Who takes the buying decision?
It is critical to know who is actively involved in the buying process, as the users of a product are not necessarily the ones to buy it. For example, food items destined to children are normally bought by a parent, which means the advertising messages should be aimed at parents and not at children. Identifying the real decision makers is an important part of any consumers research study.
How is the buying decision taken?
What are the reasons followed by consumers when making a buying decision? A marketer should remember that these reasons are likely to be influenced by a variety of social, cultural, economic factors.
When do people buy?
Some products are requested and are offered only in certain periods of a year, as demand can be driven by social or cultural factors (think of seasonal holidays, for example). Consumers' lifestyle might also dictate the day or week when shopping is done.
Where do people buy?
Identifying the preferred location for people to buy is yet another important task in researching consumers' behaviour. Where do they buy from? Supermarkets? The corner shop? New, creative venues can be employed, such as e-commerce web sites.
Marketing research relies on other sciences as well, such as psychology or sociology. Being able to develop the products consumers need, and then market them in accordance to the consumers' behavior lay the basis for competitive advantages and shape the strategic decisions a business must make.
Otilia is a young certified professional with expertise in e-Marketing, currently working as independent consultant. She has recently launched MarketingWHO.com, a professional Marketing Directory and she publishes TeaWithEdge.com, a Marketing and e-Marketing articles portal. You can contact Otilia through her personal web site, BRAINmarketing.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Otilia_Otlacan Paid Survey Schemes - A Review
By Ashwin Foogooa

Anyone who has been serious about making money online is bound to have come across these schemes – those market research companies that entice you to register with them and take part in online surveys that they will field on to you in return for some money.
Many sites boast that you can make up to $500 a week completing surveys lasting 15-20 mins each.
Is this statement true? The short answer is Yes! There are people earning such types of monies online doing exactly that.
Also, making such a second income is entirely legal and ethical in most jurisdictions or cultures. As such, you are unlikely to run into any problems with the law and/or into any moral dilemmas.
Do the surveys really take only 15-20 mins to complete? Yes.
How do I know? Well, I have tried such schemes for about 6 months and have made money with them too.
Are such schemes sustainable? Once again, yes. It is true that:
The big companies (and I know that since I’ve worked for them for years) commission market research companies to conduct surveys about consumer tastes, habits and preferences in an attempt to profile their customer base and/or refine their products and marketing strategies;
The big multinationals are diverting marketing spend from the conventional media (i.e. newspapers, radio, television, direct mail) in favour of the Internet. Don’t forget that Wall Street does not classify Google and Yahoo as Internet companies – they are full-blown media companies – i.e. they compete with BskyB, BBC, ITN, CNN, Reuters, NBC, TF1 etc. for advertising revenue;
There are market research companies out there being paid to profile consumers and report back to their clients for a fee. Some of that fee is passed on to you – the consumer helping them shape the profile!