Market Research - Forrester Research Inc.

Forrester Research Inc. is one of the leading market research firms covering the Internet and related technology. Its early focus on Internet technology, which began in 1995, helped bolster the firm's image as an Internet industry expert able to predict future trends in technology, business practices, and customer behavior. Unlike its rivals who base their projections on statistical data analysis, Forrester conducts surveys of major corporations. The firm's market research services—which range in cost from $5,000 to $10,000—target senior managers, marketing and technology executives, and business strategists at major corporations.

Forrester's products and services include two types of strategy research: Market Focus and Core Skills. Market Focus reports and briefs analyze the trends and industries related to a particular topic and make forecasts based on that information. Core Skills reports and briefs cover the issues involved in operating an e-business. Forrester also gathers Consumer Technographics data by querying over 400,000 households in North America and Europe regarding their use of technology for entertainment, shopping, and money management. Business Technographics data is pulled from interviews, regarding technology procurement, with executives of more than 2,500 corporations with annual sales exceeding $1 billion. The Advisory Services component of Forrester's offerings includes four programs: Web & Commerce Site Review, Web Site Review Boot Camp, Research Inquiry, and the Partners Program, which assigns a team of analysts to work with a business to develop and monitor some aspect of its corporate strategy. One final product, Forrester's eBusiness TechRankings assessment tool, evaluates emerging technologies for clients.

Forrester was founded in 1983 by George Forrester Colony, who spent five years at rival Yankee Group conducting telecommunications and office automation market research. After initially focusing on telecommunications market research, Forrester eventually moved into the PC and networking markets. As stated in the October 1996 issue of Marketing Computers, "Colony, credited with coining the term 'client/server,' practically defined the course of network technology in the late '80s and '90s, and led many through its dark alleyways as the technology developed." New technology continued to emerge, fueling the need for market research. Forrester continued working to stay abreast of major technological developments, eventually becoming a "leading prognosticator on Internet computing, having recognized early the effects that the Internet would have on business." Integral to Forrester's Internet expertise was its New Media Research Group, created in 1995 to focus on World Wide Web site analysis, new Internet-based technologies, and the demographics of Web surfers.

In 1999, Forrester launched its PowerRankings service, which listed the best e-commerce sites among different categories of online retailers. To compile its list, Forrester surveyed nearly 20,000 online customers and also conducted its own anonymous shopping tests at a variety of leading sites selling product ranging from airline tickets, apparel, books, and music to computer hardware and software. The e-tailers were evaluated for six different criteria: cost, customer service, delivery, features, transacting, and usability. Also that year, to boost its international operations, Forrester acquired London, England-based Fletcher Research, a two-year-old market analysis firm covering Internet usage in the United Kingdom.

Forrester teamed up with Information Resources Inc. in June of 2000 to create Netquity, a brand marketing research service targeting brand managers selling products on the Internet. A few months later, BuyerZone.com and Forrester began offering market analysis reports to small and medium-sized businesses. In November, the firm began working with the National Association of Purchasing Management to monitor the utilization of Internet-based procurement by various businesses. The dot.com meltdown in 2000 began to undermine the e-business market research industry by 2001. When Forrester's sales slowed, it laid off 111 employees, roughly 15 percent of its workforce.