Industrial market research refers to the systematic analysis and prediction of the demand, supply, competition, price, channel and other aspects of industrial products or services, so as to provide the basis and suggestions for the decision-making of enterprises. The importance of industrial market research is self-evident, but many companies are often unable to conduct industrial market research effectively due to lack of expertise, experience or resources, or can only rely on external consulting agencies. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a simple and practical industrial market research method to help enterprises to complete their own industrial market research and improve their market competitiveness. This paper first outlines the basic steps and principles of industrial market research, then explains how to use this method to carry out industrial market research with a specific case, and finally summarizes the considerations and suggestions of industrial market research.

Basic Steps and Principles of 1. Industrial Market Research

The basic steps of industrial market research can be divided into the following four stages:

Stage 1: Determine the objectives and scope of the study. At this stage, companies need to clarify what issues they want to understand and which markets, customers, products or services they want to cover. For example, an enterprise may want to know the market size, growth rate, demand characteristics, competitive landscape and other information of an industry, or want to know the purchasing behavior, preferences, demand points and other information of a certain customer group, or want to know the market positioning, value proposition, advantages and disadvantages of a certain product or service.

Stage 2: Collecting and collating data. At this stage, companies need to collect relevant data and information through various channels and methods, including first-hand data and second-hand data. First-hand data refers to the data obtained directly from the market or customers, for example, through questionnaires, interviews, observations, etc. Second-hand data refers to data obtained by enterprises from other sources, such as through web searches, industry reports, statistics, etc. Once the data is collected, companies need to organize and summarize the data, eliminate invalid or duplicate data, and retain valuable or meaningful data.

Stage 3: Analyze and interpret the data. At this stage, companies need to use appropriate analytical methods and tools to analyze and interpret the data in depth to discover the patterns, trends, problems, opportunities, etc. behind the data. Analytical methods and tools can be selected according to different research objectives and scope, such as SWOT analysis, Porter's five forces analysis, STP analysis, etc. During the analysis process, companies need to pay attention to distinguishing the facts and opinions of the data, as well as the relevance and causality of the data, to avoid logical errors or biases.

The fourth stage: conclusions and recommendations. At this stage, enterprises need to put forward targeted conclusions and suggestions according to the results of analysis and interpretation, so as to provide basis and guidance for the decision-making of enterprises. Conclusions and recommendations should be feasible, effective and innovative, but also to consider the ease of implementation, cost-effectiveness, risk and other factors. Conclusions and recommendations should be expressed in clear, concise, and robust language, while also supporting data and evidence.

The basic principles of industrial market research can be summarized as follows:

Objectivity. Industrial market research should be conducted with an objective attitude and method, avoid subjective bias or presupposition, respect the authenticity and integrity of the data, and do not tamper with or misinterpret the data.

Systemic. Industrial market research should be carried out from a systematic perspective and thinking. Instead of looking at a problem or phenomenon in isolation, it should consider its relationship and impact with the entire market, customers, products or services, and also pay attention to the dynamic changes of the market. And future development.

Practicality. Industrial market research should be carried out with practical purposes and results, not for the sake of research, but to solve practical problems or seize practical opportunities, but also to consider the operability and enforceability of the research.

Innovative. Industrial market research should be carried out in an innovative spirit and method, not sticking to traditional ideas or models, but daring to try new angles or methods, and at the same time seeking new values or advantages.

Specific cases 2. industrial market research

In order to better illustrate the methods and effects of industrial market research, we demonstrate with a specific case. This case is an industrial market research project conducted by Shangpu Consulting Company (hereinafter referred to as Shangpu) for an enterprise (hereinafter referred to as the customer) that produces high-pressure cleaning equipment (hereinafter referred to as the equipment). Champu is a company specializing in industrial market research and consulting services, with rich industry experience and expertise, providing high-quality solutions for many industrial companies.

The customer is a small and medium-sized enterprise located in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China. It mainly produces high-pressure cleaning equipment, mainly used for cleaning automobiles, machinery, construction and other fields. Customers want to know the current situation and future development trend of China's high-pressure cleaning equipment market, as well as their competitiveness and advantages and disadvantages in the market, and hope to get professional advice from Shangpu.

According to the needs of customers, Shangpu adopts the following four steps to conduct industrial market research:

Step 1: Determine the objectives and scope of the study. After communicating with customers, Champ identified the following research objectives:

Understand the scale, growth rate, demand characteristics, competition pattern and other information of China's high-pressure cleaning equipment market;

Understand the purchase behavior, preference, demand point and other information of major customer groups (such as automobile manufacturers, automobile repairers, machinery manufacturers, construction builders, etc.) in China's high-pressure cleaning equipment market;

Understand the market positioning, value proposition, advantages and disadvantages of customers' own products or services in China's high-pressure cleaning equipment market;

The development strategy and suggestions for China's high-pressure cleaning equipment market are put forward.

Champu and the customer identified the research scope for the Chinese high-pressure cleaning equipment market, including the following aspects:

Market overview: including market size, growth rate, demand characteristics, competitive landscape, etc;

Customer analysis: including customer segmentation, purchase behavior, preferences, demand points, etc;

Product analysis: including product classification, function, performance, price, etc;

Competitive analysis: including competitors' products or services, market share, advantages and disadvantages, etc;

Development strategy: including target market, target customers, value proposition, marketing strategy, etc.

Step 2: Collect and organize data. Champ collects relevant data and information through the following channels and methods:

Web search: Collect relevant data and information on China's high-pressure cleaning equipment market through search engines and professional websites, such as industry reports, news reports, policies and regulations, etc;

Statistical data: collect relevant statistical data on China's high-pressure cleaning equipment market, such as market size, growth rate, demand, etc., through the National Bureau of Statistics, industry associations, third-party institutions, etc;

Questionnaire survey: through online platform and telephone interview, send questionnaires to the main customer groups in China's high-pressure cleaning equipment market to collect information about their purchasing behavior, preferences, demand points and so on;

Interviews: Interviews with some competitors and industry experts in China's high-pressure cleaning equipment market through offline visits and telephone interviews to collect information about their products or services, market strategies, industry trends, etc;

Observation: Through on-the-spot investigation and network observation, observe the display, use and evaluation of products or services in China's high-pressure cleaning equipment market, and collect information about their functions, performance, prices and so on.

After collecting the data, Champ collated and summarized the data, eliminated invalid or duplicate data, and retained valuable or meaningful data. Champ classified and summarized the data according to different research aspects to form a detailed data report.

Step 3: Analyze and interpret the data. Champ uses the following analytical methods and tools to analyze and interpret the data in depth:

SWOT analysis: evaluate the market competitiveness and development potential of customers by analyzing the advantages (Strengths), disadvantages (Weaknesses), opportunities (Opportunities) and threats (Threats) of their own products or services in China's high-pressure cleaning equipment market;

Porter's Five Forces Analysis: By analyzing the five competitive forces in China's high-pressure cleaning equipment market, namely, the bargaining power of suppliers (Bargaining Power of Suppliers), the bargaining power of buyers (Bargaining Power of Buyers), the degree of competition of existing competitors (Rivalry Existing Competitors), the entry barrier of potential entrants (Threat of New Entrants) and the substitution threat of substitutes (Threat of Substitutes), to assess the attractiveness and profitability of China's high-pressure cleaning equipment market;

STP analysis: By analyzing the segmentation (Segmentation), target (Targeting) and positioning (Positioning) in the Chinese high-pressure cleaning equipment market, to determine the customer's target market, target customers and value proposition.

Champ analyzes and interprets the data and discovers the patterns, trends, problems, opportunities, etc. behind the data. Shangpu presented the results of analysis and interpretation in the form of charts, graphics and text, forming a detailed analysis report.

Step 4: Conclusions and recommendations. Based on the results of the analysis and interpretation, Champu puts forward the following targeted conclusions and suggestions:

China's high-pressure cleaning equipment market is a fast-growing, diverse and highly competitive market, with high development potential and challenges;

The customer's own products or services have certain advantages in China's high-pressure cleaning equipment market, such as reliable quality, stable performance, reasonable price, etc., but there are also some disadvantages, such as low brand awareness, poor channel coverage, insufficient service support, etc;

Customers should be based on the different needs and preferences of different customer groups in China's high-pressure cleaning equipment market, differentiated market segmentation, select their own target market and target customers;

According to the advantages and disadvantages of their own products or services, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of competitors' products or services, customers should carry out effective market positioning and form unique and attractive value propositions;

Customers should formulate reasonable and effective marketing strategies, including product strategy, price strategy, channel strategy and promotion strategy, according to their target market, target customers and value proposition.

Champ expresses the conclusions and recommendations in clear, concise, and strong language, while also supporting the data and evidence. Champ compiled the conclusions and recommendations into a detailed recommendations report.

Considerations and Recommendations for 3. Industrial Market Research

Through the above cases, we can see that industrial market research is a simple and complex work, which requires both professional knowledge and experience, as well as innovative thinking and methods. When conducting industrial market research, we need to pay attention to the following points:

Data quality. Data is the basis of industrial market research, and data quality directly affects the effect of industrial market research. Therefore, when collecting data, we need to pay attention to the reliability of the data source, the validity of the data content, and the adequacy of the data quantity. When sorting out the data, we need to pay attention to the cleaning, classification and summary of the data. When analyzing data, we need to pay attention to the data analysis methods, analysis tools, analysis results, etc.

Depth of analysis. Analysis is the core of industrial market research, and the depth of analysis directly affects the value of industrial market research. Therefore, when analyzing data, we should not only pay attention to the superficial phenomena of the data, but also explore the deep reasons, internal logic and potential significance behind the data. In the analysis process, we can use a variety of analytical methods and tools to conduct multi-angle, multi-level, multi-dimensional analysis to discover hidden patterns, trends, problems, opportunities, etc. in the data.

The conclusion is valid. The conclusion is the purpose of industrial market research, and the conclusion directly affects the practicality of industrial market research. Therefore, when drawing conclusions, we should not only summarize the results of data and analysis, but also put forward targeted suggestions and programs to help enterprises solve practical problems or seize practical opportunities. When putting forward the conclusion, we need to pay attention to the feasibility, effectiveness and innovation of the conclusion, and also consider the difficulty, cost-effectiveness, risk and other factors of implementation.

Language expression. Language is the carrier of industrial market research, and language expression directly affects the communication effect of industrial market research. Therefore, when writing the report, we should not only express the data and information in accurate, professional and standardized language, but also express the conclusions and suggestions in clear, concise and powerful language, so as to improve the readability and credibility of the report. When writing a report, we need to pay attention to the logic, coherence, and consistency of the language, as well as the aesthetics, vividness, and appeal of the language.

Conclusion

Industrial market research is a very important and very difficult work for industrial enterprises, many enterprises due to lack of expertise, experience or resources, often can not effectively carry out industrial market research, or can only rely on external consulting agencies. This paper introduces a simple and practical industrial market research method to help enterprises to complete industrial market research and improve market competitiveness. This paper first outlines the basic steps and principles of industrial market research, then explains how to use this method to carry out industrial market research with a specific case, and finally summarizes the considerations and suggestions of industrial market research. It is hoped that this paper can be helpful and enlightening to enterprises that want to conduct or are conducting industrial market research.