What are the best methods to research incumbents, market size, and viability in a foreign market?

I'm not sure what part of "market research" you are referring to, but if you have the funds, I would defintely approach a communications company. I'm partial to Dentsu as I work there, but this would be tough with limited funds, obviously. When speaking with such a company offer them a brief that indicates that for a given fee you would like for them to: (1) identify the market potential in the given country (Where is your niche?) (2) identify a target group (unless you already know this) and how to reach them (3) plot your competitors' brand/product offering vs your own (What makes your brand stand apart from theirs?) (4) develop a communications strategy (5) plan a business model for success   Obviously, the longer the list is the higher the fee you would have to pay them. And most companies probably can't do all five of the above. The top communications agencies in Japan are really unique in their ability to basically do everything.   If you just want target research, however (meaning that you just want No. 2 from the list above and you'll figure out the rest and put the whole story together on your own), then you can approach a research company of which there are loads. If you're really low on funds you might want to conduct a Micromill online survey. Either way, you'd probably be looking at a minimal investment of 5 million yen ($5,000 US) to 10 million yen. Just research using words like 調査　or ターゲット調査 or グルイン (focus grou…。