Brands are living entities. They rise and fall according to consumer interest in them, which is driven in part by marketing’s efforts to extend the life of the brand. This is where market research comes into play. Whether you are a brand manager for a multi-million dollar consumer brand or the owner...read more

Pricing is one of those tricky P’s that we speak of in marketing. Getting the right price can add serious coin to the company’s bottom line. Missing the mark could lead to lost sales, lower earnings and the proverbial albatross around the neck of being the “high” price player. So, can marketing...read more

As I have mentioned before randomness can be a very useful tool in survey research. Online survey platforms such as Cvent allow the survey designer to add a level of randomness to the question design process including: Randomize categories within a question to prevent order bias (there is an...read more

There are a few go to techniques that we use for survey data analysis. The primary tool used for analyzing survey data is the crosstab. There are fancier multivariate techniques, and those have their place, but for everyday use the crosstab is the preferred method for analyzing nominal and ordinal...read more

There comes a time when all professions begin to question their purpose. Consider it therapy for the profession. Market research is no different. Since the new millennium started, the MR profession has seen the rise of data mining, social media, online survey platforms, big data, gamification, The...read more

In a previous post I discussed the basics for conducting online advertising testing. With the advent of online survey platforms the ability to test various advertising messages and formats is easier than ever. Gone are the days of renting large rooms and embedding ads in mock programs. The current...read more

What makes a community? Well certainly it is a collection of unique individuals who call a single place home. It is also a place where businesses hang their shingle. Collectively the residents and businesses work together and if all goes well the community can thrive. However, there is something...read more

Just who we are is a question that has been asked by philosophers since time immemorial. Market research professionals are no different than those wise men from ancient Greece in this regard. Our task is to create an understanding of the consumer’s mind in which we can shape our brand positioning...read more

Not all surveys will be applicable to all potential respondents. Targeting our survey efforts to those most likely to respond will increase our engagement levels and in theory provide a more interesting experience. How do we know who is most likely to respond? This is a question for the ages, but in...read more

The number of true monopolies in the global economy is not that large. What this means to the rest of us is that we have to compete to sell our products and services. Competition can come from both global competitors and those homegrown in your back yard.To grow in a soft economy companies must be...read more