Marketing research is usually the first step in the marketing process, after ideas for products are conceived. Small companies conduct marketing research to obtain information from the marketplace.

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Buying a franchise means buying an end-to-end process: the mechanism for how corporate sets strategy and then executes through a ...

One of the keys to tapping into the consumer marketplace is coming up with a product or service that addresses a specific consumer need, such as finding a way parents can make their kids quick, ...