Sometimes groups of respondents are invited to the research company's office. This sometimes causes a situation where a specific question may not seem meaningful, or is difficult to answer, to a specific person. But the answers are always important to the research company. Practically everything you can name. Marketing research is one of the reasons why America has the highest standard of living in the world.
Manufacturers are very responsive to what they learn from research.
We have plastic containers in the bathroom, instead of breakable glass, because the public preferred them. We have child-proof closures on medicines because research helped define the most workable designs. We have warning labels on products because of public needs and demands for protection. The location of stores and shopping centers is based on research. The list is endless.