When you need to find out detailed information about your customers and the market in which you are doing business, you can learn a great deal from looking at what the top market research companies are doing. Whether or not you can afford to hire one of the leading research firms to conduct research, you can certainly benefit from understanding how they approach collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data.
Arbitron
Arbitron specializes in gathering data related to consumer usage of broadcast media. Arbitron collects data related to radio listening and television viewing habits that is used to assign ratings to particular stations and programs. When you hear that a particular news program is the top rated station in your market, the assertion is likely based on data collected, complied, and evaluated by Arbitron.
If you have ever purchased, or considered purchasing, radio or television commercials to promote your business, you have likely seen the results of Arbitron's efforts. If you're interested in learning more about whether or not broadcast advertising can have a positive impact on your business, you may want to look at the free studies and reports about media and consumer usage available on the Arbitron's website.
Gfk Group
The Gfk Group is a multinational market research corporation with more than 115 operational businesses, each of which is focused on providing top notch research services to clients in more than 90 different countries worldwide. The firm offers services in five primary business divisions, as follows:
- Consumer Tracking (data collection related to consumer behavior)
- Custom Research (strategic marketing across all sectors)
- Healthcare (focused on pharmaceutical research)
- Media Usage and Reach
- Retail and Technology (consumer goods retail sales)
Maritz Market Research
Maritz Research is widely recognized as one of the top market research companies. The company's goal is to help its clients understand, enable, and motivate their customers. Maritz's approach to research focuses on helping customers understand issues related to customer choice, service experience, and loyalty.
The firm emphasizes providing data that helps clients answer the following questions:
- Choice: Why do customers choose to do business with your organization?
- Experience: What actually happens when customers interact with your organization?
- Loyalty: What factors cause your customers to return or choose to do business with your competitors instead of you?
Interested in Mystery Shopping?
Maritz also utilizes the services of mystery shoppers to collect data throughout the United States and the U.K. If you're interested in working with Maritz in this capacity, fill out the online shopper profile form.
Ipsos
Ipsos is a multinational market research firm, operating offices in more than 50 countries around the world. The company specializes in helping customers around the world understand the issues that impact their ability to succeed in the marketplace. Want to Participate? Visit Ipsos to sign up as an Mystery Shopper.
Learning From the Top Market Research Companies
There may be times when your company can benefit from hiring the services of a research company to help better understand factors that contribute to your company's performance. You can also obtain terrific information about consumer behavior and marketing trends by taking advantage of free newsletters and other resources provided by these firms. When you're trying to make decisions about the best way to grow your business, turning to the resources available from the leading research firms can be beneficial to the success of your company.
