Template

Market research template

The five steps, in order, with the example of a commercial cleaning service in the Laurentians filled in for each box. Fill it in on screen, then print it or save it as a PDF from your browser. Nothing is sent anywhere, nothing is stored and there is no form on this page.

Read the full method

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01Define the market and put a number on it

Start with the number, before the questionnaire. If the calculation does not support your project, the other four steps serve no purpose.

What I sell, in one sentence
Example: Commercial cleaning, recurring contracts.
To whom, precisely
Example: Shops and offices with 5 employees or more.
In which territory
Example: The Laurentians, within a 30-minute drive of Saint-Sauveur.
Number of potential buyers in this territory
Example: 2,100 establishments. Source: Statistics Canada, Business Register.
Average annual spend per buyer
Example: $6,200. Source: three quotes from competitors.
Total market (buyers × spend)
Example: $13,020,000
Share of the territory actually served
Example: 38%, counted on a map.
Available market
Example: $4,947,600
Share targeted in three years, and why this figure
Example: 2%. New entrant with no price advantage.
Potential revenue in year 3
Example: $98,952

02Find the data

Open these sources in this order. For each one, note the date of the figure you found: a 2019 report describes a world that no longer exists.

Statistics Canada: what I found there and the date of the figure
Example: Number of establishments by size, 2025 data.
Institut de la statistique du Québec
Example: Population projections for the regional county municipality (MRC), 2024 to 2041.
Registraire des entreprises du Québec: my competitors and their size
Example: 4 registered competitors, from 2 to 24 declared employees.
BAnQ databases: financial ratios for the sector
Example: Average net margin for the sector: 8%.
Industry association: annual profile
Example: 2025 profile, sector growth of 3% a year.
Monthly search volume for my commercial queries
Example: 310 searches a month across all queries.
Five-year trend (Google Trends)
Example: Stable, slight increase since 2024.

03Analyze the demand

Plan for twelve interviews per segment. Note three answers above all: what the problem cost the person in money and time (the ceiling of your price), what disappointed them most (your position in the market) and the prices they would find too expensive or suspiciously low.

Distinct customer segments and how many interviews per segment
Example: 2 segments: offices and retail shops. 12 interviews each.
Interviews completed to date
What people do today in the absence of my offer
Example: An in-house employee, or nothing at all.
What they pay for this substitute
Example: From $4,000 to $9,000 a year.
The price above which they find it too expensive
Example: $7,500 a year.
What disappointed them most about their current supplier
Example: Staff turnover, nobody knows the premises.
Who decides and who else has a say
Example: The owner, with the assistant's opinion.
Real-demand test carried out and its result
Example: Page + $400 in advertising, 2 weeks: 9 inquiries, $44 per inquiry.

04Analyze the supply

There are three categories of competitors, and do not forget the third: doing nothing, or doing it yourself, often takes more share than all the others.

Direct competitors, with year of registration and size
Example: 4 companies, from 2 to 24 employees.
Indirect competitors
Example: Staffing agencies.
The “do nothing” or “do it yourself” substitute
Example: About half of the targeted establishments.
Prices posted or obtained by quote
Example: From $4,200 to $9,800 a year.
What three-star reviews criticize most often
Example: Uneven quality from one week to the next.
What their job postings reveal
Example: Two competitors are hiring, one has posted nothing since 2024.
The place I can take, in one sentence
Example: The same team every week, named in the contract.

05Analyze the environment and conclude

Four factors to check, one hour each. Then the four numbers that make the conclusion. If one of them is only a hunch, the study is not finished.

Permits, certifications or insurance required, and their cost
Example: RBQ licence not required. Liability insurance: $1,900 a year.
Language and data protection obligations
Example: Website in French. A consent banner to plan for.
Barriers to entry
Example: Low: $12,000 in equipment.
Dependence on a single client or supplier
Example: None with more than 15 contracts.
Sensitivity to the economic cycle
Example: Medium: first budget line cut in a recession.
Potential revenue at three years
Example: $98,952
Investment required, including the months with no revenue
Example: $46,000 over 14 months.
Cost of acquiring a client, measured
Example: $44 per inquiry, 1 sale in 5: $220 per sale.
Time to break-even
Example: 16 months.

06The walk-away thresholds, written before the results

Fill in this section first, before you have collected anything, and date it. It is the only protection against the urge to reinterpret the results once they are in. A study that cannot conclude “no” is not a study, it is a justification.

  • Below $_______ of available market, we do not go ahead.
  • If fewer than half of the people interviewed already pay for a substitute, the demand is not ripe.
  • If the ceiling price named in interviews is below our cost price, we stop.
  • If the measured acquisition cost exceeds the margin on the first sale, we need another channel or another price.
  • If break-even is more than _______ months away, the answer is no today, not never.
Date on which these thresholds were written

07The conclusion, on one page

Four numbers and one decision. If one of the four is only a hunch, go back to the corresponding step.

Potential revenue at three years
Investment required
Cost of acquiring a client
Time to break-even
The decision and the reason, in one sentence