Definition and Purpose of 1. Market Research

Market research refers to the analysis of various factors of market supply and demand changes and their dynamics and trends. The purpose of market research is to understand the current situation and potential of the market, assess market opportunities and risks, formulate market goals and strategies, and improve market efficiency and effectiveness.

The target of market research can be an entire industry, a specific market segment, a specific product or service, a specific customer group, a specific competitor, etc. The content of market research can include market size, structure, growth, demand, preference, satisfaction, loyalty, purchase behavior, channel, price, promotion, brand, competition, environment, etc.

Market research methods can be divided into two categories: quantitative research and qualitative research. Quantitative research refers to the collection, analysis and interpretation of a large amount of data through mathematical statistics to obtain representative and credible data.Conclusion. Qualitative research refers to the collection, analysis and interpretation of a small amount of data through non-mathematical statistical methods to arrive at a deep and meaningfulConclusion。

The process of market research generally includes the following steps:

Determine the objectives and scope of the survey

Design research programs and tools

Collect data for research

Analysis of survey data

Presenting the results of the research

Put forward suggestions for investigation

Common tools for 2. market research

Market research tools refer to various platforms and software that help companies conduct market research, which can provide functions such as data collection, analysis, and presentation, as well as other auxiliary functions, such as sample screening, motivation, and management. Market research tools can be divided into the following categories according to different functions and characteristics:

1. Questionnaire survey tool

A questionnaire tool is a tool that collects feedback from a target audience by designing and issuing a questionnaire. Questionnaire survey tools can be used for quantitative research, can also be used for qualitative research preliminary exploration. The advantage of the questionnaire tool is that it can obtain a large amount of data quickly, conveniently and at low cost, and is suitable for a wide range of topics and objects. The disadvantage of the questionnaire tool is that there may be problems such as the quality, validity and reliability of the data, and attention should be paid to the rationality, validity and simplicity of the questionnaire design, as well as the representativeness, randomness and adequacy of the control sample.

Common platforms and software for questionnaire tools are:

Research Factory: Research Factory is a professional intelligent online and offline integrated questionnaire survey and open and unannounced visit platform, which supports network survey, face-to-face interview, open and unannounced visit, cloud telephone survey, in-depth interview, symposium and other functions, and provides customized solutions for the industry.

Netease Cloud Business Questionnaire Survey: Netease Cloud Business Questionnaire Survey, Netease's real and professional user research and experience management platform, provides accurate market research services covering hundreds of millions of users and subverting traditional research, enabling enterprises to quickly gain insight into users' real attitudes and make their marketing decisions more scientific.

Questionnaire Network: Questionnaire Network, a free and professional questionnaire survey platform, users can edit items through cross-platform such as PC/APP/applet, and distribute them through multi-ports such as WeChat/circle of friends/QQ/email/SMS/microblog. Data are automatically generated and stored for a long time. Custom lottery/logo is a stable and reliable tool for investigation, examination and voting.

LimeSurvey:LimeSurvey is an open source online survey tool, supports more than 80 languages, provides a wealth of questionnaire design, distribution, collection, analysis, export and other functions, suitable for a variety of budgets and purposes of online survey.

2. Data analysis tools

Data analysis tools are tools that process, analyze, model, and predict the collected data by using mathematical statistics, data mining, and machine learning. Data analysis tools can be used to conduct quantitative research, as well as to quantify and summarize data from qualitative research. The advantage of data analysis tools is that they can extract valuable information from large amounts of data, discover data patterns, relationships, trends, etc., and support data visualization and interaction. The disadvantage of data analysis tools is that there may be problems such as data cleaning, integration and transformation, and attention should be paid to the integrity, consistency and accuracy of the data, as well as the selection of appropriate analysis methods and models.

Common platforms and software for data analysis tools are:

SPSS:SPSS is a statistical analysis software under IBM, which provides data input, management, editing, conversion, analysis, output and other functions, supports a variety of statistical methods and charts, and is suitable for data analysis in social science, market research, education, medical and other fields.

Excel:Excel is a spreadsheet software owned by Microsoft, which provides data input, management, editing, conversion, analysis, output and other functions, supports a variety of functions, formulas, charts, macros, etc., and is suitable for data analysis in various fields.

R:R is an open source programming language and software environment dedicated to data processing, analysis, visualization, etc., supports a variety of statistical methods and graphics, and is suitable for data analysis in various fields.

Python:Python is an open source programming language that is concise, easy to read, and flexible. It supports a variety of data analysis libraries and frameworks, such as Pandas, SciPy, Scikit-learn, and TensorFlow, and is suitable for data analysis in various fields.

3. Industry Reporting Tools

Industry reporting tools are tools that compile and publish reports on the market situation, development trends, competitive landscape, business models, success stories, etc. of a specific industry by collecting and collating data from various sources. Industry reporting tools can be used as references and supplements for quantitative and qualitative research. The advantage of industry reporting tools is that they can provide comprehensive, systematic and professional industry analysis, help enterprises understand the history, current situation and future of the industry, and support the comparison and evaluation of the industry. The disadvantage of industry reporting tools is that there may be issues such as timeliness, source, and consistency of data, and attention needs to be paid to selecting authoritative, credible, and updated reporting sources, as well as judging and applying them in light of their own realities.

4. Social Media Monitoring Tools

Social media monitoring tools refer to tools that understand users' opinions, emotions, behaviors, influence, etc. by collecting and analyzing user-generated content on social media. Social media monitoring tools can be used to conduct qualitative research as well as to supplement and validate data from quantitative research. The advantage of social media monitoring tools is that they can obtain real feedback from users in real time, dynamically and comprehensively, discover users' needs, problems, suggestions, etc., and support user classification and analysis. The disadvantage of social media monitoring tools is that there may be problems such as noise, deviation and sensitivity of data. Attention should be paid to screening and cleaning data, as well as protecting the privacy and security of users.

Common platforms and software for social media monitoring tools are:

New List: New List is a professional social media data analysis platform, providing account ranking, content analysis, topic analysis, event analysis, public opinion analysis and other functions covering WeChat, microblog, tremolo, Kuaishou, Little Red Riding Book, Station B and other platforms to help enterprises gain insight into the trend and influence of social media.

Hotspot tracking: Hotspot tracking is a professional social media public opinion analysis platform, which provides hot spot ranking, hot spot analysis, hot spot warning, hot spot report and other functions covering WeChat, Weibo, today's headlines, Baidu, Zhihu and other platforms to help enterprises monitor public opinion and risks of social media.

Hootsuite:Hootsuite is a professional social media management platform that provides content publishing, content analysis, content optimization, content monitoring and other functions covering Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and other platforms to help enterprises manage social media strategies and effects.

Sprout Social:Sprout Social is a professional social media analysis platform that provides content analysis, user analysis, competitive analysis, trend analysis, sentiment analysis and other functions covering Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and other platforms to help enterprises analyze social media data and insights.

3. case of market research

In order to better illustrate the use and effect of market research tools, this paper takes Shangpu Consulting Company as an example to show the specific steps and cases of how to use these tools for market research. Shangpu Consulting Company is a professional market consulting and strategic consulting company, providing customers with market research, competitive analysis, business plan, market strategy, brand strategy, marketing strategy and other services.

1. Case of questionnaire survey tool

Shangpu Consulting provides market research services for an emerging online education platform to understand the needs, preferences, satisfaction, etc. of the target market and provide a basis for product development and marketing. Using the research factory platform, Shangpu Consulting designed a questionnaire for online education users, including the following questions:

Basic information of the user, such as gender, age, education, occupation, income, etc.

Users' use of online education, such as platform, course, frequency, duration, purpose, and method

User's online education needs and preferences, such as desired platform, curriculum, price, quality, format, content, etc.

Users' online education satisfaction and loyalty, such as evaluation, recommend and renewal of existing platforms, courses and services.

Through the research factory platform, Shangpu Consulting sent questionnaires to online education users in the target market through online surveys, and collected 1000 valid answers. Champu Consulting analyzed the data collected through the research plant platform and came up with the following keyConclusion：

The main characteristics of online education users are young, highly educated, engaged in white-collar work, and higher-income groups. Their main purpose of using online education is to improve their professional skills and competitiveness, or to satisfy their interests and hobbies.

The main needs and preferences of online education users are high-quality, low-price, diversified, interactive, and flexible online education products and services. They are more inclined to choose online education platforms and courses with reputation, brands, and certifications. They are also more willing to participate in online education forms with communities, mentors, and classmates.

The main satisfaction and loyalty of online education users are above the middle level. They have a certain degree of recognition and trust in the existing online education platforms and courses, but there are also some dissatisfaction and complaints, mainly focusing on the quality, update, and innovation of content., Service attitude, efficiency, professionalism, and reasonable, transparent, and preferential prices.

According to the results of the questionnaire survey, Shangpu Consulting puts forward the following suggestions for the online education platform:

Online education platforms should fully understand the characteristics and needs of users in the target market, position their core advantages and differentiation, build their own brand image and reputation, and improve their popularity and credibility.

The online education platform should constantly optimize and innovate its own products and services, improve the quality, update and innovation of the content, improve the attitude, efficiency and professionalism of the service, improve the reasonable, transparent and preferential price, and improve the satisfaction and loyalty of users.

Online education platforms should make full use of the power of social media and communities, increase user participation and interaction, cultivate user's sense of belonging and identity, form user's word-of-mouth communication and fission effect, and expand the scale and influence of users.

2. Examples of data analysis tools

Shangpu Consulting provides market research services for a well-known e-commerce platform. The purpose is to understand the scale, structure, growth, competition, etc. of the target market, and provide a basis for market strategy and marketing strategy. Using SPSS software, Shangpu Consulting analyzed the collected e-commerce data of the target market, including the following operations:

Data cleaning and integration, remove invalid and duplicate data, convert data from different sources and formats into uniform standards and structures for subsequent analysis and processing.

Description and summary of data, calculate the basic statistics of the data, such as mean, median, standard deviation, maximum, minimum, etc., plot the distribution of the data, such as histograms, box plots, pie charts, etc., to show the overview and characteristics of the data.

Data grouping and comparison, according to different dimensions and standards, the data is divided into different groups, such as according to product categories, user types, region types, etc., to compare the differences and similarities of data in different groups, such as using t-test, variance analysis, chi-square test and other methods to draw comparison charts of data, such as bar charts, line charts, scatter charts, etc., to show the differences and relationships of data.

Modeling and prediction of data, establishing mathematical models of data according to the rules and trends of data, such as using linear regression, logical regression, cluster analysis, decision tree and other methods to predict the future changes and development of data, such as using confidence interval, hypothesis test, sensitivity analysis and other methods to evaluate the credibility and stability of data, and drawing prediction charts of data, such as trend chart, prediction interval chart, sensitivity chart and so on, demonstrate the future and risks of data.

According to the results of data analysis, Shangpu Consulting puts forward the following suggestions for the e-commerce platform:

E-commerce platform should pay attention to the scale and growth of the target market, grasp the opportunities and potential of the market, formulate reasonable market goals and expectations, adjust their market share and growth rate, and improve their market competitiveness and efficiency.

E-commerce platforms should pay attention to the structure and changes of the target market, understand the segmentation and characteristics of the market, position their target users and products, optimize their product structure and combination, and improve their product differentiation and competitive advantage.

E-commerce platform should pay attention to the competition and challenges of the target market, analyze the competitors and competitive strategies of the market, evaluate their competitive advantages and disadvantages, formulate their own competitive strategies and countermeasures, and improve their competitiveness and anti-risk ability.

3. The case of industry reporting tools

Shangpu Consulting provides market research services for an entrepreneurial online travel platform. The purpose is to understand the market conditions, development trends, competition patterns, business models, successful cases, etc. of the target industry, and provide a basis for product development and market entry. Shangpu consulting company used the AI media consulting platform to consult the latest industry report on the online travel industry, including the following aspects:

The market size and growth of the online travel industry shows the development of the online travel industry in the past few years and the forecast for the next few years, including the overall market size of online travel, the size of online travel users, the market share of online travel and other indicators, as well as the annual changes and growth rates of these indicators.

The market structure and changes of the online travel industry show the market segments of the online travel industry, as well as the development trends and changing trends of the market segments, including the main market segments of online travel, such as online air tickets, online hotels, online vacations, online visas, etc., as well as the market size, user size, market share and other indicators of these market segments, as well as the annual changes and growth rates of these indicators.

The competitive landscape and strategies of the online travel industry show the situation of the main competitors in the online travel industry, as well as the competitive strategies and advantages of the competitors, including the main competitors of online travel, such as Ctrip, Qunar, Fliggy, Tongcheng, Hornet's nest, etc., as well as the market share, user share, brand influence, and product innovation of these competitors.

The business model and innovation of the online travel industry shows the characteristics and advantages of the main business models of the online travel industry, as well as the innovation and transformation of business models, including the main business models of online travel, such as platform model, agency model, self-management model, Comprehensive model, etc., as well as the income source, cost structure, profit rate, risk factors, etc. of these business models, as well as the innovation and transformation of these business models, such as verticalization, socialization, personalization, intelligence, etc.

The successful cases and enlightenments of the online travel industry show the cases and experiences of some successful enterprises and products in the online travel industry, as well as enlightenments and suggestions to other enterprises, including some successful cases of online travel, such as Ctrip's one-stop service, Qunar's search engine, Fliggy's ecosystem, Tongcheng's social e-commerce, hornet's nest's content community, etc, and the background, objectives, strategies, effects, evaluation, etc. of these successful cases, as well as the enlightenment and suggestions of these successful cases, such as how to grasp user needs, how to improve user experience, how to enhance user stickiness, how to expand user channels, etc.

According to the contents of the industry report, Shangpu Consulting puts forward the following suggestions for the online travel platform:

Online travel platforms should fully understand the market conditions and development trends of the online travel industry, grasp the opportunities and challenges of the industry, formulate their own market positioning and goals, choose their own market segmentation and direction, and improve their market adaptability and leadership.

Online travel platforms should fully understand the competitive landscape and strategies of the online travel industry, analyze their competitive advantages and disadvantages, evaluate their competitiveness and risks, formulate their own competitive strategies and countermeasures, and improve their competitiveness and anti-risk capabilities.

Online travel platforms should fully understand the business model and innovation of the online travel industry, choose their own business model and source of income, optimize their own cost structure and profit margin, innovate their own products and services, and improve their business efficiency and effectiveness.

4. The case of social media monitoring tools

Shangpu Consulting provides market research services for a newly launched smart speaker product. The purpose is to understand the opinions, emotions, behaviors, and influence of target users, and provide a basis for product improvement and market promotion. Using the new list platform, Champu Consulting monitored and analyzed user-generated content on smart speakers on social media, including the following aspects:

The popularity and trends of smart speakers show the number, changes, and distribution of content about smart speakers on social media, as well as hot topics, hot events, and hot accounts of smart speakers, reflecting the attention and influence of smart speakers.

The user portrait of the smart speaker shows the basic information of the publishers and participants of the content of the smart speaker on social media, such as gender, age, region, occupation, interest, etc., as well as their behavioral characteristics, such as publishing frequency, participation mode, interactive objects, etc., reflecting the characteristics and needs of the target users and potential users of the smart speaker.

The user's point of view of the smart speaker shows the main views and tendencies of the content of the smart speaker on social media, such as the cognition, attitude, evaluation, suggestion, etc. of the smart speaker, as well as their emotional tendencies, such as positive, neutral, negative, etc., reflecting the user satisfaction and loyalty of the smart speaker.

The user influence of smart speakers shows the dissemination and influence of the content of smart speakers on social media, such as content forwarding, comments, likes, collections, etc., as well as the scope of influence, depth of influence, speed of influence, etc., reflecting the user reputation and fission effect of smart speakers.

Based on the results of social media monitoring, Shangpu Consulting has made the following suggestions for smart speaker products:

Smart speaker products should pay attention to the popularity and trends on social media, grasp the hot topics, hot events, hot accounts, etc. on social media, and use the platform effect of social media to improve their popularity and influence, and attract more users' attention and participation.

Smart speaker products should focus on user portraits on social media, understand the characteristics and needs of target and potential users on social media, position their core users and priority users, optimize their product design and functions, and improve their user experience and user value.

Smart speaker products should pay attention to the user's views on social media, understand the user's cognition, attitude, evaluation and suggestions on social media, evaluate their user satisfaction and loyalty, improve their product problems and deficiencies, and improve their user satisfaction and loyalty.

Smart speaker products should pay attention to the user influence on social media, understand the spread and influence of users on social media, evaluate their own user reputation and fission effect, use the network effect of social media, improve their user recommend and renewal, and expand their user scale and influence.