Once you have found that great idea for your business, it’s crucial to determine whether your product or service can meet the needs of your target customers and achieve sustained growth. Big brand companies have the resources to spend millions of dollars on research and development every year, but start-ups and small businesses have much tighter budgets.

Fortunately, with a strategic approach and the right tools and resources, you can obtain the market research you need to minimize risk and increase your chances of financial success. Follow these tips to make the most of your start-up research budget.

Refractories are key production components that are integral to the recovery of America’s manufacturing sector. In the short term, the $2.6 billion refractory industry will face significant challenges as its largest market, iron and steel production, slows. In the US, sales of refractories used in iron and steel production will be weakened by the decline in the production of fracking-related steel pipe, while on a global scale, refractory suppliers will experience more limited sales opportunities as China idles 100-150 million tons of steel capacity by 2020 — an amount larger than the entire US output. To combat these issues, refractory manufacturers are adopting new strategies.

Prior to launching in 2000, JetBlue identified a variety of unmet consumer needs. Its market analysis showed that airline passengers were willing to pass on hot meals and first-class cabins in favor of in-flight entertainment and upgraded leather seating.

JetBlue understood that its target customers were looking for more than cheap tickets — they also wanted a relaxing in-flight experience and a few unique amenities. With a mission to “bring humanity back to air travel,” JetBlue soon drew a loyal following of customers. Less than two years after it opened for business, JetBlue was one of the few U.S. airlines to make a profit during the steep drop in air travel following the September 11 attacks.

A Director of Marketing at a major consumer-goods company calls a research supplier and explains that she needs to do a project on potential customers. She wants to conduct several focus groups with people within a specific age range who spend a certain dollar amount on competitor’s products. She says she wants these groups done in three major cities in the U.S., and, after asking if the research supplier has any questions, ends the call. The supplier hangs up the phone and starts to get together costs for the study. The research that is then conducted conforms exactly to these specifications, and the final report is delivered on time. Nice story, right?

At the recent Boomer Business Summit in Washington, DC, I shared the podium with Steve Parker, SVP Marketing, firstSTREET, a direct-marketing company targeting “Boomers & beyond” with “solutions to aging-related problems.” We spoke at a session entitled A Broad View of Trends in Commerce: Who, Why and How They Will Buy, and delivered the important news that Baby Boomers (aged 52-70 years) still represent an important consumer demographic that marketers ignore at their peril.

New and emerging technologies have the potential to disrupt and transform a variety of important industries. Mind Commerce, a trusted source for research and strategic analysis, has written a series of articles highlighting new, influential trends in digital technologies and telecommunications. Here, we’ve compiled eight Mind Commerce posts that received the most page views. Click to the posts that interest you to gain valuable new insights from an experienced market research firm.

As of 2015, the global market for graphene remained in its infancy, with approximately three-fourths of spending dedicated to R&D activities. Challenges related to manufacturing processes and methods of modifying graphene have prevented wider adoption of the material and limited commercialization to just a handful of graphene-based products. As manufacturing technologies advance and prices fall, more and more products are expected to reach market readiness, boosting commercial graphene demand relative to R&D spending across several segments.

In recent years, corporate brand and marketing teams have pushed their market research departments and agencies to go beyond using PowerPoint presentations to efficiently deliver data and insights. As a result, they’re increasingly turning to online dashboards to create informative stories, observe and act on customer feedback, and analyze trends, all with the goal of inspiring and driving action. But effective online dashboards must be built properly. Below are seven tips to take into consideration to ensure you fully leverage the power of online dashboards.

Soaring demand growth and skyrocketing prices are making 2016 a very exciting year for lithium — the highly reactive, silvery white metal that has revolutionized the rechargeable battery industry. Portable electronics, including everything from smartphones to laptops, rely on lithium-ion (Li-Ion) batteries. But it will be electric vehicles (EVs) that drive lithium sales going forward, boosting prices while placing increasing pressure on global supplies. 

Demand in the US for behind-the-wall plumbing products is projected to advance 6.5 percent annually to $12.4 billion in 2020. The industry encompasses water distribution systems, which carry water from supply mains to fixtures and faucets; drain, waste, and vent (DWV) systems, which transport wastewater and other materials to sewer mains; and fire suppression systems, including valves and sprinkler heads.

While demand continues to grow, manufacturers and plumbing contractors face new challenges related to water conservation. Stringent water use standards and low-flow fixtures — coupled with an increasing number of bathrooms in single-family homes — are stressing some waste systems in the US. Read more about the growing need for an ever more complicated network of pipes and valves to handle our modern needs.