The Importance of Industrial Market Research

The industrial market refers to the market with the means of production as the main object, including raw materials, equipment, spare parts, energy, information and other factors of production. Compared with the consumer market, the industrial market has the following significant differences:

The industrial market demand is large, but the demand object is small, the market concentration is high;

Demand in the industrial market is influenced by derivative demand and is closely related to changes in the macroeconomic environment and downstream industries;

The buying process in industrial markets is complex, involving multiple decision makers and influencers, and requires long communication and negotiation periods;

The purchase behavior of the industrial market is rational, focusing on the performance, quality, price, reputation and other factors of the product or service, and has high requirements for suppliers;

The competition in the industrial market is fierce, the degree of differentiation of products or services is low, and suppliers need to form competitive advantages through innovation, service, and relationships.

Because of these characteristics of the industrial market, when entering or expanding the industrial market, enterprises need to fully understand and analyze the market in order to formulate reasonable strategies and plans. This is the role of industrial market research. Through industrial market research, companies can:

Identify and evaluate potential market opportunities and threats;

Understand and anticipate customer needs, preferences and behaviors;

Analyze and monitor the strategies, capabilities and trends of benchmarking companies;

Identify and optimize their own product or service positioning, mix and differentiation;

Develop and execute effective marketing strategies and activities.

Industrial market research is critical to the success of a business. However, due to the difficulty of industrial market research, which requires professional knowledge, skills and experience, many companies cannot complete it on their own or lack confidence. At this time, you need to seek the help of consulting companies. As a third-party neutral organization, the consulting company has rich industry experience and data resources, and can use scientific methods and technologies to provide customers with high-quality industrial market research services.

Methods of Industrial Market Research

The methods of industrial market research are mainly divided into two categories: quantitative research and qualitative research. Quantitative research refers to the collection and analysis of large amounts of numerical data to describe and explain the current situation, patterns and trends of the market, as well as to test hypotheses and evaluate the effects of research methods. Common techniques for quantitative research include:

Questionnaire: through the design and distribution of standardized questionnaires, to the target sample to collect a variety of information about the market, such as demand, satisfaction, loyalty, etc;

Experimental design: by controlling and changing some variables, observe and measure their impact on other variables, such as price, promotion, packaging, etc. on sales;

Data mining: Extracting valuable information from large amounts of data, such as market segmentation, correlation analysis, predictive models, etc., through the use of statistics, machine learning, etc.

Qualitative research refers to the collection and analysis of non-numerical data to explore and understand the deep meaning, motivation and feelings of the market, as well as to generate new ideas and suggestions. Common techniques for qualitative research include:

Enterprise research: through one-to-one or many-to-one face-to-face or telephone research with the target audience, in-depth understanding of its market views, attitudes and behavior;

Focus groups: by inviting a group of target subjects to participate in a thematic discussion, observing and recording their opinions, emotions and reactions expressed in group interactions;

Scenario analysis: by constructing a specific scenario or scenario in which the target object is simulated or role-played, observing and analyzing its choices and behavior in the scenario.

Quantitative research and qualitative research have their own advantages and limitations, and usually need to be used in combination to achieve complementary and validated effects. When conducting industrial market research, the consulting company will select appropriate methods and technologies according to the needs and problems of customers, design reasonable schemes and processes, perform rigorous operations and analysis, and provide clear reports and suggestions.

The Case for Industrial Market Research

In order to better illustrate how consulting firms provide industrial market research services to their clients, the following are two Shangpu consulting firms (Shangpu Consulting) Successfully completed industrial market study case:

Case 1: If an international chemical giant wants to enter the Chinese market, it needs to understand the current situation, development trend, competition pattern, policies and regulations of China's chemical industry. Champ Consulting provided the following services to this client:

Through questionnaires and enterprise research, the opinions and data of relevant enterprises, associations, experts and media in China's chemical industry were collected;

Through data mining and scenario analysis, the Chinese chemical industry was subdivided, evaluated, predicted and risk analyzed;

Through experimental design and focus group, the acceptance, price sensitivity and purchase intention of customer products in the Chinese market are tested;

Through comprehensive reports and strategic recommendations, we help customers develop marketing strategies for entering the Chinese market in terms of goals, positioning, combinations, and channels.

Case 2: A domestic auto parts manufacturer wants to expand overseas markets, and needs to understand the demand, scale, structure, competition, and opportunities of major auto markets in Europe, the United States, and Japan. Champ Consulting provided the following services to this client:

Through questionnaires and data mining, the historical and existing data of each automobile market are collected and analyzed, such as sales volume, share, growth rate, price, profit, etc;

Through enterprise research and scenario analysis, we have explored and understood the customer needs, preferences and behaviors of various automobile markets, such as function, brand, quality, environmental protection, etc;

Through experimental design and focus groups, the competitiveness, advantages and disadvantages of customer products in various automotive markets, such as performance, cost, innovation, service, etc., were evaluated;

Through comprehensive reports and strategic recommendations, we help customers develop marketing strategies for expanding overseas markets in terms of goals, positioning, combination, and cooperation.