Newcastle University

Researching your market

Research is crucial for ensuring you make the right decisions when looking to bring a new service or product to market.

COBRA is an online resource that gives you access to a wide variety of business information and know-how to help you:

• research your business idea;

• start up a new business;

• write business plans and marketing plans;

• understand business-specific trading and legal issues;

• find new customers and markets;

• run your existing business more effectively.

To access COBRA, call into the Careers Service.

Find out more:

• HSBC: Researching your market - what you need to know, how to find information and common mistakes people make.
• University Library: Marketing information - list of market research resources, including Mintel and Euromonitor. Newcastle University students can access independent market research reports from Mintel.
• GOV.UK: Market research for your business - video presentation with advice on how to carry out market research for your business.
• Entrepreneur.com: How to research your market - useful advice, though US-focused.