Industrial market research refers to the process of systematic analysis and evaluation of market demand, competition pattern, channel distribution, price strategy, customer satisfaction and other aspects of industrial products or services, so as to provide basis and suggestions for enterprise's market decision-making. Compared with consumer market research, industrial market research has the following characteristics:

The demand of the industrial market is derivative and is influenced by multiple factors such as macro-economy, industry development and technological innovation, and the changes are more complex and uncertain;

The number of customers in the industrial market is relatively small, but each customer's purchase scale is large, and has strong bargaining power and professionalism;

Products or services in the industrial market often involve decision makers in multiple departments or levels, and the procurement process is relatively long and complex, and many factors such as technology, quality, cost, and service need to be considered;

The competitive landscape of industrial markets is generally stable, but there is also the threat of potential substitutes or new entrants that require constant innovation and differentiation.

In view of the characteristics and difficulties of industrial market research, this paper will introduce four commonly used methodologies and analyze their respective advantages and disadvantages and scope of application to help enterprises choose the most suitable industrial market research methods for their products or services.

1. industry analysis

Industry analysis refers to the collection and collation of industry-related data and information, the use of Porter's five forces model,,PESTanalysis,SWOTAnalysis and other tools to systematically analyze and evaluate the overall development trend of the industry, market size and growth rate, competitive structure and intensity, supply and demand balance and price changes, policies and regulations, and technological changes to determine the attractiveness and competitive advantage of the industry.

The advantages of industry analysis are:

Be able to fully understand the current situation and future development direction of the industry, and provide reference for enterprises to formulate medium and long-term strategic planning;

Be able to analyze the impact and opportunities of the internal and external environment of the industry on the enterprise, and provide a basis for enterprises to grasp market opportunities and deal with competitive threats;

It can objectively evaluate the strength and strategy of competitors in the industry, and provide reference for enterprises to determine their own positioning and differentiation.

The disadvantages of industry analysis are:

A large amount of data and information needs to be collected, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and may have inaccurate or incomplete data;

Need to use a variety of analytical tools and methods, need to have strong professional knowledge and analysis ability;

The analysis needs to be customized according to the characteristics of different industries and cannot be generalized.

Industry analysis applies to the following situations:

When an enterprise enters a new industry or market, it needs to have a comprehensive understanding of the industry or market;

When an enterprise is faced with a rapidly changing or highly competitive industry or market, it is necessary to continuously track and monitor the industry or market;

When an enterprise needs to develop or adjust its own strategic planning or competitive strategy, it needs to conduct in-depth analysis and evaluation of the industry or market.

2. customer analysis

Customer analysis refers to the collection and collation of customer-related data and information, the use of customer segmentation, customer portrait, customer demand analysis, customer satisfaction analysis and other tools, the number and distribution of customers, characteristics and preferences, needs and expectations, satisfaction and loyalty and other aspects of the systematic analysis and evaluation to determine the value and potential of customers.

The advantages of customer analysis are:

The ability to accurately identify target customer groups and provide a basis for companies to develop effective marketing strategies;

Able to deeply understand customer needs and pain points, and provide guidance for enterprises to provide products or services that meet customer needs;

It can provide timely feedback on customer satisfaction and loyalty, and provide reference for enterprises to improve customer relationship and increase customer retention.

The disadvantages of customer analysis are:

Need to collect a large amount of first-hand data and information, need to have strong research ability and resources;

Need to deal with complex data and information, need to have strong data analysis ability and tools;

Customized analysis needs to be carried out according to the characteristics of different customer groups, not one size fits all.

Customer analysis applies to the following situations:

When enterprises need to develop new customers or expand existing customers, they need to accurately locate the target customers;

When companies need to develop new products or improve existing products, they need to have a deep understanding of customer needs;

When companies need to improve customer satisfaction or loyalty, they need to deal with customer feedback in a timely manner.

3. competitor analysis

Competitor analysis refers to the collection and collation of competitor-related data and information, and the use of competitor identification, competitor assessment, competitor prediction and other tools to systematically analyze and evaluate the number and type, strength and strategy, strengths and weaknesses, dynamics and changes of competitors in order to determine the threats and opportunities of competitors.

The advantages of competitor analysis are:

Be able to fully understand the competitive environment and provide reference for enterprises to formulate reasonable market positioning and objectives;

Be able to analyze the competitive advantage in depth and provide the basis for enterprises to formulate effective differentiation strategies;

It can predict the trend of competition in a timely manner and provide reference for enterprises to formulate flexible countermeasures.

The disadvantages of competitor analysis are:

A large amount of secondary data and information needs to be collected, and there may be problems with unreliable or unupdated data;

Need to use a variety of analytical tools and methods, there may be subjective judgment or bias;

The analysis needs to be customized according to the characteristics of different competitors and cannot be treated equally.

Competitor analysis applies to the following situations:

When an enterprise is faced with a highly competitive or diversified market, it needs to have a comprehensive understanding of all kinds of competitors;

When enterprises need to formulate or adjust their own competitive strategies, they need to conduct in-depth analysis and evaluation of competitive advantages;

When enterprises need to respond to new actions or changes of competitors, they need to predict and monitor competitive trends in a timely manner.

4. case analysis method

Case analysis refers to the systematic analysis and evaluation of market research methods, marketing strategies, market performance evaluation and other aspects involved in the case by collecting and sorting out successful or failed cases in the industry, using case description, case analysis, case summary and other tools, in order to extract experiences and lessons that can be used for reference or avoided.

The advantages of case analysis are:

It can visually display the application effect of market research methods and provide reference for enterprises to choose appropriate market research methods;

Be able to specify the implementation process of marketing strategy and provide guidance for enterprises to formulate effective marketing strategy;

It can objectively evaluate the standards and methods of market performance evaluation, and provide the basis for enterprises to measure market performance.

The disadvantages of case analysis are:

A large amount of case data and information needs to be collected, and there may be problems with untrue or incomplete data;

Need to use a variety of analytical tools and methods, there may be a lack of in-depth or incomplete analysis;

The analysis needs to be customized according to the characteristics of different cases and cannot be copied mechanically.

The case analysis method applies to the following situations:

When enterprises need to learn the market research methods or marketing strategies of excellent enterprises or brands in the industry, they need to analyze and learn from their successful or failed cases;

When enterprises need to solve their own market research or marketing problems, they need to analyze and refer to similar or related cases;

When companies need to improve their market research or marketing capabilities, they need to analyze and summarize multiple cases of different types or fields.

This paper introduces four commonly used industrial market research methodologies: industry analysis, customer analysis, competitor analysis and case analysis, and analyzes their respective advantages and disadvantages and scope of application. When choosing an industrial market research method, an enterprise should consider the characteristics of its own products or services, the situation of the target market, the purpose of market research and resources, and choose the most suitable method for itself. At the same time, it can also flexibly combine a variety of methods to conduct industrial market research according to actual needs to obtain more comprehensive, in-depth and more effective results.