Director of MarketSearch, David Bell
MarketSearch is the research partner behind the Inc. Tanc survey.

I’ve always said that the market demands fact-based decisions. Now in the face of a potential recession and amid an ever-changing economy, knowing the specific market that your audience falls into can make or break a business. Inc. Tanc gave MarketSearch an opportunity to do just that: Capture the Arkansas marketplace with fact-based information.

New to MarketSearch, I was intrigued by the Inc. Tanc survey effort as plans unfolded in early May. The request was simple: Richer market information was needed from a specific target audience. Countless routes exist to achieve this, however, and especially when dealing with a survey, researchers have to be careful with the details – specific wording, question order, answer sequence and presentation, etc. We needed a way to capture the Arkansas public in a specific, direct angle that is usually left out of larger, more broadly intended surveys. We achieved this by building many survey questions around specific Arkansas organizations, businesses and issues, and by targeting a business-oriented audience; an audience educated and experienced in the ways of the Arkansas economy: Arkansas Business readership.

Perhaps the most valuable aspect of the Inc. Tanc survey process is that the survey measurement provides an ongoing “temperature” of the Arkansas economy. Results from this initial survey will differ completely from those produced in the third quarter of this year and the first quarter of next. No other survey exists that can so concisely monitor Arkansas economic change over a period of time. Monitoring change provides patterns that may be followed in the future and opportunities to prepare for changes in the state economy that might not have been evident without an Arkansas-specific survey.

Inc. Tanc was coined to imply an Arkansas “Think Tank,” bringing together the best business minds in Arkansas to provide an outlook worthy of contemplation and measurement. This process can work for any organization that needs richer marketplace information. The premise is simple – identify a group of key decision makers and poll them with a carefully crafted survey that can define their expectations and plans of action for a future period of time. The results are pivotal, the data is rich and most importantly, the process is timely, cost-efficient and simple.

It has been an honor working with Arkansas Business on the Inc. Tanc effort. MarketSearch is grateful to all survey participants and looks forward to future quarterly surveys. I am hopeful that in mining further Inc. Tanc data, the team at MarketSearch can uncover more valuable implications for Arkansas businesses. We will hopefully provide some guidance to everyone as we wade through this somewhat ambiguous turn in our state and national economy.

Contact David at:
501-604-3017
dbell@marketsearch.us
2300 Cottondale Lane, Suite 300
Little Rock, Arkansas 72202