A well crafted research project is an exercise in reverse engineering. That is to say, it begins at the end by setting clear goals for the finished research product. Gaining a better understanding of consumers, identifying what drives their behaviors and purchasing decisions, evaluating a concept or brand position, testing a new product, determining product viability and updating previously generated data are research goals most sought by researchers.

Top risk forecasters highlight their picks for this year’s economic and political hot spots.

Where will the greatest risks—known and unknown—flare up on the global business landscape this year? In this roundup, three prominent forecasters scan the horizon.

Next Gen Market Research Group (NGMR) and Foundation for Transparency in offshoring (FTO) Releases First Annual Research on Research Report

This NGMR study differs from other industry-level surveys of market research practitioners in that it was inspired largely by fellow NGMR members who submitted study topics via our online discussion board in an initial exploratory qualitative phase. Other questions related to the relatively new trend of offshoring various market research functions were added on behalf of the Foundation for Transparency in Offshoring (FTO). A subsequent quantitative survey conducted online consisted of approximately 30 questions. Respondents were recruited by email invitation or through a link posted on NGMR’s forum. 855 members completed the survey and identified themselves as either Supplier (54%), Mainly Buyer (19%), Both Buyer & Supplier (22%) or Other/None of the Above (5%).

In determining customer preferences as to which attributes in a product are best, there are two main methods of market research. There is conjoint analysis, which asks consumers to rate attributes based on which they most prefer, and there is discrete choice. Discrete choice analysis asks consumers to pick one product out of several they would most like to buy. Both simulate real-world purchasing behavior, but they have different strengths and uses.

If an ad is widespread but consumers fail to see the important information in it, does it do any good? Obviously not. But short of reading minds, how can market researchers presume to know what people see and ignore when they look at an ad or a web design? They can poll people, but interviews can only reveal conscious thoughts. To identify what consumers unconsciously gaze at in an ad, eye tracking technology is useful.

Market researchers are in the business of not only knowing what people want in a product, but how to analyze data and predict what will happen in the future based on that data. One way they can forecast is through regression analysis. Regression analysis is a statistics measurement that can predict the value of a quantitative variable based on the value of other variables. For example, the sales predicted can be based on the money spent on advertising, price, and quality of the product.

The campaign is beginning. The message is being formed. Surveys are conducted with the challenge to find the winner—the message that will carry your guy into office and the other guy into the retirement home. What you emphasize, where you defend your ground, and how to attack.

The future is uncertain and often treacherous, especially for businesses. As Heidi Cohen, president of Riverside Marketing Strategies, writes, “These days, new firms come seemingly out of nowhere, preempting existing companies with different technologies or approaches they never saw coming. Think about how craigslist blindsided traditional newspapers or how Napster and iPod shook up the music business.” To avoid being improved upon by a rival company, businesses wishing to stay afloat must use competitive intelligence.

One of the most important paradigms governing today’s marketing world is the constant drive to better segment a brand’s customer and prospect base. Conventional wisdom says that the better we segment consumers, the better we can market to them. Consumer segmentation is viewed as a “best-in-class” practice across the marketing world.

The need for lean, rapid and profitable new product development has never been greater. Product life cycles are shorter, competition is more intense and customers are more demanding. Companies that fail to innovate face a grim future. The problem is that winning with new products is not easy. An estimated 46% of the resources that companies devote to the conception, development and launch of new products go to projects that do not succeed – they fail in the marketplace or never make it to market.