Market Research has limits. The end result of any market research project can be engineered to give a predictable outcome. For example, in a sampling of 18 people - questions were ask about a specific product likes and dislikes and a conclusion drawn about the product. Next, the pool size was increased to 500 people with the similar characteristics found in the first 18 person sample and surprising the same marketing research results were achieved. So, marketing decisions driven by market research can be hazardous, if absolute faith in the conclusions of the Research are followed. Also, too further break down reliance on market research, Beckwith states that people exhibit the Heisenburg principle meaning people change their behavior when they are being studied. Beckwith concludes, soft research is better than hard research and the bottom line is to listen to the customer.

The Marketing has fallacies. Best practices make an invitation to ordinariness. Instead of following Best practices, innovate and create best practices.

Focus on satisification and equate quality too price believing that customer who have perspection of receiving quality will pay a higher price. Price discounting works in special cases. Price discounting is designed too acquire new customers and destroy competitor profit margins causing them to collaspe. For most companies discounting only attracts the wrong type of customer.

Focus on achieving customer satisification rather than cutting price. Customers, who are bargin hunters will flee to businesses that offer lower price. These type of customers are always looking for cheaper product and customer loyalty is a function of price. For every one large discount store, it destorys 100 smaller businesses while attract high volume of customers at low prices and profit margins. These companies expect people to buy more product because of the lower price and profit off the higher volume of sales. So, the lower profit margin per product is offset by higher volume of products sold. The only way to combat the discount business model is to offer better service, more specialized products, and a stronger focus on meeting customer expectations. Rather than seeking larger numbers of people, emphasis a business model with a selective group of customers with more disposable money, and selective tastes for products and services; stay on the upper pyramid of product and service differentiation. For example, Boston Market thought, if they offer discount coupons, they would increase foot traffic into their stores and the clientele would love their food. So they offer coupons and increased traffic, slowed down service time per customer, fustrated the clientele that should have become their loyal customers and attracted the wrong type of customer. Boston Market stock valued at $41 share price plummetted to 33 cents, as the company cut its coupons and the clientele seeking discount priced food fled. The prime customer was also fed up with delayed service and the company entered Chapter 11.

Build Brand as a mental expection that the customer believes he will get. Branding has become the most effective when customers nolonger are willing to do comparative pricing and analysis and instead select a product because of its brand. Brand is the symbol that people associate with a specific expectation which is often better than reality. Brand can create an expectation so strong that the customer ignores diminished quality and value in the product or service. Brand represents the symbol companies seeks to position in the minds of the customer.

Packaging adds beauty to the product and reinforces the brand.

Focus on the customer relationship