Market research is all about predicting the future... or attempting to at least. But, as human habits and patterns become more irrational, as some suggest, predicting the future based on the past is becoming increasingly difficult, yet ever-more important.

It's simply no longer logical to take the historical data found in market research and assume that it will predict the future. Yet, many businesses use it as such, and, maybe in the past, that was okay. Now, human behavior must be considered right alongside market research in an entirely new way.

In the world of market research, one of the biggest areas of confusion revolves around licensing.  When I buy a report, who can use it and how can it be used?  This is made even more difficult because the terms one publisher uses can be different from another.  In 2013, we published a blog post to help companies of various sizes and with various budgets determine which license was right for them. Because licensing remains such a complex concept to many purchasers and end users, here is a more in-depth guide to help you understand the complicated maze of market research licensing.

In the first episode of the hit series Mad Men, Don Draper explains to the client, Lucky Strike cigarettes, that advertising is "based on one thing: happiness. And, do you know what happiness is? Happiness is the smell of a new car. It's freedom from fear. It's a billboard on the side of a road that screams with reassurance that whatever you're doing is okay. You are okay."

But, how do you measure your customers' happiness? Predict it? Create products that elicit it? Do customers even know what they want?

A "good" market research report can cost you thousands of dollars.  And when I say “good,” I mean a report that helped you make one of your difficult business decisions: should we buy company X, should we invest in industry Y, who are the competitors we should fear, who are the customers we should go after?  While some may find it hard to determine to what extent, market research is unequivocally helpful when trying to make an affirmative decision (ie: should we enter this market?), and it can be equally helpful in informing on what to avoid.

Yet, often times, defining success when using market research can be a major gray area. Success doesn't always translate into definite measurables. Plus, success can be an extremely subjective concept. What a small entrepreneurial technology company might call success can be vastly different from success as defined by a Global 2000 corporate powerhouse.

Every industry views market research differently. It's necessity, functionality and delivery vary by market, adapting to each industry's specific intelligence needs. However, the reality is that market research is far more easily obtained and applied in certain fields than in others. Probably the most difficult industries to successfully accomplish this are those that run on a project-to-project basis. This ultimately boils down to their fast-paced, ever-changing nature. For instance, just take a look at the Business Services and Banking industries. Whether dealing in private equity, insurance, banking or strategy consulting, these markets' focus is dedicated to high-pressure, project-based needs. So, in order to understand how market research can be used within these types of industries, you have to assess and overcome a variety of challenges.

Every morning, I check my phone, just as millions of us do, to see the email in-box displaying a delightful red dot with a figure proudly displayed. For me, that figure is generally in the twenties or thirties. I open my e-mail in anticipation that today’s deliveries will all be exciting and relevant to what I’m focused on. I’m disappointed; it’s a jumble of non-relevant spam dross. Why don’t I delete all?

Because, just maybe somewhere in there is an email from Profound.com. That informative and precisely relevant email will be focused on a current project or industry that I need information on. Why do I seek out this golden nugget of an email? Well, because I told it precisely what I needed to be contained within it. It took me minutes to set up, and that investment was invaluable. How did I do it? By using the highly customized features on my Profound.com market research solution. But, why did I invest my valuable minutes?

Every business needs to evolve. Otherwise, you'll find yourself running the best buggy whip business at the turn of the century. Growing revenue is not the only benchmark of a healthy business. A business can be healthy and heading down the right path until, well, it isn't. Phrases like innovator's dilemma, innovator's solution and accelerated disruption have hit the lexicon.

Borders Books made $101 million less than three years before losing $157 million. Blackberry (enough said), Sears, JC Penney, and even more recent high fliers like Zynga have simply misread the market and found themselves on a downward trajectory after experiencing substantial success previously.

So, how do you grow? What new products will attract the customers I want? What else can I sell to my current customers? Where are my new customers? New markets?  By definition, I don’t know anything about them, how do I learn?

"Start with the end in mind." The late Stephen Covey was not necessarily referring to business when he wrote this thought in his popular book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. But, the sentiment still rings true, particularly when talking about launching a start-up. Developing good habits and outlining smart steps are crucial to achieving entrepreneurial success, and beginning your endeavor with solid market research habits will much better equip you to reach your end goals. So, we've briefly outlined seven market research habits to help you launch your start-up effectively and successfully.

After purchasing a market research solution, in order to get the most value from your investment, you need to evaluate your usage. But, how do you optimize your platform most effectively? Whether you have a subscription-based solution or a buy-by-the-slice platform, you need to fully understand its features and how to take advantage of them. That is why at MarketResearch.com, we have multiple Application Specialists who work closely with our platform customers to ensure you are optimizing your usage and the solution's features to reach the highest potential value for your business.

Successful market research is all about asking the right questions. No matter what industry you are in, there are specific questions to consider before diving into your market research. Particularly in the Biotechnology industry, certain factors must be taken into consideration in order to ensure that your research will be the most relevant and effective. Bruce Carlson, Publisher at one of the industry's leading market research producers, Kalorama Information, has laid out three of the most important questions to ask when researching in this field: