In order to make informed, data-driven business decisions, you need quality market research.

Market research is essential for all types of businesses in different stages of growth.

As market researchers, we ask consumers how they perceive brands and products, and we accept their responses as a reflection of how they think and feel. But, how do we know that consumers are expressing their honest feelings about a brand? And, is there a way to test whether consumers’ expressed attitudes represent their true thoughts and feelings? 

Ongoing market research is vital to your company's long-term success, whether you are looking to drive profitable growth, enter a new market, or sustain your competitive advantage over time.

The longer we do market research, the more convinced we are that respondents in our studies are telling us what they think sounds good and explains their behavior. But respondents may not have the ability to explain how and why they make decisions. As market-research practitioners, we’re convinced that our industry is too focused on analyzing what people say rather than identifying the affective or emotional responses that may really drive their behavior.

In a recent survey of nearly 100 pharmaceutical and life science market research executives conducted by my company InCrowd, 80% identified their respective brand as being in a volatile market, characterized by disruption and uncertainty.

There is a famous New Yorker cartoon with one dog sitting in front of a desk-top computer telling another dog: “On the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.”

It appeared in 1993.

And now 24 years later the problem of internet identity has moved from a punch line to the front lines of business, news, politics and commerce.

The last decade has been filled with unexpected events, from the global financial crisis to Brexit to the election of President Donald Trump. The reputations of polling companies have taken a public beating, and data gathered from surveys, interviews, and focus groups may fall under increased scrutiny as a result.

Given the current climate of volatility, how can consumer insight professionals, research analysts, and marketers choose the right forecasting methods and make meaningful predictions with confidence?

Satisfaction surveys are rife. From hotel stays to meals in restaurants, booking train tickets to searching comparison sites — as a consumer, you can barely get through a day anymore without someone asking about your customer experience and likelihood to recommend them to a friend.

The merits or pitfalls of this constant quest for consumer satisfaction data could be debated all day, but I’m not going to because (thankfully) B2B is different. Here, customer satisfaction measures are normally less frequent and more bespoke, with programmes typically conducted anywhere from quarterly to biennially.

Check out the latest industry analysis with fresh insights and perspectives from analysts in the field. 

Here's a list of recent articles from MarketResearch.com and our publishing divisions, plus a few interesting selections from other websites. 

Welcome to our new recurring blog series, where we'll bring you up to speed on the latest industry analysis and market research blogs from the past week. 

Take a look at recent articles from MarketResearch.com and our publishing divisions, plus a few top picks from other relevant websites and forums.