One of the core industries Research & Marketing Strategies (RMS) focuses on is financial services – particularly, banks and credit unions.  Often times we speak with credit unions who have never used market research before in the past but need it.  This need is usually driven by a problem they incurred, whether it is stagnant member Read more

As mobile research continues to gain a broader appeal and acceptance in the market research field, it also forces the industry to revisit how surveys are written.  Not that they were ever overwhelmingly popular to begin with but many firms are choosing or have already chosen to do away with mail/paper surveys in favor of online Read more

Over the past few years, there has been a continuing evolution of the community college’s place in the American higher education landscape. As the economy has declined, community colleges have enjoyed a wider appeal as a more affordable alternative to private and four-year public institutions, to the point where there is actually a “reverse transfer” Read more

Here in the Bunker, we believe market research is for everybody and can apply to just about every situation. To prove our point, and to continue our annual tradition of celebrating the Fourth of July holiday with a snarky blog post, we have come up with a list of significant figures from American history and Read more

First things first, you might be asking yourself what is an in-depth interview (IDI)?  An IDI is a conversation between a researcher and a single respondent with the purpose of exploring issues or topics in great detail.  The interviewer encourages participants to freely discuss their feelings and opinions, and probes on questions to gain insight Read more

This blog post was written by our guest blogger Mark Dengler, President and Owner of Research & Marketing Strategies (RMS), a market research agency in Upstate NY. Many firms today are grappling with two strategic decisions revolving around market research: 1)  Should we do market research? 2) If we do it, should we commission it through a Read more

A while back, we came across this video about writing a market research RFP: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh7U04rzz8M] Obviously, the video presents a worst-case scenario for comic effect, but frankly every point on there rang true with us and is something we had already encountered or might encounter in the future. The reason for this, we think, is NOT (as Read more

This blog post was written by our guest blogger, Susan Maxsween, Practice Transformation Manager, here at Research & Marketing Strategies (RMS). Not everyone likes to admit they need help. In fact, most people would rather dive headfirst into the unknown without a clue. This rings true both on the individual scale (such as the age-old Read more

Several days ago, I attended a very thought-provoking lecture called “Social Media: Beyond the Hype.” The lecturer was Robert Thompson, a renowned and often-cited professor at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. If you follow stories about media and popular culture in outlets like the New York Times, NPR or CNN, there is Read more

One of the major challenges companies face is gaining an understanding of what drives a consumer to make a particular purchase.  Taking the necessary steps through market research to better understand shopper insights is one of the most important things a growing company (or any company for that matter) can do.  Ultimately the shopper’s decision Read more