The value of market research has reached the rural communities of central Africa. Microfinance operations aimed at providing banking services to low-income individuals and groups are trying to use market research to better target their clients. Microfinance gives these low-income groups an opportunity to become self-sufficient by giving them and their businesses the means to borrow and save money.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) is working with financial institutions specializing in microfinance to train their teams in market research so that they can develop the right products for this growing market. The goal of the program, according to the USAID Rural finance program chief, is to create a more proactive approach in responding to market needs.

As the digital revolution enters its third decade, are American consumers allowing their desire for high tech gadgets to compromise their privacy?

I decided a few years ago to forego the use of sites like FourSquare and Yelp, especially their mobile apps, which allow one to "check in" at places.  It seemed to me that the data trail resulting from locational apps are ripe for "mining" by marketing concerns, who accumulate them into gushing streams known as big data. Then there are even more unsavory possibilities for how your personal data trail might negatively impact your life, including in legal and medical contexts.

We've all heard that the best way to improve search engine ranking is to create great content. Google and other search providers have been working hard to tailor thier algorithms to highlight fresh and original work, so what does this mean for SEO and how do you get your website seen?

The answer to that question is that SEO is still very important but past best practises once designed to 'game' the system through high density keywords and such, are now designed to help craft your great content in a way that your customers will find it.

If you are unsure of how to increase SEO ranking for your website, investing in quality and timely market research could help focus your online marketing strategy to your customers needs. Getting to the top of search engine results pages (SERPS) has become much more than keyword stuffing and black hat SEO.

My name is Shauna Loun, and I'm Associate Director of Global Client Support at MarketResearch.com.  As the new year gets underway, we thought it would be a great idea to introduce ourselves and share with you some of the most common questions we receive.

The personal and professional worlds tend to mesh for Larry Finkel, Market Research Director. During more than a dozen years providing expert business intelligence as a top Research Specialist, he's danced at client weddings, lent them a shoulder during marital strife, cheered when their children received college acceptance letters.

Are you flying blind on market research? What is your market research strategy plan? How do you find a quality market research report? Knowing where to locate reliable high quality research for your industry is essential for the continual growth of your company.

In last night's State of the Union address President Barack Obama cited employment data in challeging U.S. businesses to improve the domestic manufacturing outlook.

At first, we thought the hardest part was convincing our Mom that she shouldn't drive any more.

But two years after getting Mom to relinquish the car keys, my two older siblings and I are learning that taking care of an aging parent has many, many 'hard parts.'  Moreover, we've learned that the American healthcare system isn't terribly helpful to adult children of modest means who want to provide a safe, clean, engaging living arrangement for aging parents of limited means.

You wouldn't know it from what you "read in the news" lately, but for the past several years the food and beverage industry has been making efforts to meet rising consumer demand for healthy food that fosters health and wellness.

Last September, the world's biggest fast food company, McDonald's, announced a plan to begin listing calorie counts for all menu items in its thousands of North American restaurants.  The move was in response to growing concerns from consumer advocates, public health officials and doctors about the on-going obesity epidemic in the United States.