Business Market Research Services

Techniques smaller businesses can use to stretch their marketing dollars--and keep customers loyal for a lifetime Traditionally, the competitive ace -in -the hole for smaller businesses has been their ability to provide more personalized service than their larger, arm's-length competitors. However, CRM initiatives and Web-based technologies now allow global businesses to appear and behave much "smaller" than in the past, leaving local businesses scrambling to uncover new areas of differentiation and competitive advantage. "Big Business Marketing for Small Business Budgets shows small business owners how to make the most of their limited marketing dollars by capturing the lifetime loyalty of their most valuable customers. This hands-on, how-to-do-it book features tricks and techniques of global marketers from Amazon.com to American Express that operations of all sizes can use to quickly and inexpensively: Develop precise, personalized marketing programs Incorporate the Internet with existing marketing activities Collect and utilize valuable customer preference data for marketing "individually" to customers In today's price-driven, "What's in it for me?" marketplace, developing and sustaining long-term customer relationships has become increasingly difficult for smaller businesses--but not impossible. Let "Big Business Marketing for Small Business Budgets show you how to compete with your largest competitors--and adopt and adapt their well-researched tips and techniques to gain lifetime customers.

Makers of consumer goods--from shampoo to ice cream, from toothbrushes to plastic storage bags, from home comupters to lawn mowers--want to know how their products are really used by buyers. For example, how many dollops of styling mousse does the average user put in her hair to achieve a satisfactory hold? What constitutes a fresh smelling load of laundry? How does a pot full of spaghetti noodles need to look, feel, and smell in order for the average consumer to consider it cooked? Beyond test kitchens, focus group studies, and surveys, few qualitative research techniques have allowed marketers and manufacturers to gain a profound understanding of how consumers truly use a product once they get it home from the store. Enter observational research (also known as ethnography), an increasingly popular marketing research technique. In a marketing context, ethnography or "descriptive anthropology" is the study of consumer behaviors. It is about observing and analyzing how consumers respond to a product or service in their own environments based upon their cultural values and relationships. Observational researchers study how people use and react to products or services in their own homes. The results of such studies often reveal surprising insights into consumer behaviors and preferences. This information then allows companies to tailor their advertising and marketing efforts to meet the often unspoken but widely observed needs of their targeted consumers. "The Observational Research Handbook" explores the burgeoning qualitative marketing research technique of ethnography and is the most comprehensive professional reference available on the subject. Directed to marketing and advertisingprofessionals, as well as to market researchers and manufacturers of consumer products, the book explains what observational research is, what it can add to a consumer marketing effort, and how an ethnographic marketing study is conducted.