名单，也可以让 AI 提议初稿。核对条目后即可导出或分享。
输入领域后免费手动建图，或使用积分生成 AI 初稿。
Method
Name the buyer, place and decision. The SBA separates existing sources from directly asking consumers; “research this market” is too broad to pick a tool.
Match the question to a source and read its limits. Trends is relative interest; Analytics covers properties your team measures; neither alone proves demand.
Record what you actually observed, a checked date and a next test. Export the plan; map participants only after confirming their roles.
“Should we test a service in this county?” may start with Census context and buyer interviews. “Which export market has suitable access conditions?” calls for product-specific trade data. Both still need a real next test.
Make the first draft useful
Census Business Builder provides selected U.S. demographic and economic data by geography and business type. Use it to frame a location question, then speak to the people whose buying decisions matter. A regional count cannot explain why a person would switch.
Census Business BuilderGoogle Trends reports a normalized 0–100 index. Compare terms or places without calling the number absolute search volume or proof of purchases. Check the language with buyer conversations before building a demand claim.
Google Trends data FAQInterviews and surveys can address a buyer problem that secondary datasets cannot. Survey wording, order and pretesting affect responses, so keep the question and sample in your evidence notes rather than treating a dashboard number as self-explanatory.
Pew: writing survey questionsChoose by the question
| Research task | Use when… | Starting source |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. local market context | You need demographic and economic context by location and business type; not individual purchase intent. | Census Business Builder |
| International product trade | You need trade indicators or market-access conditions. Verify current tool coverage and access with ITC. | International Trade Centre |
| Relative search interest | You need to compare normalized interest by term, place or time, not absolute volume. | Google Trends |
| Your own site or app behavior | You need customer-journey and marketing evidence on properties your team measures. | Google Analytics |
| Public-company facts | You need a reporting company’s filed operations or financial information, not private-company sales. | SEC EDGAR |
| Unmet buyer needs | You need to hear why relevant people struggle or might switch; use interviews or pretested surveys. | SBA market research guidance |
Common question
No. A map can group checked participants and roles so a team can discuss structure. It cannot, by itself, show that a buyer will purchase, establish market share, or verify current pricing. Use direct buyer research and source-specific data for those questions.
Compare startup research methodsKeep exploring
Map AI agent apps, frameworks and infrastructure for one workflow. Edit categories, verify entries and export a working landscape. AI drafting is optional.
Organize companies by buyer need, see where categories overlap, and publish an editable market map.
Define a market boundary, record companies and sources, then build a free editable category map. Learn when a two-axis map fits and why gaps need testing.
Define a market boundary, group organizations by role, and export an editable landscape. Free manual map; optional AI suggestions need verification.