Accelerating product cycles, easy access to information on products and services, highly discerning consumers, and fierce competition among companies are all a reality in the world of business. Too many companies are chasing too few consumers. In his book "Kotler on Marketing: How to Creat, Win, and Dominate Markets," Philip Kotler, marketing guru and a professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management, discusses what a business has to do to be successful. He wrote, "The premium will go to those companies that invent new ways to create, communicate and deliver value to their target markets" (quoted in Mendenhall, 1999, p. 52).

Knowing, understanding, and responding to your target market is more important than ever. And this requires information—good information. Good information can lead to successful products and services. Good information is the result of market research.

What Is Marketing Research?

According to the Marketing Research...