Imagine you were going to going to open a business. Let’s say it’s a coffee shop that will try to attract college students and hip, young professionals. There’s an available retail space in a neighborhood that appears to have a lot of the target customers in it and the building looks nice enough. Is it Read more

One dilemma that often confronts our marketing research clients is when do I start? The answer usually depends on a number of factors.  About a month ago, Vance discussed engaging market research sooner rather than later, which by default is always a good directive to follow.  Keeping that thought in mind, here are five different dynamics Read more

Many qualitative research projects, such as focus groups or in-depth interviews, will offer a monetary incentive to entice people into participating. In fact, unless the research is being conducted for a person’s employer or for a charitable organization, incentives are the only way to get them to give up their time. At the beginning of Read more

As a market researcher, our job is often to be the liaison between client and customer.  So, market research firms all across the globe are trying to find new methodologies to access the minds of consumers.  What better way to do that than to be there when they are actually making those critical decisions?  There may Read more

In its most basic definition, market research is a prepared effort to collect information about markets or a group of people.  Oftentimes it is viewed as solely that, information used to solve only one piece of an organizational puzzle, but this is not true.  It goes well beyond just gathering statistics. Research findings can provide Read more

Some people treat market research the same way many approach going to the dentist – they know they should do it, in theory, but ultimately tend to put it off. There are a lot of reasons research gets put off as it takes money, time and effort, things most of us like to conserve when Read more

A prior market research blog post (authored by our guest blogger, Mark Dengler, President of Research & Marketing Strategies) gave the following explanation of qualitative research. Qualitative Research is used to explore and understand people’s beliefs, experiences, attitudes, behavior and interactions. It generates non-numerical data – for example a customer’s explanation of “very satisfied” rather than a “10” rating using Read more

Many clients have their own market research department in-house, while others have gone through the process of selecting a market research supplier.  Depending on whether you are looking for a long-term retainer firm who works as your consultant or a short-term one project supplier, the process is usually the same.  You have to select a Read more

From our guest blogger Kim Cuccaro, former Business Development Specialist at RMS. Everyone is familiar with the Nike® slogan “Just Do It”.  A lot can also be said for making a decision and going through with it.  Oftentimes businesses fail to find common ground between slapdash decision-making and a lengthier drawn out decision-making process. I commonly see Read more

Market research can answer many, if not all questions that a business owner has. There is an endless amount of market research that can help small and mid-size businesses. Here are some important things to keep in mind if you are part of a small or mid-size business (or starting a business) and you are considering market research.