The Strategic Anticipation Approach to Market Research: Tools and Techniques for Aligning Your Business - Tapa dura

A unique approach to forecasting market trends, customer needs, and the future of your business Strategic anticipation enables businesses to embrace shifts in the marketplace early on and align market research and forecasting into the structure of the business. This comprehensive book provides managers with tools they can use to align their company's market research and business planning efforts with their organization's overall business strategy and operations. Transforms traditional forecasting methods into practical, analytical tools. Robert Duboff (Boston, MA) is a Vice President at Mercer Management Consulting, specializing in helping clients achieve their marketing goals. Duboff has published articles in such business publications as the Journal of Business Strategy and Advertising Age, and is on the Board of Directors for the Advertising Research Foundation. James Spaeth (Boston, MA) is President of the Advertising Research Foundation, a nonprofit corporate-membership association in the field of advertising, marketing, and media 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 perilsand opportunitiesthat lie ahead. Excellent marketing insight is the edge that differentiates business winners from losers. It can help your company in its effort to makenot merely servemarkets. 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 companys 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 presentand 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:

• Futuresalternate scenarios modeling. These models will help you look beyond todays urgencies and assess broad trends sweeping your business.
• Customersyour buyers. Test the demand and need for products or services that do not yet exist using leading-edge market research techniques.
• Economicsthe cost dynamics of the business. Determine what will be required to win competitively.
• Alignmentunity of purpose. Make sure all within your company share the visionand pursue it together.

Youll learn step by step how the research function can best serve your businesss needs. Market research will allow you to:

• Build customer and employee loyalty
• Successfully analyze your competitionpresent 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. Youll also see how to reasonably forecast what the Internet, the Internets 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.