According to The Times 100(2014), market research involves gathering and analyzing information about consumers, competitors, and market trends. Market research is essential for any business to stay updated due to frequent changes in market activities, businesses should have a good understanding of the supply and demand of the product they are dealing with. The main purpose of market research is to provide the company with a broad view of consumer needs so that products are developed and services provided are able to meet their needs. Doyle and Stern (2006) also affirm the role of market research in order to retain customers and satisfy their needs. The stability, development and profit of any company totally depend on the management's ability to direct the organization by satisfying customer needs. Day (2005) states that market research also helps companies to identify different opportunities and if a company is planning to start a new service or offer a new product to the customer, identification is very important and essential to make sure that the Product progress is stable and highly focused on demand. Market research is the only way progress is measured in terms of customer satisfaction with current service with customer opinions and recommendations for new products to be developed. The Times 100 (2014) discusses the role of marketing research in market-oriented companies as product demands may fluctuate and it is important for the company to anticipate any impending drops in order to deal with them successfully. According to Brandenburg (2013) market research provides a background to take a look at your market, which shows the previous buying habits of your target markets and… half of the paper… and voice recognition is also needed. Conclusion The smartphone industry is one of the major industries in the world today. Market research is important not only for this industry but for any other industry dealing with any product. It becomes even more important in today's world because there are many factors that can change from the customers' point of view as well as from the business or economic point of view. Any change against the product could spell disaster for any large company, which is why in the first part of the essay the importance of market research is highlighted and what the different authors have to say about it. External factors such as gateway factors play a huge and direct role in the success or disaster of any company or industry. All the different external factors specific to the smartphone industry have been discussed in detail, from legal to social, technological and economic factors.