Market Research Matters: Tools and Techniques for Aligning Your Business

By Robert Duboff

When it comes to planning a winning corporate strategy, many business leaders fail to consider market research. This is a critical mistake. Done correctly and with creativity, market research can provide real value by serving as the radar that will alert your business to the perils and opportunities that lie ahead. Excellent marketing insight is the edge that differentiates business winners from losers. It can help your company in its effort to make'not merely serve markets. Businesses that successfully anticipate major marketplace shifts such as e-commerce, PCs, or the demand for bottled water reap rewards of legendary proportions. Few do. Less dramatic but equally important is the opportunity to improve customer understanding and marketing, which can grow profits daily. Businesses should and can do better at this. This book will show you how. As a result of their work with the Advertising Research Foundation, authors Robert Duboff and Jim Spaeth know that market research can and should be a backbone of any business strategy. They believe research needs to move beyond its traditional, limited role of a "numbers function" to its proper place as a vehicle for enlightening decision making. Market Research Matters provides you with tools to better align your company's market research and business forecast efforts to the overall business strategy and operations. It polishes the traditional marketing research techniques and reveals new ones that can help any company avoid the pitfalls of focusing only on the present'and seize the opportunities that an uncertain future has to offer. A section on "Mapping the Future" includes four variables to consider when dealing with the unknown: Futures alternate scenarios modeling. These models will help you look beyond today's urgencies and assess broad trends sweeping your business. Customers your buyers. Test the demand and need for products or services that do not yet exist using leading edge market research techniques. Economics the cost dynamics of the business. Determine what will be required to win competitively. Alignment unity of purpose. Make sure all within your company share the vision and pursue it together. You'll learn step by step how the research function can best serve your business's needs. Market research will allow you to: Build customer and employee loyalty Successfully analyze your competition'present and future Prepare for the connected economy spearheaded by the Internet Understanding the recent past and present is necessary to research the future, but it is not enough. A diagnostic is included to allow you to assess how your business is progressing in each area. You'll also see how to reasonably forecast what the Internet, the Internet's offspring, and the new markets they engender will be like a few years from now. You need insight into the dynamics of the marketplace to act in anticipation of what might happen. Market Research Matters will help you make certain your business is up to the challenge of becoming a truly future focused business. Acclaim for Market Research Matters "A timely reminder of the value of market research to the corporate navigator. It doesn't just log what happened yesterday it also helps you peer into the mists of tomorrow."?Sir Martin Sorrell, Chief Executive, WPP Group plc "Urgent reading for any serious marketing professional grappling with the changes brought about by today's turbulent economy." ?Linda Srere, Vice Chairman and Chief Client Officer, Young & Rubicam, Inc. "Most businesses focus upon building on past successes hoping to keep abreast of competition. This book effectively establishes the case that those companies that look to the future and embrace market research will become leaders through the creation of sustainable competitive advantage."?

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471360058
• ISBN13: 9780471360056
• Release Date: March 2000
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.2" x 1.1" x 6.2"

Customer Reviews

A Wonderful Book!

This wonderfully written book goes deep in strategic marketing research, and even broader. It talks about many important things having to do with market research and tells you exactly what you can do. I recommend this book to everyone. I was interested in reading the book after I saw that Clairmont College rated it as one of the top 50 business books of the year, and rightfully so. The first three reviews I read disturbed me and I firmly believe that the reviewers did not read the book at all. Enjoy this great book.

How to get excellent marketing insight through research

When it comes to planning a winning corporate strategy, many business leaders fail to consider market research. This is a critical mistake. Done correctly and with creativity, market research can provide real value by serving as the radar that will alert your business to the perils-and opportunities-that lie ahead.Excellent marketing insight is the edge that differentiates business winners from losers. It can help your company in its effort to make-not merely serve-markets. Businesses that successfully anticipate major marketplace shifts reap rewards of legendary proportions. Few do. Less dramatic but equally important is the opportunity to improve the understanding of customer behaviour, which can grow profits daily. Businesses should and can do better at this and this book will show you how.Market research can and should be a backbone of any business strategy. It should move beyond its traditional and limited "number-crunching" function to its proper place as a platform for enlightening decision making.Market Research Matters provides you with the tools to better align your company's market research and business forecast efforts to the overall business strategy and operations. It polishes traditional market research techniques and reveals new ones that can help any company avoid the pitfalls of focusing only on the present. Companies need to seize the opportunities that an uncertain future has to offer. You need insight into the dynamics of the marketplace to act in anticipation of what might happen. This book will help you make certain your business is up to the challenge of becoming a truly future-focused business.Robert Duboff is Partner and the Director of National Marketing for Ernst & Young. Duboff was previously vice president at Mercer Management Consulting, where he spent over twenty years helping clients achieve their marketing goals. He has written numerous papers for a number of management journals. Jim Spaeth is President of the Advertising Research Foundation.

Knowing What You Need to Know...and Why

Long ago, Sun Tzu asserted that every battle is won or lost before it is fought. Hence the importance of preparation. Decisive preparation requires (a) whatever information may be necessary and (b) appropriate initiatives based on that information. In their Introduction, the authors acknowledge a number of rational and emotional "arguments" against the value of market research. They then identify "The Dangerous Myths": I know these things. Things never really change (so simply updating yesterday's plan will be fine). The people with whom I talk all agree with me. The authors explain why each of these myths is so dangerous. Myopia, ignorance, and arrogance do indeed make a deadly combination. It may be helpful if I now list the ten chapter titles which correctly indicate the scope of the material covered:Why Market Research MattersThe Tools to Research the FutureHow to Implement Strategic Anticipation Researching the Future BrandResearching the Future Customer LoyaltyResearching the Future CompetitionResearching the Future ChannelsResearching the Future Employee LoyaltyResearching the Future InternetIs Your Market Researcher Up to the Challenge?Perhaps you agree with Sun Tzu about the importance of thorough preparation. Perhaps you appreciate the importance of having whatever information may be needed to make appropriate decisions. And finally, perhaps you need a cohesive, comprehensive, and cost-effective market research system to help achieve your business objectives. If so, I highly recommend this book.

Imperitive reading

Market Research Matters is rich with constructive new ideas. A must read for researchers, marketers and managers in every field. This book empowers the reader to improve their business, and put themselves in line for a successfull future.

You can learn so much from one book!

in a word WOW--i learned so much about research the market...i recomend this to everyone who wants to give the market a try,unlike other market book, i didnt fall asleep reading them, i had fun while i learned about the market (i hit it bi and im only an 21 year old college student) thank you Market Research