ARS Insights newsletter: topic library
24 practical topics from our research desk. Each one is a question a business owner can answer with evidence. Our latest issue is October 2026.
A. Know your customer
1. Who really buys from you?
Most owners know their regular customers but not the ones they lose. A short survey of buyers and non-buyers shows the difference. See consumer research.
2. Awareness is not sales
People may know your name and never buy. Awareness, trial and repeat purchase must be measured separately. See awareness, trial and usage.
3. What is a customer worth?
A customer who buys once is worth less than one who returns. Track repeat rate before spending more on advertising.
4. The customer who complains is a gift
For every complaint, many unhappy customers say nothing and leave. Satisfaction and NPS surveys find the silent ones. See customer experience research.
5. Mystery shopping tells the truth
Your staff behave differently when the owner is watching. Trained mystery customers show the daily reality. See mystery audit guide.
6. Why people switch brands
Price is the answer people give most often, but rarely the whole reason. Interviews find the rest. See qualitative research.
B. Price and demand
7. Price is a message
Customers read price as a sign of quality. Test price with customers before changing it.
8. When gold rises, what do jewellery buyers do?
Customers may spend more rupees but buy fewer grams. A shopper survey shows the shift. See retail and jewellery research.
9. Festive season: real growth or normal growth?
Compare with the same weeks last year, not last month, to separate a seasonal rise from real change.
10. How many customers are really out there?
Market size from the bottom up: customers, times usage, times price. See market sizing.
11. Test before you launch
A blind taste test or concept test costs far less than a failed launch. See concept and product testing.
12. Digital payments and small shops
A new payment fee affects shops differently depending on the value of each sale. Measure the share of high-value payments first.
C. Starting or growing a business
13. Feasibility before investment
Check demand, competition and location before you spend. See what is a feasibility study.
14. Choosing a location
Footfall is not the same as buyers. A catchment study counts the people who can and will buy. See feasibility studies.
15. Franchise: ask the franchisee, not the brochure
Interview existing franchise owners about real sales and costs before you sign.
16. What banks want to see
A loan application is stronger with a clear market case and realistic numbers. See our books on schemes and loans.
17. Low-investment ideas that survive
An idea with low cost still fails without customers. Check demand first.
18. Entering a new city
A strong brand in one city can be unknown in the next. See market entry research.
D. Evidence for institutions and government
19. Did the scheme reach the right families?
Independent beneficiary surveys check whether benefits reach the intended people. See social development research.
20. Before and after: the only fair comparison
To know whether a programme worked, compare the same households before and after, and compare with similar households that did not take part.
21. CSR money: measure results, not activity
Number of events is activity. Change in people’s lives is a result. See CSR impact assessment.
22. A survey is only as good as its sample
Ten thousand answers from the wrong people are worse than five hundred from the right ones.
23. Local language, honest answers
People answer more truthfully in their own language. See how we protect quality.
24. Research for investors
Investors want market size, customers and competition checked on the ground. See research for investors.