Dubai’s Property Market Collapse

This shows the degree of slowdown in Dubai’s massive property market. It further shows how highly leveraged many consumers are in Dubai and high degree of speculation in Dubai’s property market. In a blunt article by the New York Times, expatriates in Dubai are sharing ther fears about not only their property ownership (Freehold property), but also their futures in the city-state. Many are fleeing due to these fears. Other observations on the ground is that traffic is lower on key thoroughfares, a rare sight in Dubai.

Consumer Analytics: eHarmony Hypothetical Case Study

eHarmony.com offers an online dating service that connects males and females in the hopes of creating loving relationships.

Carrefour’s Dubai Market Entry Analysis

Discover Carrefour’s experience in expanding to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Regional Unrest from Economic Downturn

Perspectives on Economic Crisis in the Region

According to Michelle Walker, executive director of world policy insitute, many of the countries in Eastern Europe are vulnerable to unrest given the halt in high growth in these countries over the past few years. These have resulted in short-sighted solutions to the problem. Walker cites the example of Russia implementing high tariffs on imported used cars. Yet, these “temporary solutions” may place European countries in a worse position in the long run. They have the ability to halt growth, make the crisis worse, diplomatic and trading ties between countries. Walker also alludes to the possibility of there being many more individual protests in many different countries within the region at once.

Poland Climate Change and Market Research

Discover new insights about Climate Change in Poland from Market Research.

7 Countries Affected by Violent Economic Unrest

Iceland

France

Greece – Labor protests

Bulgaria

Violence erupted in Sofia due to dissatisfaction with the government, new policies designed to counteract the recession and the worsening economic situation.

Richard Branson’s Recession Advice

Branson gave advice on youtube from an entrepreneurial perspective

On Large & Small Companies

“I think big companeis are going to retrench and there’s going to be a lot of people laid off from big companies. And therefore, a lot of those people who are laid off can be entrepreneurs in the future, and I think will be the entrepreneurs in the future. There are also going to be a lot of small companies out there that have still got reasonable cash flow and…lines of credit. And I think those kinds of companies and Virgin Included must try to help expand out of this problem, They must look for opportunities, and there will be hundreds of opportunities around. They must get out and employ people. They’re going ot find their cost base is going to be less right now. They’re going to be able to employ people at most liekly slighty at cost ef fective ways than in the past. And I think if thousands of small companies can try to fill in the gaps that some of the bigger companies…”

Marketing “Blue”, not Green Products

The Blue movement focuses on helping the environment with daily small activities that benefit the environment and that add to an individual’s well-being.

Civil Unrest in both Bulgaria, Lithuania & Latvia

Unrest in Bulgaria

Violence erupted in Sofia due to dissatisfaction with the government, new policies designed to counteract the recession and the worsening economic situation.

Unrest in Latvia

This video shows recent unrest in Latvia because of anti-government sentiment and the economy.

Unrest in Lithuania

Lithuania has had to implement tax raises for the population and salary cuts on government workers due to the economic recession.

Developing International Information Databases: Ruth Stanat in 1990

Ruth Stanat remembers her article from 1990 regarding Strategic Intelligence.

Maximizing your Research Budget in a Recession

How to Maximize your Research Budget in a Recession
Ruth Stanat, President and CEO SIS International Research
January 28, 2009

The Recession

Clearly, this deep global recession has taken it toll on marketing departments and market research and competitive intelligence budgets. Senior executives, strategic planning and marketing departments face the following challenge of how to continue the following initiatives with a reduced research budget:

Global expansion plans
Customer satisfaction tracking
Competitor intelligence monitoring
Market opportunity/market sizing projects
Customer and brand loyalty projects
New product development tests
Ad tests

The Challenge and Opportunity of a Reduced Research Budget

The Need for Competitive Intelligence in a Recession

Global competitors never stop their Strategic Planning and Competitive Monitoring In any recession, companies may be tempted to believe that their competitors have “shut down” their Market Research and Competitive Intelligence budgets. While corporate budgets are cut, there are ways that companies can continue their competitive monitoring during the year and the next few years … Read more