Market research has traditionally been a very time intensive and costly process. Today's markets simply move too fast for legacy research methods like assembling a focus group, gathering their input and analyzing the data for insights. Android went from zero to #1 in less than 2 years, the iPad went from zero to creating an entirely new market in less than 12 months, Groupon went from zero to 7,000 employees in less than 2 years and had year over year revenue growth of 2,241%. The speed of change in today's market place has made traditional market research methods are obsolete.
To add a little definition:
A focus group is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging.We have all heard of the stereotypical water cooler conversation - people sit around and spill their guts regarding everything from what they're watching on TV, to how they like their new car or their views on political candidates. Most people enjoy sharing their opinions and appreciate knowing their thoughts are valued and listened to. While the opinions of 5, 10, 25 or even 1000 people may deliver some useful information and insight, they can't come close to competing with millions of people discussing every topic imaginable. This is why people trust the opinions they find on the Internet and leverage the information to decide everything from which car to buy to which surgeon and procedure to choose for major surgery.
The Internet offers the most complete, accurate and diverse focus group in human history. The future is not something that "happens", it is created. Twitter may not be predicting the future, but we are using Twitter to collectively create the future we want to see.
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