Volume: 2, Issue: 1
INTRODUCTION
Information needs are changing in both developed and developing countries. Established markets in industrialized countries are becoming more geographically integrated, as direct vertical links and information flows are established between customers, retailers and suppliers. As a result, there is a growing need to conduct research spanning country boundaries, in order to identify regional or global market segments, or to examine opportunities for integrating and better co-ordinating strategies across national boundaries. At the same time, speed in collection and interpretation of results from multiple and geographically diverse sources become imperative in order to anticipate market changes and devise an effective response strategy. The rapid expansion of the Internet and other interactive communications technologies has opened up significant new opportunities for the provision of public services, conducting of business and conveyance of personal transactions among ordinary people (Brown et al., 2001; Dutton, 1999). These communications technologies have widespread potential to change the way institutions; corporations and individuals conduct their day-to-day business (Dutton, 1996). The public sector has exhibited a significant drive towards applying information and communications technologies to a growing range of services (Dutton, 1999; Taylor et al., 1996). On-line research is an efficient way to survey individuals with higher levels of education, slightly higher incomes, and greater probability of spending. These "consumers who spend" (i.e., better-educated, higher-income individuals) are people with the money and the mind-set that make them the important buyers of most product categories, including packaged goods products. The Internet is proving to be the best route into the minds of these consumers. A.well designed, thoughtfully executed, Internet-based marketing research sample delivers your most important consumers, faster, better and cheaper. Almost every sort of quantitative or qualitative research done conventionally can now be done on the Internet. Examples includes tracking customer satisfaction, focus groups, package testing, copy testing, and nearly all other kinds of marketing research Nadilo(l998). As more consumers begin to use the Internet, more research will be conducted on-line. Companies that start taking advantage of on-line research now will be better placed to use Internet research to reach the even larger population of future Internet users.
