If your research is pure (driven to discover the unadulterated facts) you don’t limit the research to your top markets, or otherwise do things that would skew the findings.

Call tracking numbers can be deceptive since they typically include all calls without any identification of UNIQUE calls. The bottom line is that if your product is a great performer you don’t need to work so hard to try and prove it. Does Google need research reports to sell advertising?

And the market tells you all you need to know. Business owners know what works and buy, or not, accordingly. When your print directories are shrinking, i.e., Atlanta, no amount of data can obfuscate the trends. And people are understanding that IYP is a minor part of finding business online. Let the MBA’s play with their research to have happier meetings. For the rest of us, we keep in touch with reality.