1. Introduction

The industrial market refers to the market with industrial products and services as the main content, including raw materials, equipment, parts, tools, software, consulting, maintenance and other industrial supplies and services. The characteristics of the industrial market are: the number of customers is small and scattered, the demand is large and stable, the purchase process is complex and professional, the competition is diverse and fierce, and the market changes quickly and uncertain. Therefore, industrial market research services are of great value and significance to industrial enterprises or institutions, helping them:

Understand the market size, structure, distribution, demand, supply, competition, channels, trends and other information, assess market opportunities and risks, determine market objectives and positioning;

Understand the customer's characteristics, needs, preferences, satisfaction, loyalty, behavior, influencing factors and other aspects of information, establish customer portraits and relationships, improve customer satisfaction and loyalty;

Understand the information about the strategy, strengths, weaknesses, dynamics and reactions of benchmarking enterprises, analyze the strengths and weaknesses of benchmarking enterprises, and formulate effective competitive strategies and countermeasures;

Understand their own products, services, brand, innovation, quality, efficiency, cost and other aspects of information, evaluate their own strengths and weaknesses, optimize their own products and services, improve their own competitiveness and efficiency;

Understand the changes and trends of the market, predict the development direction and potential of the market, grasp the opportunities and challenges of the market, and formulate reasonable development plans and goals.

Industrial market research service is a professional, systematic and scientific activity, which needs to use a variety of methods and technologies, follow certain processes and norms, and refer to some successful cases and experiences. From the perspective of experts, this paper introduces the common methods, processes and cases of industrial market research services, aiming to provide reference and guidance for the practice and application of industrial market research.

2. method

The methods of industrial market research services are mainly divided into two categories: qualitative research and quantitative research. Qualitative research refers to the collection and analysis of deep-seated, subjective and non-numerical information of industrial market through unstructured or semi-structured way, in order to reveal the nature and connotation of industrial market, discover the problems and opportunities of industrial market, and generate the assumptions and theories of industrial market.

Quantitative research refers to the collection and analysis of superficial, objective and numerical information of the industrial market in a structured or standardized manner to verify the assumptions and theories of the industrial market, to measure the current and future of the industrial market, and to assess the impact and effects of the industrial market. The relationship between qualitative research and quantitative research is complementary and usually needs to be used in combination to achieve comprehensive and in-depth industrial market research.

The common methods of qualitative research are:

Corporate research. Enterprise research refers to a one-to-one, open and flexible dialogue with relevant personnel in the industrial market (such as customers, benchmarking enterprises, channel providers, experts, government officials, etc.) through face-to-face or telephone, in order to obtain their views, feelings, experiences, suggestions and other information on the industrial market.

The advantage of enterprise research is that it can obtain rich, detailed and true information, explore the motivation, attitude, behavior and other deep-seated factors of the industrial market, and discover new problems and new opportunities in the industrial market. The disadvantage of enterprise research is that it is time-consuming, difficult to sample and promote, and difficult to quantify and summarize.

Focus groups. Focus group refers to inviting 6-10 relevant personnel in the industrial market (such as customers, benchmarking enterprises, channel providers, experts, government officials, etc.) to form a group. A moderator guides them to have a free, interactive and collective discussion on a certain topic of the industrial market, so as to obtain their opinions, feelings, experiences, suggestions and other information on the industrial market.

The advantage of focus groups is that they can obtain diverse, dynamic and complementary information, stimulate ideas and ideas in the industrial market, and observe the interaction and influence of the industrial market. The disadvantage of focus groups is that they are influenced by the personality, atmosphere and host of the participants, which is difficult to control and record, and difficult to quantify and summarize.

Scenario simulation. Scenario simulation refers to the design of some scenarios related to the industrial market, so that relevant personnel in the industrial market (such as customers, benchmarking enterprises, channel providers, experts, government officials, etc.) play a certain role in the scenario, and carry out simulated, practical and experiential activities to obtain their reaction, behavior and results to the industrial market.

The advantage of scenario simulation is that it can obtain intuitive, practical and experiential information, simulate the real environment and situation of the industrial market, and test the feasibility and effectiveness of the industrial market. The disadvantages of scenario simulation are high cost, difficult to design and implement, and difficult to quantify and generalize.

The common methods of quantitative research are:

Questionnaire survey. Questionnaire survey refers to the design of a questionnaire containing multiple structured or standardized questions, which is distributed or sent to relevant personnel in the industrial market (such as customers, benchmarking enterprises, channel providers, experts, government officials, etc.), so that they can fill in or answer in accordance with certain rules and formats to obtain their data, evaluation, opinions and other information on the industrial market.

The advantage of questionnaire survey is that a large amount of objective and numerical information can be obtained, statistical analysis and inference can be carried out, and the differences and laws of industrial market can be compared and summarized. The disadvantage of the questionnaire is that it is difficult to ensure the quality and validity of the information due to the influence of factors such as questionnaire design, sampling method, recovery rate and authenticity of the answers.

experimental study. Experimental research refers to the design of some experiments related to the industrial market, so that relevant personnel in the industrial market (such as customers, benchmarking enterprises, distributors, experts, government officials, etc.) play a certain role in the experiment, and carry out controlled, repeated and comparative activities to obtain their reaction, behavior, results and other information to the industrial market.

The advantages of experimental research are that accurate, reliable and causal information can be obtained, the interference factors of industrial market can be controlled and eliminated, and the hypothesis and theory of industrial market can be verified and tested. The disadvantages of experimental research are high cost, difficult to design and implement, and difficult to simulate and promote.

Observational studies. Observation and research refers to the systematic, continuous and recorded observation of relevant personnel (such as customers, benchmarking enterprises, channel providers, experts, government officials, etc.) or related phenomena (such as products, services, brands, innovation, quality, efficiency, cost, etc.) in the industrial market through direct or indirect means, so as to obtain their behavior, state, change and other information on the industrial market.

The advantage of observation research is that it can obtain natural, real-time and dynamic information, can intuitively reflect the real situation and changes of the industrial market, and can discover new problems and new trends in the industrial market. The disadvantage of observational research is that it is influenced by the observer's personality, environment, and observer, which is difficult to control and record, and difficult to quantify and summarize.

3. process

The process of industrial market research services mainly includes the following steps:

(I) determine the purpose of the study. Determining the purpose of research refers to clarifying the objectives and scope of industrial market research services, I .e., what problems to solve, what information to obtain, and what effects to achieve. Determining the purpose of research is the starting point and direction of industrial market research services, which determines the content and methods of industrial market research services.

(II) design research program. Designing a research program refers to the development of specific plans and arrangements for industrial market research services, including the selection of research methods, the identification of research objects, the design of research tools, the development of research budgets, and the scheduling of research time. Design research scheme is the core and key of industrial market research service, which determines the quality and efficiency of industrial market research service.

(III) execution of research activities. The implementation of research activities refers to the implementation of the specific operations of industrial market research services in accordance with the research plan, including the collection of research data, recording of research processes, monitoring of research progress, and solving research problems. Executive research activity is the practice and process of industrial market research service, which determines the data and information of industrial market research service.

(IV) analysis of the results. Analysis and research results refer to the systematic, scientific and logical processing and interpretation of data and information of industrial market research services, including the collation of research data, the application of research techniques, the drawing of research conclusions, and the making of research recommendations. The results of analysis and research are the output and results of industrial market research services, which determine the value and significance of industrial market research services.

(V) writing research reports.