Abstract:

Market modelling techniques are at the leading edge of market research technology, an increasingly important part of the technical armoury of marketing companies around the world. 'They cover a wide range of applications: from pricing research and concept development to brand image engineering and market testing. My aim here is not to to read out a highly technical treatise on the theory and mechanics of market modelling. I can do better than that - with a straightforward view of the fundamental principles underlying some key modelling techniques - and a demonstration of how they have been adapted for use in the Middle East. Supported by rapid developments in computer technology, market micro-modelling breaks away from traditional market research methodologies. Whilst they were largely confined to the descriptive (or at best diagnostic) micro-modelling allows market researchers to predict what will really happen out there, in the real world. The real world... this is the key point. Maybe it's the only point. It has been said before but I will say it again. Market places are not tidy, well-ordered vacuums where research theories can be put smoothly into practice. If they were, our lives would be simpler, but less interesting. Markets are essentially untidy places, subject to subtle undercurrents, cultural influences - and that irritating phenomenon known as the competition.