In the industrial market, the value of energy services research will be to provide customers with at least two things. First, since electricity prices -- and industrial customer costs -- will matter even more than they do now, providers need to know how to allocate their resources most effectively. Second, since the role of marketing and sales will be increasingly important, providers will need to recognize what is known concerning how and why customers make decisions about acquiring energy-related products and services. This special issue takes on both of these objectives directly. Two articles provide useful information about increasing the efficiency, and reducing the costs of market evaluation efforts; the other two discuss the marketing effectiveness questions. Regardless of whether or not retail competition becomes reality, industrial customers will be the first battleground in which the utility future is played out. With retail competition, the large loads and attractive load shapes provided by many facilities will obviously make them a priority for alternative electricity providers. Even without direct retail competition, however, industrial customers will likely be an extremely attractive market for new rates, products, and services that utilities will be developing and bringing to market over the next few years. To succeed in either context, more efficient resource allocation and better customer information is needed. These articles should prove helpful in both enterprises.