• Mind the Big Three Be'sMarket Research
  Fun fact: Only 13% of the mobile market has an iPhone. That sounds like plenty when you consider how long the phone's been available, but it merits remembering that the vast majority of users—and possibly many in your demo—still don't have one. So how to wiggle into the pockets of non-iPhoners ... more
• Digital Marketing Factbook: A Glimpse InsideMarket Research
  This article presents a small sampling of the vital research data about today's email, search, and social media marketing that's contained in the MarketingProfs Digital Marketing Factbook, designed to be a comprehensive resource for every online marketer. more
• Low Prices Will Rule 2009 Holiday SeasonMarket Research
  US consumers plan to spend an average of $682.74 during the upcoming holiday season, a 3.2% drop from last year. More than half say sales and low prices will determine where they shop, although convenience will draw many of them online. more
• Gays Prefer Working in States with Marriage EqualityMarket Research
  Other factors being equal, 71% of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) adults would prefer a job with an employer based in a state that recognizes marriage equality over an employer based in a state that doesn't. more
• They Like Us! They Really Like Us!Market Research
  Research coming out of Penn State reports that 20% of tweets—those wee messages published on Twitter—are brand-oriented. And not the way you'd naturally expect. While researchers originally thought they'd find lots of brand engagement in the form of product reviews or referrals, what they discovered was this (hold on to ... more
• Consumers 18-34 in US vs. CanadaMarket Research
  Young adults 18-34 in Canada and the US agree that healthcare, education, and employment are the three most important issues facing their respective countries. But striking differences exist between these consumer groups. more
• Use the Right ToolsMarket Research
  In a post at Harvard Business Online, Scott Anthony recalls a client who read a magazine article suggesting a focus on quantitative research for businesses with limited resources. He wanted to know if this would, indeed, produce the best data. Anthony's response: "While of course quantitative surveys can generate important ... more
• Upscale Consumers More Budget ConsciousMarket Research
  US consumers with a household income of $100K+ are feeling the recession's pinch, and it's changing what and how they spend. more
• For Seniors: A Kindler, Gentler RecessionMarket Research
  Americans 65+ have suffered less in this recession than other age groups, because most have already retired and downsized their lifestyle. Hardest hit have been those on the verge of retirement. more
• Gays, Lesbians Like Blogs, Social NetworkingMarket Research
  More than half (55%) of gay and lesbian Americans read blogs, compared with only 38% of heterosexuals. They also use social networking sites more than their heterosexual peers. more
• Industry Reputations Take a BeatingMarket Research
  The reputations of several industries—car manufacturers and banks prominent among them—plummeted in the last year. more
• Kids Influence Back-to-School BuysMarket Research
  A recent study identifies the back-to-school items parents are most likely to buy and the best channels to use to reach kids. more
• Refocus That FocusMarket Research
  Sad but true: The use of focus groups to determine consumer preferences has lost favor in recent years. Why? Because "consumers have clear cognitive models of what to do when they're part of focus groups, which makes their answers sound canned and sterile," says Gavin Johnston in an article at ... more
• RU Linked in or Left out? Market Research
  Heads-up: It's time to take a fresh look at LinkedIn. That's what Diana Huff says in a recent guest post at the Savvy B2B Marketing blog. "In the last year or so, LinkedIn has significantly increased its functionality," she reports, "making the business networking site a great way to gather ... more
• When Silence Speaks VolumesMarket Research
  Finding the right people for your marketing team can be a challenge, especially when you check references and find that former employers are guarded in their comments. "[I]f a candidate is less than outstanding," says Douglas Hanna in a post at the Service Untitled blog, "a lot people are hesitant ... more
• Lessons From a Cardboard BoxMarket Research
  Mark Brownlow of Email Marketing Reports says he learned a thing or two while working in a cardboard-box factory as a teenager. "The first was the importance of proofreading," he says. "There are not a lot of alternative uses for 200,000 boxes advertising ‘Premium banannas.’ " Another lesson was the ... more
• Win, Lose or DrawMarket Research
  In a premium article at MarketingProfs, Laura Patterson says you shouldn't think of win/loss analysis as a customer-satisfaction survey. Rather, she explains, it's "a process for differentiating why one sales effort wins and others fall short of the mark, and the intent of the analysis is to adjust go-to-market strategies ... more
• Brand-Switching: Less Risk = More SwitchMarket Research
  Frugal American consumers have forsaken their favorite national brands in the case of many food and household, health, and personal-care products, but they are reluctant to switch to store brands on purchases for children and pets. more
• B2B Marketers Latching Onto Social MediaMarket Research
  Most B2B marketers have begun using social media and more of them are planning to use "newer media" than ever before, according a new study by BtoB magazine and the Association of National Advertisers. more
• Pew Report: Internet Use in the RecessionMarket Research
  Nearly 7 in 10 Americans (69%), or 88% of US Internet users, have used the Internet to cope with the recession, according to a new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. more
• Four in Ten Email Marketers Don't TestMarket Research
  Despite the importance of testing in making decisions and proving campaign ROI, more than one-third of email marketers (37%) aren't testing at all, according to an eROI study. more
• I'm Not Afraid When I Hold You Market Research
  Countless reports have connected brand loyalty with status-seeking (think luxury cars), but a new study says some consumers' connections to brands stem from a far deeper source: their own insecurities. In the study, researchers asked a group of MP3 owners a few very serious questions and requests, such as: Please ... more
• Ads Interesting, Not Influential; TV Ads Most HelpfulMarket Research
  Despite being daily exposed to dozens of ads—including on television, in print, and on the Web—most Americans (55%) say they find advertising to be interesting ("very" or "somewhat"), though fully 41% say it is not interesting, a recent poll found. more
• Bada-Bing! Microsoft Scores Search ShareMarket Research
  Google accounted for 74.04% of all US searches conducted in the four weeks ended June 27, followed by Yahoo Search at 16.19%, the recently launched Bing at 5.25%, and Ask.com at 3.15%, Hitwise reports. more
• I Predict a Sunny DayMarket Research
  "Predictive analysis has a long and profitable history with direct mail," says Arthur Middleton Hughes in a Premium article at MarketingProfs. "Millions of dollars have been saved by focusing on those customers most likely to buy—and not mailing to those who are unlikely to be interested." Only recently, though, have ... more

Market Research: See all 54 items

Market Research articles by the best and brightest in the field

• Do Your Customer Surveys Measure Up?  by David Jackson
  Most companies use a crude approach to gathering vital customer data: Periodic, often annual, surveys that are disconnected in time from the events they are purporting to measure are the norm. We call them the Annual ''Do You Love Us?'' Survey, and it has many pitfalls. One of the biggest mistakes is ... more
• Marketing to Youth: No Longer a Dark Art by Paul Metz
  It takes a lot more than Harry Potter's brand of wizardry for marketers to understand the spending habits of what is commonly referred to as the youth market—those between age 6 to 18. In fact, it requires a flexible understanding of the subcategories within this vast network of youth. And success ... more
• Use Surveys to Get Close to Your Customers by John Wechsler
  We all know that it costs less to keep a current customer than it does to acquire a new one. As budgets continue to be pinched and resources diminish, businesses would do well to stop looking at past and future customers, and focus some love and attention on the customers ... more
• Rethinking the Focus Group by Gavin Johnston
  The focus group has lost favor in recent years as marketers seek a more experiential process for gathering customer insights. Although it has lost some luster, the focus group still holds the potential for providing powerful, usable insights. The trick to moving it from something parodied on sitcoms to a credible ... more
• How to Address Marketing ROI and Measurement Pressures in a Tight Economy by Jim Lenskold
  With marketing teams being challenged to deliver results despite tighter budgets and smaller staffs, how is it possible to improve measurements and ROI analysis now, when they did not get addressed in prior years, when more resources were available? more
• Three Essential Market-Research Methods in an Online Community by John Kembel
  How much do you know about your customers right now, at this moment? A lot of companies can show you composite profiles that describe their target customers, including job titles, needs, obligations, and goals. No doubt about it: It's important to know those things. But relying solely on such information to ... more
• Marketing in a Recession: What Do the Studies Really Tell Us? by Christian Shea
  Have you heard this one? "All the research shows that companies that spend on marketing during a recession come out ahead of the competition as the economy rebounds." It's a catchy buzz phrase—and if people believe it, even better. But here's the thing: What research, exactly? more
• How to Become 'Their Brand': Engaging Today's Fickle Customers by Manila Austin
  Marketers today understand that consumers think, feel, and react in ways different from June Cleaver some 50 years ago. We use descriptors like fickle, indecisive, and disloyal to describe the modern consumer. Just what do these terms mean? Mainly, they mean that consumers have too many choices—multiple brands, brand extensions, and ... more
• Should You Launch a Brand Community? by Nancy Strauss
  On company Web sites everywhere, community sections are popping up—both a cause and an effect of a climate in which more and more marketing directors and brand managers are being asked by their companies, "Why don't we do something 2.0?" Although an online community can bring innumerable benefits to a brand, ... more
• How Hyundai Uses Behavioral Segmentation to Take the Bull by the Horns and Send the Bear Packing by Michael Barr
  Hyundai took the bull by the horns in this bear market and scored big. It used behavioral segmentation to identify what was keeping prospects from buying and then developed a strategy that made it easier for customers to part with their hard-earned dollars. What can you learn from its example? In ... more
• Your Marketing Stimulus Package: Invest Now in Building Brand by Kevin Randall
  Every day we are bombarded with bad news about the economy: dismal corporate earnings, budget cuts, advertising gone dark, clients and agencies and people coming and going, and a sense of turbulence, malaise, and timidity. What can marketing do? Today's brand leaders should follow these 7 Ps of branding as ... more
• The Top 4 Ways Smart Marketers Use Digital Branding Applications to Operate More Efficiently by Allen Adamson
  As part of the research I did in preparation for my recent book, BrandDigital, I interviewed some of the best and brightest people in the fields of marketing and digital technology, and they provided incredible insight on how digital tools and tactics can be used to not simply increase operating ... more
• Benchmarking: A Best-Practice for Improving Marketing Performance (Part 1) by Laura Patterson
  CEOs and CMOs are interested in seeing marketing organizations improve their performance in two key areas: effectiveness (the ability to produce the desired result) and efficiency (reducing waste). The economic environment makes these efforts even more top-of-mind. Often the question that remains is how much do we need to improve? Benchmarking ... more
• Three Reasons Why Print Collateral Remains Relevant by Elaine Fogel
  Digital marketing is hot. And a recent MarketingProfs survey showed that the first items that marketers faced with reduced budgets would cut were print advertising and tradeshows. So, why focus on print collateral at all? Here's a close look at three reasons why print collateral may still be viable and ... more
• Six Irrational Leaps to Avoid in Marketing by Steve Cuno
  Why do people believe things irrationally, in the face of zero evidence? You already know the answer: People who really, really want to believe, will believe... regardless of where the evidence points. Are you managing your marketing program this way? more
• How Packaging Your Offering Enhances Your Brand by Anthony Cirillo
  Is your company packaging experiences? Are they sought—or are they sold? And, drilling the concept down one more level: have you ever looked at yourself and considered the package that you offer and the experience you provide? In the current downturn, where layoffs loom large, those with the better shot at ... more
• Four Parts to Valuable Personas by Angela Quail
  Recent buzz about personas has created some confusion. If you've tried to develop and deploy personas, you may have experienced resistance from other departments because they don't grasp the value that personas purportedly provide. The reason may be that personas (in the form of customer profiles) by themselves don't offer ... more
• How to Foster 'Workable Wondering' to Harness Consumer Insights by Gerald Zaltman, Lindsay Zaltman
  The process of thinking deeply is known as "workable wondering," which involves the use of empirical, rigorous, and relevant information to challenge our assumptions. It means more than collecting information. It requires reading between the lines. more
• Adopting a Web 2.0 Mindset: Walk Before You Wiki by Val Fox
  Companies have been scrambling to figure out how to leverage Web. 2.0 applications, but are they doing so for all the wrong reasons? With all the buzz about blogs, wikis, widgets, and other forms of user-driven Web interactions, the question your business needs to answer is, "Is this what our ... more
• Maximizing Lead Generation Marketing ROI (Part 1): Lead Quality Counts by Jim Lenskold
  Marketers responsible for lead generation are all too familiar with some common challenges—getting closed-loop feedback from the sales organization, measuring marketing effectiveness beyond just lead quantity and cost per lead, and building strong alignment with the sales organization. As presented in the MarketingProfs' research report, "B-to-B Lead Generation: Marketing ROI and ... more
• Building the New Marketing: Making Marketing Important to the Enterprise (Part 1) by Michael Fischler
  Marketers have become masters of segmentation inside our own organizations. We've segmented ourselves into Lead Generators. Message Makers. Brand Stewards. Useful, of course—in fact, indispensable. But indispensable the way facilities management is indispensable. Or travel management. Or any other organization that an enterprise relies on, but cannot be easily shown ... more
• Online Research Traps That Can Derail Your Marketing Strategy by Kevin Horne
  It's hard to believe how different it was, just a mere fifteen years ago, to conduct secondary market research. There was no Internet, no Yahoo!, no Google search, no Web-accessible databases to tap. How times have changed. But, not always for the better. more
• Four Keys to Marketing Operations Success by Gary Katz
  What does "best practices" in Marketing Operations look like, and how do industry-leading companies operate and integrate this highly valuable function? Marketing Operations Partners recently polled more than 80 marketing leaders to find out. more
• How to Avoid Six Common Pitfalls of the Launch Process by J. Mark Carr
  Launching new products, services, or segments is the lifeblood of growth for most organizations. Yet, despite its importance, the launch process is often mishandled or assigned inadequate resources. Many of the mistakes that companies make are basic—yet frighteningly frequent and consistent across various types of businesses and industries. Here are six common ... more
• How to Unleash the Power of Brand Repositioning: A Four-Phase Process by Gregory Pollack
  Many brands and companies today are constantly reinvigorating their businesses and positioning them for growth. There is a constant need to innovate, reinvigorate, update, recalibrate, or just simply fend off the competition in an effort to better explain "why buy me." To move forward, companies and brands need to first take ... more

See all Marketing Articles

Market Research case studies, deconstructing real life examples and illustrating lessons learned

• How a Small Internet Publisher Doubled Its Email Database & Reduced Marketing Spend With Cost-per-LeadTripmela, Inc.
  CASE STUDY: Earlier this year, when online travel publisher Tripmela was in startup mode, CEO Jared Blank determined that he needed to achieve a $1.50 cost per acquisition if he was going to lead this fledgling to profitability. Here's how he did it. more
• How One Whitepaper Generated 500 Leads and Significant PR for a B2B ManufacturerJER Envirotech
  JER Envirotech, a manufacturer of environmentally friendly thermoplastic biocomposite materials, needed to stand out in the green manufacturing industry. Its solution: create a white paper to both explain and build credibility for its offerings. Here's how that led to 500 new leads over 60 days. more
• How a Consumer Electronics Company Leveraged the Power of Community to Uncover Market Preferences and Build Excitement for a New Product LineEastman Kodak Company
  When it chose to enter the saturated inkjet market 20 years late, Eastman Kodak had a few surprises up its sleeve. Still, the company found it also needed a little marketing ingenuity if it was to gain market share. more
• How a University Embraced Social Media and Scored Millions in YouTube ViewsCarnegie Mellon University
  How does a university up its visibility with an increasingly wired target market of both students of alumni? By orchestrating a Web 2.0-focused Web site redesign that set the foundation for an ongoing social media campaign. more
• How a Web-based Company Increased Leads 90%—and Sales 23%—via PPC-Visitor Profiling, Landing Page PersonalizationCompany: Continental Warranty
  Continental Warranty used pay-per-click ads to generate leads by providing free quotes for extended-warranty coverage. But lead volume had plateaued. So it began to profile its web visitors, then direct them to microsites matching their profiles—and nearly doubled leads. more
• How MyFax Upped Customer Engagement, Achieved a 79% NetPromoter ScoreMyFax
  Internt fax service provider MyFax wanted to tap into the power of word-of-mouth referrals by improving the customer experience and maintaining highly personalized customer interactions. But as an online company, it faced the issue of how to individually engage customers to ensure long-term relationships. Here's what it did. more
• How a Small-Business Consultant Leveraged a High-Profile TV Commercial to Generate New Traffic and Win New BusinessLocalZing
  As a tiny Florida player in the field of advertising for small businesses, Karl Long knew he should consider unconventional ways to promote his company. Taking a cue from a competitor, Long launched a campaign that upped traffic to his blog 500%, raised his Google profile, and led to new business. more
• How an Online Software Biz Doubled Its Sales Leads, Increased Site Traffic 75%Makana Solutions
  Makana Solutions needed an inexpensive way to reach the elusive small business market. Rather than chase small businesses, it hired an online "inbound marketing system" to help small businesses find Makana. The results: Web site traffic climbed 75%, and sales leads have doubled. more
• How an Online Business Increased Conversions (Sales) on Landing Pages by Up to 12%AutoAnything.com
  AutoAnything.com, which sells custom-made automotive accessories and performance parts, designed its homepage almost a decade ago. But as e-commerce has become more competitive, the site needed a strategy. After testing different versions of landing pages, AutoAnything.com increased landing-page conversions by up to 12%. more
• How a Marketing Consultant Significantly Increased His Client Base via Social MediaL&G Business Solutions
  Marketing executive and consultant Lewis Green wanted to re-establish his company in January 2004 after moving across the country. With no professional network in place, he figured the best way to promote his business would be a blog. His first attempt failed. But not his second. more
• How a Technology Firm Upped Webinar Attendance, Improved Lead NurturingObjectivity, Inc.
  By hiring an outside expert in lead optimization and leveraging its full range of data, San Francisco-based Objectivity increased turnout for its webinars an average of 10%. The quality of the leads is high as well: More than 30% of the leads typically score high enough to be handed off to sales. more
• How a Viral Campaign Gave OfficeMax Brand Recognition, Drove ShoppersOfficeMax, Inc.
  Office supply chain OfficeMax also sells digital cameras and other products popular as holiday gifts—but its customers didn't think of it as a holiday-shopping destination. What's more, it was often confused with its chief rival. A wildly popularly web-based viral marketing campaign helped OfficeMax distinguish itself and encourage shoppers. more
• How Major League Baseball Doubled Fan Research Without Increasing CostsMajor League Baseball
  Each year, when MLB's postseason culminates with the World Series, all eyes are on baseball—or are they? With most teams out of the running, do those fans continue to watch? Are the resources invested in marketing worthwhile, or in tune with fans' true passions? more
• How a B2C Web Site's Landing-Page Tests Resulted in a 67% Jump in ConversionsBabyCenter
  The landing page for a top Web site's most popular search term converted about 30 percent less frequently than the company's general landing page. By simultaneously testing four new versions of the landing page, the site was able to ensure relevance, increasing conversions 67%—and decreasing abandonment rates. more
• How the Kimpton Hotel Group's Affinity-Based Email Program Boosted Bookings Revenue FivefoldKimpton Hotels
  Kimpton Hotels had successfully created a loyalty program, but its email program was lagging. By implementing an email strategy that focused on segmentation and targeting individual preferences, and by adding a corporate branding strategy, the company increased email bookings fivefold. more
• How a Web-based B2B Niche Service Increased Revenue per Sales Rep by 9.3%ShareBuilder401k
  Online service ShareBuilder 401(k) provides retirement plans exclusively for small businesses. But retirement plans are usually sold in person, not virtually. Here's how ShareBuilder discovered a way to market to this niche that upped its number of sales made via the Internet. more
• How a Niche Web Site's 'Telechats' Increased Credibility, Visibility and Google PageRankTheSpiritedWoman.com
  Here's how a relatively new women's Web site gained attention—and more regular readers—at a low cost. Plus, its "telechats" with authors has helped distinguish it from other sites focused on empowering women. more
• How an Office Furniture Company Tripled Its Sales by Optimizing for SearchPanel Systems Unlimited
  Office furniture dealer Panel Systems Unlimited found its sales lagging during an economic recession, and knew that it had to act quickly to position itself for the inevitable recovery. Partnering with Medium Blue Search Engine Marketing, it focused on upping its search engine exposure. The result: sales tripled. more
• How Garden Fresh Realized a Huge Gain in Web Traffic and Longer-Term Loyalty via EmailGarden Fresh Restaurant Corp.
  Garden Fresh Restaurants sought to increase customer engagement with its "Club Veg" loyalty club, totaling more than half a million opt-in members. Its two interactive email campaigns worked like a charm -- leading to huge increases in site traffic and boosting customer loyalty. more
• How a State Agency's Anti-Smoking Campaign Effectively Reached Teens via the Web, TV and Live EventsColorado State Tobacco Education & Prevention Partnership (STEPP), a division of the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment
  One of the more successful tobacco control programs is the "Own Your C" campaign commissioned by the state of Colorado, which has effectively found ways to resonate with this hard-to-reach demographic. more

Market Research: See all 42 case studies

Market Research online seminar broadcasts from the best minds in marketing

• Segmenting the Hispanic Market: What the Numbers Really MeanAttendee rating:  - Jul 12, 2007
• Small Business Series: Do-It-Yourself Market ResearchAttendee rating:  - Jun 22, 2007
• Demystifying Website Usability: Rapid Research for MarketersAttendee rating:  - Jul 25, 2006
• Conducting Online Research the Right WayAttendee rating:  - Jun 1, 2006
• Marketing Research the Guerrilla WayAttendee rating:  - May 11, 2006
• Make GOOGLE Your Most Powerful Market Research ToolAttendee rating:  - Sep 15, 2004

Market Research: See all 6 seminars

Market Research marketing downloads for the busy professional

• Customer-Centric Innovation: How Companies Engage Customers in Product Development and Radical Innovation
  Engaging your customers can help increase satisfaction, loyalty, and brand awareness. This research report will help you understand the role of customers in product development.
• B2B Marketing in 2009: Trends in Strategies and Spending
  Get the truth about B2B marketing in a tough economy from people who know the business best—B2B marketers themselves. Our special report, B2B Marketing in 2009, provides the most current research on trends in strategies and spending, and how they affect your business.
• Benchmark Research: Marketing in the Economic Crisis
  These economic times have everyone concerned and asking, "How does this effect marketing?". Well we surveyed our very own members to help give marketers a sense of how others are dealing and adapting to these tough times.
• Email Marketing Benchmark Report 2008
  This 150-page Email Benchmark Report 2008 was developed by surveying our very own MarketingProfs members. Find out what the competition is doing so your 2009 email marketing budget makes sense!
• B2B Sales Lead Generation: Integration of Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 Media
  Research on how Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 can be used in effective Lead Generation campaigns
• Small Biz How-To Guide: Market Research
  Need to learn about your customers without the big price tag of market research firms? This guide on do-it-yourself market research will help you get the information you need to position your business without emptying the corporate coffers.
• Small Biz How-To Guide: Avoiding Key Pitfalls
  Let's face it, more small businesses fail than succeed. Make sure yours is one of the winners with this guide to getting your small business off the ground and solidly on the road to success.
• SWOT Analysis How-To Guide
  This comprehensive, step-by-step how-to guide will help you assess the position in the market of your product or firm, by identifying the product's Strengths and Weaknesses, by considering the potential Opportunities the product has in the marketingplace, and by assessing the potential Threats posed by either the competition or the marketplace.
• Online Research How-To Guide
  Set clear objectives and a realistic scope to online research projects. These are just two of the steps that this comprehensive, step-by-step planning guide will help you to accomplish to insure your online research results in the most relevant and useful information possible.
• Benchmark Survey: Voice of the Customer
  Link directly to the raw (aggregate) data in this 2006 survey of the ways companies are incorporating the voice of the customer into their marketing, their product development, and their management. With access to the raw data, you can view the results, and even filter them to see how a subset of companies in your country or industry answered. In this way, you can interpret the data in the most meaningful way for your business.
• Benchmark Survey: Marketing to Hispanics
  Link directly to the raw (aggregate) data in this 2006 survey of the ways companies are targeting their marketing efforts, and adjusting their business processes, for the lucrative Spanish-speaking segment. With access to the raw data, you can view the results, and even filter them to see how a subset of companies in your country or industry answered. In this way, you can interpret the data in the most meaningful way for your business.
• Competitive Analysis Template
  A thorough competitive analysis is a critical component of a solid marketing plan. It is an exercise that will provide you with valuable insights to guide the development of your business strategy. This 20-page template will make the project quick and easy, and you can end up with a leg up on your compeition.
• Using Google as a Research Tool
  This in-depth handbook will walk you through the ins and outs of using Google as a powerful resource for market research. In 27 easy-to-follow pages with a dozen screen shots, this PDF is a handy tool you will want to print and keep nearby as you learn to incorporate the new techniques into your search routines.

Market Research: See all 13 downloads