How satisfied are your customers? The answer to this question is critical for the long-term health of your business.

According to The Harvard Business Review, increasing customer retention rates by 5 percent can increase profits by 25 to 95 percent.

Strong customer loyalty can dramatically lower costs and increase profits, but ensuring a positive customer experience is a challenge for many organizations.

It is easy to categorize wearables in the enterprise as simply a variation or next step in Bring Your Own Technology (BYOD), but in reality it is a bit more complicated. While clearly enterprise wearables and BYOD overlap, wearable is a distinct category with its own dynamics and should be thought of differently from non-wearable BYOD.

By its very nature, a start-up venture has no customers, no visibility into the market, and no brand awareness. To get these things, you need to invest some of your start-up funds into marketing which includes branding, advertising, and market research.

You’ve probably heard that the National Retail Federation (NRF) has downgraded their retail sales forecast from 2015, from 4.1% increase to only 3.5% over 2014.  As a trade association for the retail industry, I don’t put too much stock into what they say, knowing that they want to, have to, put a positive spin on whatever they report, as Mark Twain said, “There are lies, damn lies and statistics.”  So the news of a downward adjustment of a forecast from the NRF is particularly notable, since the reality is probably much worse that they are likely to report.

The cornerstone of any marketing strategy is a solid understanding of what customers truly value and need, then creating and delivering a compelling message showing how your offering delivers measurable value in addressing those needs. 

A number of different industries have begun to focus their attention on the millennial generation in the past few years, which includes market research. As new millennial students enter the workforce, it’s crucial to understand how the millennial market researcher is conducting their research and where they are looking for the information they need.

Market research isn’t just a necessity for companies to make their business decisions, it’s also a crucial process during government acquisitions. For the U.S. government, market research is required to gather preliminary information needed for acquisition of commercial items.

Embedded systems are part and parcel of every modern electronic component. These are  low power consumption units that are used to run specific tasks for example remote controls, washing machines, microwave ovens,  RFID tags , sensors, actuators and thermostats used in various applications, networking hardware such as switches, routers, modems, mobile phones, PDAs, etc.

When working to find the market research report that is going to provide you with all the information you’ve been searching for, sometimes the last thing on your mind is what type of licensing agreement you’re going to need when your purchase the report. A lot of confusion revolves around licensing, specifically who can use it and how can the research be used.

Through the benefits of technology, it’s easier than ever to take your business to the international level. What once was reserved for big-name brands is now possible for all types of companies — as long as they stay informed about current market conditions. When considering global markets, it’s important to use market research to be prepared for all potential opportunities and challenges.