At its core, insights uncovered by B2B market research provide companies the information necessary to make better informed strategic decisions. Most research projects have two dimensions to consider: type and scope. Defining the best type of market research project is most often driven by the need for a deeper understanding of either customers, competition, or a target market, while the scope is determined by the depth of the data needed to provide the insight for the strategic decision at hand.

When making important decisions that will impact your business, it’s critical to have accurate information that supports your conclusions. One of the biggest problems entrepreneurs and small business owners face is acquiring syndicated research that provides all the specific market and competitor data they need to support their decision for a price that is affordable, yet without sacrificing the value of using multiple sources.

On Wednesday, March 25, 2015, H.J. Heinz and Kraft Foods Group announced a $36 billion merger between the two major market players aimed at reducing costs, increasing international growth, and developing a more consumer-centric direction. The merger results in the creation of the 5th largest global food company.

Householder developments are developments undertaken by homeowners which require planning permission. These include, for example, building extensions, porches, roof extensions and any alterations to homes and gardens that are not covered by permitted development rights. There are a number of situations where planning permission is not needed, (permitted developments) such as smaller extensions, conservatories of a certain size and so on.

Big Data analytics give telecom providers a more complete customer perspective, where no data is too small or irrelevant, and one that has data sets from various sources fused together, correlated and turned into valuable insights. Some of the areas, in broad terms, where Business Intelligence tools can be used in telecom, include Operations and Budget Analysis, Capacity Management Analysis, and Network Operations & Management Analysis.

Is Bali really the best-kept secret of the global FinTech community?

Bali is known for its pristine beauty and its outstanding hospitality. In Part-1 of this two-part series, we showed that behind the scenes there is a vibrant and colorful international FinTech and Startup community evolving on the island. We also explored why Bali is so attractive for FinTech activities and listed "The 10 Magnetic Powers of Bali." Now, let's take a look at the leaders in Bali's FinTech community.

The two most famous stories about market research are used as arguments against it.

In the first story, Henry Ford famously said that no bit of research or consumer testing would have led him to car production. “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”

That may have been true, but Henry Ford wasn’t in the buggy business or even the transportation business. He was a machinist and worked on his family farm. His goal was not to build the first car or enhance transportation; it was to improve car production. Ford neither invented the car nor the assembly line; instead, he improved them so middle America could afford automobiles. He was all about improving efficiency because he knew, from market research, that most Americans didn’t have cars because they were too expensive. His job was to build a car cheap enough for America to buy, not build a faster buggy.

The vast majority of companies competing in today’s global economy conduct some form of market research for the markets in which they currently participate or may potentially participate. Companies usually look to outside firms for their research and are faced with the choice of purchasing either syndicated or custom market research. Because the cost of performing the research is spread over multiple clients, syndicated research offers a cost-effective solution for firms seeking general market information. The goal of syndicated research is to appeal to a greater number of potential buyers, so it typically provides a macro-level overview of a market, basic market segmentation, and often a broad array of competitive profiles.On the other hand, custom market research is proprietary and “tailor made” to the client needs, delivering richer and deeper information in the areas deemed important. Although more expensive than syndicated, the collaborative nature of custom research can deliver excellent value for the following reasons.

Is Bali really the best-kept secret of the global FinTech community?

Among FinTech enthusiasts there is a rumor that Bali is a thriving hub for innovative thinking, startups, BitCoin and financial technology in particular. The problem is that we rarely hear specifics about it, and there is no good source compiling and overviewing FinTech activity in Bali. Writing this blog post, we at Banking Reports, a leading source of FinTech market intelligence, can verify that, yes, Bali is really a hotspot for FinTech and BitCoin. In our research we have found something even broader: Bali is a paradise for startups in general from all industries, sizes and shapes.

Recruitment, retention, recruitment, retention, recruitment, retention!

The goal remains the same as professional and trade associations are plagued by similar ongoing pressures that lurked back 20 plus years ago. However, the job of providing a unique value that meets the expectations of members and justifies membership dues is a tougher task today given the current economic challenges and the widespread use of  technology, which now supports networking capabilities through social media and more available access to industry information, two key benefits once exclusive to many associations.