Welcome to my blog, Know Your Market.  Although my company’s name is Glasser Research, what really drives me is helping my clients do superior marketing.

Market research is the only input function of the marketing discipline—all else is focused on output.  In order for a company to get the most out of all their outbound activities, it needs to start with an objective, and often a ruthlessly objective understanding of its target customers.  This type of information does not come from group-think sessions in which company management ‘envisions’ what the customers’ collective needs are—they are too closely involved with their current products to do so.  Nor does it come from the sales staff who are hired to be proponents of and evangelists for products and services.  They are trained to influence and convert prospects into buyers, not to listen objectively.

That’s where market research comes in.

In my years of doing research I have seen and heard of numerous occasions where clients have gotten research-based input which completely changed what they thought were spot-on plans for a new service  or ‘improvements’ to an existing one.  These episodes continue to reinforce the need to test the assumptions underpinning a product to make sure what is introduced into the market has a compelling, profitable story to offer.

Doing superior marketing, then, requires having plans and strategies based on sound market knowledge.  To think otherwise is fraught with risk.

In subsequent posts I hope to provide content and examples which illustrate the value of a research-based approach to marketing (and the risks of not having one).  Being market-driven is no longer an option.  It is crucial to a firm’s long-term survival in today’s competitive markets.

Thanks.  See you next time.