California is more than just the most populous state in the Union. California is a bellwether state with regard to the refashioning of the United States’ demographic landscape.  It has become a proving ground for the social and economic policies that will shape public life in the decades to come.   California has also become a proving ground for businesses looking both to stay ahead of the curve and to tap into the single largest consumer market in the US.  How can businesses effectively compete in the world’s eighth largest market by such a diverse group of consumers?  By making effective use of targeted market research, of course. 

Market research is a way of systematically gathering data about customers, competitors, and their relationship with one another while simultaneously taking into account current market conditions in an effort to forecast sales trends.  The information collected during the course of a market research study is invaluable to companies because it assists them in creating informed business plans by offerings answers to questions  topics ranging in scope from the efficacy of their current marketing campaigns to to an accurate demographic profile of their customers.

Market researchers use qualitative and quantitative methods to answer questions from companies, such as: surveys, interviews and focus groups.  At the same time, many researchers devise their own unique methods in order to ensure more effective data collection and analysis.  This is especially true in California, where the diverse ethnographic communities in the state’s urban centers demand targeted methodological approaches in order to generate yield actionable insights. Consumer data is processed and incorporated into an analytical framework along with information drawn from existing statistical databases, risk and competitive analyses, product and product research . in order to produce actionable recommendations for client companies.

According to government figures, market research firms in California employed some 16,000 workers in 2000.  Those same figures indicate that the industry is expected to grow 26.9% from 2000 to 2010.  The anticipated growth in this sector exceeds average growth predictions for other occupational fields in the state in the same time period.