Top 10 Trends in Market Research: What Experts Predict You Need to Pay Attention

Market research refers to the activities of providing support and guidance for marketing, product development, brand management, competitive strategy, etc. by collecting, collating, analyzing and interpreting market-related information. Market research is an important means for enterprises to understand consumer needs and behavior, assess market opportunities and risks, and formulate and optimize market strategies. It is also an effective channel for consumers to express and feedback their opinions and feelings.

The history of market research can be traced back to the end of the 19th century. With the process of industrialization and urbanization, consumers' needs and preferences began to diversify and personalize, and enterprises needed to understand and adapt to the changes in the market. Thus, the earliest market research institutions and methods appeared. Since the 20th century, the development of market research has gone through several stages, from the initial qualitative research, to the rise of quantitative research, and then to the application of the Internet and big data, the scope, depth and breadth of market research are constantly expanding and improving, the methods, tools and technologies of market research are constantly innovating and improving, and the value and role of market research are increasingly prominent and recognized.

In the 21st century, market research is facing new opportunities and challenges. With the development of social economy and technological innovation, the environment, objects and objectives of market research are constantly changing, and the methods, contents and values of market research are constantly evolving, showing some new trends and characteristics. Based on many years of market research experience and cases of Shangpu Consulting, combined with relevant research reports and data at home and abroad, this paper summarizes the "ten trends" of market research, and analyzes and prospects each trend, which provides valuable reference and enlightenment for market research practitioners and users.

Trend 1: Digital Transformation

Digital transformation refers to the process of using digital technology and data-driven methods to change the operating model, organizational structure, product services and customer experience of enterprises, and improve the efficiency, innovation and competitiveness of enterprises. Digital transformation has become an inevitable choice and important strategy for today's enterprise development, and it also puts forward new requirements and opportunities for market research.

On the one hand, digital transformation provides more data sources, analysis tools and communication channels for market research, making the process of market research more convenient, efficient and intelligent, and making the results of market research richer, more accurate and influential. For example, through digital channels such as social media, e-commerce platforms, and mobile applications, market research can collect more consumer behavior data and feedback information. Through digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things, market research can be carried out. In-depth data mining and analysis, through digital forms such as video, live broadcast, VR/AR, market research can present more vivid research reports and suggestions.

On the other hand, digital transformation also puts forward higher standards and challenges for market research, requiring market research not only to adapt to digital changes, but also to lead digital innovation, not only to meet digital needs, but also to create digital value. We should not only pay attention to digital technology and data, but also pay attention to digital people and culture. For example, market research needs to master more digital skills and knowledge, such as data analysis, programming, visualization, etc., market research needs to establish stronger digital thinking and capabilities, such as data-driven, agile development, user center, etc., market research needs to cultivate Better digital literacy and quality, such as data ethics, data security, data quality, etc.

Trend 2: Consumer Insights

Consumer insight refers to the in-depth understanding and analysis of consumers' needs, motivations, attitudes, behaviors, preferences, etc., revealing consumers' psychology and emotions, discovering consumers' pain points and needs, and predicting consumers' behaviors and trends. The process of providing valuable guidance and suggestions for corporate product development, marketing, and brand building. Consumer insight is the core and soul of market research, but also the purpose and value of market research.

As consumers' needs and behaviors become more diverse and personalized, the importance and difficulty of consumer insight are also increasing. On the one hand, consumer insight needs to pay more attention to the internal and potential needs of consumers, not just the surface and explicit needs. It needs to pay more attention to the psychology and emotion of consumers, not just rationality and function, and needs to pay more attention to consumers' motivation and value, not just behavior and preference. On the other hand, consumer insight needs more flexible and innovative methods and tools, not just traditional and regular methods and tools, and more diverse and comprehensive data and information, not just single and one-sided data and information., Need more timely and continuous tracking and monitoring, not just periodic and intermittent research and analysis.

Trend 3: Social Responsibility

Social responsibility means that while pursuing economic interests, enterprises should also consider the impact and contribution on society, environment and stakeholders. Through the implementation of a series of social responsibility activities, such as charitable donation, environmental protection, employee care, community service, etc., the process of enhancing the credibility, reputation and competitiveness of enterprises. Social responsibility has become an important aspect and core value of today's enterprise development, and it also puts forward new demands and opportunities for market research.

On the one hand, social responsibility provides more research topics, contents and angles for market research, makes the scope of market research more extensive and profound, and makes the results of market research more meaningful and valuable. For example, through the study of social responsibility, market research can help enterprises understand and evaluate their own social responsibility performance and impact, such as social responsibility strategy, policy, action, results, etc., market research can help enterprises understand and meet the social responsibility expectations and needs of stakeholders, such as consumers, employees, investors, government, media, social organizations, etc, market research can help companies understand and respond to the risks and opportunities of social responsibility, such as social issues, environmental issues, ethical issues, legal issues, and competition issues.

On the other hand, social responsibility also puts forward higher requirements and challenges for market research, requiring market research to pay attention not only to the economic benefits of enterprises, but also to the social benefits of enterprises, not only to the short-term goals of enterprises, but also to the long-term goals of enterprises, not only to the internal interests of enterprises, but also to the external interests of enterprises. For example, market research needs to adopt more scientific and objective methods and indicators, such as balanced scorecard, triple bottom line, shared value, etc., to measure and evaluate the social responsibility performance of enterprises. Market research needs to establish more effective and continuous communication and cooperation, such as stakeholder dialogue, multi-party cooperation, social responsibility report, etc., to transmit and enhance the social responsibility image of enterprises, market research needs to cultivate a stronger sense of social responsibility and ability, such as social responsibility education, social responsibility training, social responsibility rewards, etc., to stimulate and promote corporate social responsibility behavior.

Trend 4: Emerging Markets

Emerging markets refer to countries or regions with rapid economic growth, large market potential, drastic social changes, and high political risks, such as China, India, Brazil, Russia, and South Africa. Emerging markets have become an important growth point of the world economy and an important target of market research, and also put forward new challenges and opportunities for market research.

On the one hand, emerging markets provide more market opportunities, consumer demand and competitors for market research, making the objectives of market research more clear and urgent, and making the value of market research more significant and direct. For example, through the research of emerging markets, market research can help companies discover and grasp the market size, growth rate, consumption level, consumption structure, etc. of emerging markets. Market research can help companies understand and meet consumer needs, preferences, and preferences in emerging markets. Behavior, etc., market research can help companies understand and respond to emerging market competitors, strategies, and advantages.

On the other hand, emerging markets also put forward higher difficulty and complexity for market research, requiring market research not only to adapt to the changes in emerging markets, but also to guide the development of emerging markets, not only to meet the current situation of emerging markets, but also to create The future of emerging markets must not only pay attention to the commonality of emerging markets, but also pay attention to the differences of emerging markets. For example, market research needs to overcome the problems of lack, inaccuracy and inconsistency of data in emerging markets, such as data sources, data quality, data standards, etc., and market research needs to adapt to the influence of multiple factors such as social culture, politics, law, economy and technology in emerging markets, such as language, belief, custom, system, policy, innovation, etc, market research needs to consider the differences and characteristics of emerging markets at different levels, such as geography, population, resources, development, and competition.

Trend 5: Collaborative Innovation

Collaborative innovation refers to the process of establishing an open, shared, interactive and collaborative innovation network by crossing the boundaries of organizations, departments, fields and regions, integrating the knowledge, resources, capabilities and needs of all parties, and jointly discovering, solving and creating innovation problems, solutions and values. Collaborative innovation has become the mainstream mode of enterprise innovation and an important support for market research, and it also puts forward new roles and opportunities for market research.

On the one hand, collaborative innovation provides more innovation subjects, innovation contents and innovation methods for market research, makes the objects of market research more diversified and active, and makes the results of market research more rich and effective. For example, by participating in collaborative innovation, market research can effectively communicate and collaborate with different departments, functions and levels within the enterprise, such as R & D, production, sales, service, etc. Market research can effectively communicate and collaborate with different stakeholders, experts and partners outside the enterprise, such as consumers, suppliers, distributors, competitors, scholars, consultants, etc, market research can be effectively explored and collaborated with different innovative themes, innovative content, and innovative methods, such as product innovation, service innovation, model innovation, process innovation, and organizational innovation.

Trend six: scene design

Scenario design refers to the process of designing products, services and experiences suitable for the scene according to the needs, behaviors and emotions of consumers in different scenes, so as to improve the satisfaction and loyalty of consumers. Scenario design is an important application and value embodiment of market research, and it also puts forward new thinking and opportunities for market research.

On the one hand, scenario design provides more design inspiration, design principles and design evaluation for market research, making the content of market research more specific and practical, and making the results of market research more useful and interesting. For example, through the research of scenario design, market research can help enterprises find and define consumer scenarios, such as the types, characteristics, needs and pain points of the scenarios. Market research can help enterprises design and optimize the products, services and experiences of the scenarios, such as the functions, forms, styles and interactions of the products. Market research can help enterprises test and evaluate the effects and feedback of the scenarios, such as consumer satisfaction, loyalty, recommend and so on.

On the other hand, scenario design also puts forward new methods and challenges for market research, requiring market research to pay attention not only to the needs of consumers, but also to the behavior of consumers, not only to the current situation of consumers, but also to the future of consumers, not only to the individual consumers, but also to the groups of consumers. For example, market research needs to use more behavioral research and design thinking methods, such as user portrait, user journey, prototype test, etc., to deeply understand and simulate the consumer's scene. Market research needs to use more trend analysis and innovative design methods, such as trend prediction, blue ocean strategy, design sprint, etc., to explore and create consumer's scene, market research requires the use of more social networks and co-creation design methods, such as social network analysis, crowdsourcing platforms, and co-creation workshops, to connect and collaborate with consumer scenarios.

Trend 7: Storytelling Expression

Storytelling refers to the process of transforming market research data, information and suggestions into interesting, meaningful and powerful stories by using the elements, structure and techniques of stories, so as to enhance the attractiveness, persuasiveness and influence of market research. Storytelling expression is an important skill and art of market research, and it also puts forward new forms and opportunities for market research.

On the one hand, storytelling provides more ways of expression, expression content and expression effect for market research, which makes the presentation of market research more vivid and interesting, and also makes the spread of market research more extensive and in-depth. For example, through the use of story expression, market research can use more story elements, such as characters, plots, conflicts, turning points, etc., to display market research data, information and suggestions, market research can use more story structure, such as the beginning, development, climax, end, etc., to organize market research data, information and suggestions, market research can use more story techniques, such as contrast, metaphor, suspense, humor, etc., to modify the data, information and suggestions of market research.

On the other hand, storytelling also puts forward new requirements and challenges for market research, requiring market research not only to pay attention to the accuracy of data, but also to the interestiness of data, not only to the objectivity of information, but also to the sensibility of information, not only to the feasibility of suggestions, but also to the attractiveness of suggestions. For example, market research needs to master more story knowledge and skills, such as the type, style, language, etc. of the story. Market research needs to know more about the target and audience of the story, such as the theme, information, emotion, etc. of the story. Market research needs to balance more story factors and influences, such as the authenticity, rationality, and innovation of the story.

Trend 8: Customized services

Customized service refers to the process of providing products, services and experiences that meet consumers' expectations and satisfaction according to consumers' personalized needs and preferences, so as to enhance consumers' loyalty and reputation. Customized service is an important goal and value embodiment of market research, and it also puts forward new mechanisms and opportunities for market research.

On the one hand, customized services provide more service content, service methods and service effects for market research, make the output of market research more fit and meet the needs of consumers, and make the impact of market research more lasting and significant. For example, by providing customized services, market research can provide different products, services and experiences of market research according to the different needs and preferences of consumers, such as the theme, content, form and duration of market research. Market research can provide different improvement, optimization and update of market research according to different feedback and evaluation of consumers, such as market research data, information, suggestions, stories, etc., market research can provide different market research follow-up, support, rewards, etc. according to the different behaviors and results of consumers, such as market research consulting, training, certification, recommend Wait.

Trend 9: Cross-border integration

Cross-border integration refers to the process of realizing the exchange, combination and innovation of different knowledge, technology, resources and needs by breaking the boundaries of industries, fields, products and services, so as to generate new value and competitive advantage. Cross-border integration has become an important feature of today's market development and an important object of market research, and it also puts forward new horizons and opportunities for market research.

On the one hand, cross-border integration provides more integration subjects, integration contents and integration methods for market research, which makes the objects of market research more broad and diverse, and makes the results of market research more novel and interesting. For example, through the research on cross-border integration, market research can help enterprises find and grasp the opportunities and trends of cross-border integration, such as cross-border integration of industries, fields, products, services, etc., market research can help enterprises understand and meet the needs and preferences of cross-border integration, such as cross-border integration of consumers, markets, channels, scenarios, etc., market research can help enterprises understand and deal with the challenges and risks of cross-border integration, such as cross-border integration of competition, rules, standards, barriers.

On the other hand, cross-border integration also puts forward new capabilities and challenges for market research, requiring market research to pay attention not only to its own industries and fields, but also to other industries and fields, not only to its own products and services, but also to other products and services, not only to its own knowledge and technology, but also to other knowledge and technology. For example, market research needs to have more extensive and in-depth knowledge and insight of the industry and field, such as the development of the industry, the innovation of the field, the characteristics of the product, the value of the service, etc., and market research needs to have more flexible and innovative product and service design and optimization capabilities and methods, such as product combination, service integration, experience creation, model change, etc, market research requires more diverse and comprehensive knowledge and technology learning and application capabilities and methods, such as knowledge acquisition, technology mastery, resource integration, and ability improvement.

Trend 10: A Global Perspective

The perspective of globalization refers to the process of considering and analyzing the current situation and future of the market from a global perspective and scope, grasping and responding to the opportunities and challenges of the market, and realizing and enhancing the competitiveness and influence of the market. The perspective of globalization is an important thinking and value embodiment of market research, and it also puts forward new patterns and opportunities for market research.

On the one hand, the perspective of globalization provides more market information, market demand and market competition for market research, which makes the goal of market research clearer and more ambitious, and makes the value of market research more important and urgent. For example, by having a global perspective, market research can help companies understand and grasp the scale, growth, distribution, and structure of the global market. Market research can help companies understand and meet consumer needs, preferences, and behaviors in the global market. It can help companies understand and respond to competitors, strategies, and advantages in the global market.

On the other hand, the perspective of globalization also puts forward new capabilities and challenges for market research, requiring market research to pay attention not only to the local market, but also to the international market, not only to the existing market, but also to the potential market, not only to its own market, but also to the relevant market. For example, market research needs to master more international knowledge and skills, such as language, culture, law, politics, etc., market research needs to master more potential knowledge and skills, such as trends, innovation, opportunities, risks, etc. Market research needs to master more relevant knowledge and skills, such as industries, fields, products, services, etc.