Corporations are hungry to know more and more about consumers, but gathering the right blend of data and analysis — in a time-efficient manner while also managing costs — is becoming ever more complex.

When asked to identify the biggest challenges in her day-to-day work, Tracy Paukstys, Senior Director of Client Development at Insights in Marketing, replied that “Clients are tasked with getting richer and more impactful consumer insights despite often more restrictive budgets and timing.” She noted that this “seems to be the norm more than the exception.”

Social science and humanities (SSH) publishing encompasses a broad range of subject areas, from anthropology and religion to music and philosophy. Types of media include print and electronic books and journals, as well as online services and databases.

Have you heard of aseptic packaging? It’s a type of packaging where the contents and the container are commercially sterilized separately and are then combined in a sterile environment.

The $4.6 billion aseptic packaging market accounted for three percent of US packaging in 2015. In unit terms, demand is expected to expand 3.7 percent annually to 68.5 billion in 2020. Read on to learn more about this growing market.

Where would Wheaties be without Michael Jordan? Taco Bell without Gidget, the talking Chihuahua? Or even the “Can you hear me now?” guy from Verizon Wireless? These spokespeople are iconic. They have helped brands personify themselves, leaving lasting and memorable impressions on their target consumers. So, what do a sports legend, a Spanish speaking dog and a tech nerd with glasses have in common? Likeability.

Jack W. Plunkett, CEO of Plunkett Research, Ltd, highlights several e-commerce trends that are transforming retail, travel, entertainment, and communication.

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.