An industrial market is a market consisting of producers, distributors, institutions and governments for the purpose of purchasing or leasing products or services for the production of other products or services. Compared with the consumer goods market, the industrial market has the following characteristics:

The market size is small, but the transaction volume is large;

The market structure is more complex, involving multi-level, multi-sectoral, multi-role decision-making process;

Market demand is influenced by such factors as derivative demand, unstable demand and joint demand;

The market competition is fierce, the product differentiation degree is low, the price sensitivity is high;

Market transactions are more formal and need to comply with contracts, regulations and standards;

Market communication is more professional and requires the use of technical, data and logical language and means.

Therefore, industrial market research needs to be based on the characteristics of the industrial market, the use of appropriate methods and techniques to obtain accurate, effective and valuable information for enterprises to provide scientific, reasonable and feasible marketing advice. In industrial market research, the core and most critical problem is how to identify and meet the needs of industrial customers.

An industrial customer is an organization or individual that purchases or leases products or services for the production of other products or services in an industrial market. The needs of industrial customers refer to the effect or goal they expect to achieve for the product or service they purchase or lease. According to different classification standards, the needs of industrial customers can be divided into the following types:

According to the source of demand, it can be divided into direct demand and indirect demand. Direct demand refers to the demand for the product or service itself generated by the customer itself, such as quality, performance, function, etc., and indirect demand refers to the demand for additional attributes of the product or service caused by the customer's environment or external factors, such as price, delivery time, after-sales service, etc.

According to the level of needs, it can be divided into basic needs and additional needs. Basic requirements refer to the most basic and essential requirements of the customer for the product or service, such as safety, reliability, durability, etc.; additional requirements refer to the requirements that the customer expects from the product or service but does not necessarily have to meet, such as aesthetics, comfort, convenience, etc.

According to the nature of demand, it can be divided into functional demand and emotional demand. Functional requirements refer to the customer's requirements for the specific functions or effects that the product or service can achieve, such as speed, accuracy, capacity, etc.; emotional needs refer to the customer's requirements for the psychological or emotional satisfaction that the product or service can bring, such as trust, respect, recognition, etc.

The demand analysis of industrial customers refers to the collection, collation, analysis and interpretation of industrial customers' demand information through various methods and techniques to reveal the nature, characteristics, motivations, influencing factors and changing trends of their needs, and to provide a basis for the formulation of marketing strategies. The main methods of demand analysis for industrial customers are as follows:

Survey method: Through the design of questionnaires, interview guides and other tools, direct questions to industrial customers to obtain information on their demand for products or services. The advantages of the survey method are that the source of information is direct, the amount of data is large, and the results are quantifiable; the disadvantages are that the cost is higher, the time is longer, and the quality of the data is affected by the honesty and presentation of the customer.

Observation: By observing the behavior, reaction and results of industrial customers when purchasing or using products or services, infer their demand information for products or services. The advantage of the observation method is that the source of information is true, the data quality is high, and the results are credible; the disadvantage is that the amount of information is small, the data is difficult to quantify, and the results are difficult to interpret.

Experimental method: By designing different experimental conditions, controlling the variables faced by industrial customers when purchasing or using products or services, comparing their behavior, reactions and results under different conditions, and analyzing their demand information for products or services. The advantages of the experimental method are that the information source is scientific, the data is controllable, and the results can be verified; the disadvantages are that the cost is higher, the time is longer, and the results are affected by the experimental design and execution.

Case law: Summarize information on the demand for products or services by collecting and analyzing the success or failure cases encountered by industrial customers when purchasing or using products or services. The advantages of the case method are that the sources of information are rich, the data are representative and the results are enlightening; the disadvantages are that the information is difficult to obtain, the data is difficult to integrate and the results are difficult to popularize.

Industrial customer demand satisfaction refers to the development and implementation of effective marketing strategies to provide industrial customers with products or services that meet their needs in order to meet customer needs and improve the competitiveness and profitability of enterprises. The main strategies for meeting the needs of industrial customers are as follows 8:

Product differentiation strategy: to provide products or services with unique functions or effects through innovative improvements to products or services to meet the direct needs and basic needs of industrial customers for the products or services themselves.

Price advantage strategy: By reducing costs or improving efficiency, provide products or services with competitive prices to meet the indirect needs and additional needs of industrial customers for additional attributes of products or services.

Channel expansion strategy: By establishing and maintaining cooperative relationships with distributors, agents and other intermediaries, we provide a wide range of convenient and fast distribution channels to meet the indirect and additional needs of industrial customers for the delivery and use of products or services.

Service value-added strategy: by providing consulting, training, maintenance and other value-added services related to products or services, to meet the indirect and additional needs of industrial customers for products or services.

Relationship maintenance strategy: by establishing and maintaining long-term cooperative relationship with industrial customers, providing products or services with emotional value such as trust, respect and recognition, so as to meet the indirect and emotional needs of industrial customers for product or service brands.

Shangpu Consulting Company is a consulting organization specializing in industrial market research, with rich industry experience and professional knowledge, providing customized industrial market research services for the world's top 500 enterprises. The following are examples of industrial market research services provided by Champu Consulting to some clients:

It provided a global leading automobile manufacturer with demand analysis and competitiveness assessment of the auto parts market, helped it formulate product differentiation strategies and price advantage strategies for different regions, different types and different levels of automobile customers, and increased its share and profit in the auto parts market.

It provided an internationally renowned chemical enterprise with demand forecasting and supply chain optimization of the chemical raw material market, helped it formulate channel expansion strategies and service value-added strategies for chemical customers in different industries, sizes and stages, and improved its efficiency and satisfaction in the chemical raw material market.

It provides an emerging robot manufacturer with demand creation and relationship maintenance in the robot market, helps it formulate product innovation strategies and relationship maintenance strategies for robot customers in different fields, different functions and different emotions, and improves its popularity and loyalty in the robot market.

In summary, industrial market research is an important and complex task that requires in-depth demand analysis and satisfaction strategies based on the characteristics of the industrial market and industrial customers, using appropriate methods and techniques. As a professional industrial market research and consulting organization, Shangpu Consulting Company can provide high-quality, high-efficiency and high-value industrial market research services for various industrial enterprises to help them gain advantages and success in the fierce market competition.