What's on this page?
This page will be particularly helpful for finding secondary research for the Customer Analysis section of your Marketing Audit and the Target Market section of your Marketing Plan.
Below, you'll find:
- Tips for how to find information on your target segment
- Recommended databases for researching your target segment
- Data and Statistics resources
Photo by Олег Мороз on Unsplash
Databases for Target Segment Research
The following databases are important for researching the geographic, demographic, pyschographic, and behavioural characteristics of your target segment.
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Mintel Reports This link opens in a new windowProvides comprehensive insight and analysis on consumers, companies, markets, brands and products. Toronto Metropolitan has access to most of the Canadian reports and the complete set of U.S. reports
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SimplyAnalytics This link opens in a new windowSimplyAnalytics is an Internet-based mapping application. SimplyAnalytics uses various research partners to provide users with the most current demographic, business, and marketing data available with thousands of variables. Data can be mapped nation-wide, by province, CMA, CSD, CT or DA.
Toronto Metropolitan also has access to the following packages: Environics DaytimePop data package, PRIZM5 Canada & US Data Package.
When linking to SimplyAnalytics, choose "Sign in as a guest" to access their website but members of the Toronto Metropolitan University community with a valid torontomu username and password are eligible to create a personal SimplyAnalytics account. Note: Use your TMU email address as the username when creating your account. -
Media Technology Monitor - 18+ and Jr This link opens in a new windowThe Media Technology Monitor (MTM) is a research product in the area of technology ownership and use. Based on 12,000 telephone interviews annually (including a cell phone–only sample), the MTM has spoken with over 140,000 Canadians (equally split between Anglophones and Francophones) over the past decade, making it the most accurate and comprehensive media technology tracking survey of its kind. Highlighted themes include television platforms, internet activities, radio platforms, mobile phone activities, tablets, media usage by device, online engagement with TV, content and new platform users.
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Passport This link opens in a new windowPassport, from Euromonitor International, is a comprehensive market research platform that delivers global data and in-depth analysis on industries, markets, companies, economies and consumers. With coverage spanning 210 countries and 99.9% of the world’s consumers, it supports research assignments across many subjects. It’s an invaluable resource for creating impactful, real-world projects, whether you’re focused on scenario planning, forecasting, crafting product and brand strategies, or conducting SWOT and PEST analyses.
With access to market sizes, market shares, company and brand data and interactive dashboards to identify trends, Passport simplifies data comparison across categories and countries by using consistent methodologies. -
PsycARTICLES (APA PsycNET) This link opens in a new windowThis database offers full-text articles for journals published by the American Psychological Association, the APA Educational Publishing Foundation, the Canadian Psychological Association and Hogrefe & Huber. The database includes all material from the print journals. Many titles go back to volume 1, issue 1.
Suggested index terms for PsycArticles/PsycNet:
- Consumer behavior
- Consumer attitudes
- marketing
- decision making
- advertising
- brand preferences
- brand names
- costs and cost analysis
- choice behavior
- consumer satisfaction
- Quality of services
- loyalty
Using Mintel for Consumer Research
Mintel is a great resource for researching consumer demographics, behaviour, and psychographics. Reports offer Market Dynamics, Consumer Insights and Innovation and Marketing Strategies. Each report has access to an interactive databook tool where you can view survey results and break them down by demographic segments (ex. age, household size, etc.). Click the blue Explore Demographics button for each question to interact with the data.
Data & Statistics Resources
The following resources are useful for finding statistics and data about your target segment.
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Statistics CanadaCanada's federal statistics agency, responsible for gathering and reporting statistical information on Canada's population, resources, economy, society and culture.
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Ontario Data CataloguePublic data and datasets published by the Government of Ontario. Topics inlcude Agriculture and Food, Economy and Business, Culture and Recreation, Health, and more.
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City of Toronto - Open DataCity information and data
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StatistaOne of the world's largest statistics portals. Provides industry reports.
Can't find information on your Target Segment?
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Go broader, then narrow down
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Ask yourself - who cares about this information? (government agency, a professional association, a specific discipline?)
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Ask yourself - why do I need this information? What am I trying to understand? Is there any alternative way to understand this?
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Reach out to your librarian