In a recent letter to Amazon shareholders, Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said consumer feedback didn’t lead to the development of Amazon’s popular Echo device.

“No customer was asking for Echo,” Bezos wrote. “This was definitely us wandering. Market research doesn’t help. If you had gone to a customer in 2013 and said ‘Would you like a black, always-on cylinder in your kitchen about the size of a Pringles can that you can talk to and ask questions, that also turns on your lights and plays music?’ I guarantee you they’d have looked at you strangely and said ‘No, thank you.’”

Market research can be a significant investment, but it’s one that many successful companies choose to make again and again.

Why is market research important, and how does it help companies make better business decisions?

When it comes time to make an important business decision or implement a strategic plan, companies often turn to a toolbox of resources to help determine the best possible course of action. One of the most important tools in this box is the market analysis – an assessment that incorporates both quantitative and qualitative data in order to paint a clear picture of the tangible and intangible factors at play in an industry.

One of the many challenges of running a successful business is that markets change. It’s natural: Tastes shift, technology advances, and the consumers you target today may look and behave differently from those in the market tomorrow.

Ken Long leads a team of analysts that produce studies on building and construction products at The Freedonia Group, where he has worked for more than 18 years. He has authored 64 studies, and his research has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune, and many trade journals.

Note: The following is an excerpt from the white paper "Trade Analysis: Using Trade Data in Strategic Decision Making" published by Freedonia Custom Research. To read the entire white paper, download it here for free. 

From financial services firms to car manufacturers, all types of companies can benefit from understanding their customers on a deeper level.

Conducting market research requires the right tools, resources, and strategies. Whether you are looking for information on how to do market research online, or you are searching for the right market research sources for your next project, you’ve come to the right place.

I have been with MarketResearch.com for over ten years helping clients with their information needs. In the last few years there has been an explosion of new companies creating market research reports. So, vetting publishers and content is becoming one of the most important aspects of my job.

You can tell a lot by a company’s logo. 

Especially in hindsight.

When we acquired the market research publisher Packaged Facts 20 years ago the logo was a paperclip. 

Which was fitting, as was its name, since the company started out as a packager of facts, probably delivered in a stack of paper bound by a clip?

But the evolution of how market research is produced and the changing customer expectations is more dramatic than going from a paperclip to a paperless click.