Consumers are the core of the market, and understanding consumers is the key to the success of enterprises. Consumer research refers to the process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting consumer-related information to help companies solve market problems and grasp market opportunities. The purpose of consumer research is to provide valuable information to support the market decision-making and strategy-making of enterprises. The significance of consumer research is that it can help companies:

Understand the needs, preferences, motivations, behaviors and satisfaction of consumers in order to meet their expectations and needs and improve their loyalty and satisfaction;

Understand the consumer's consumption process, consumption scenarios, consumption influencing factors, etc., in order to optimize the design, pricing, distribution, promotion and other strategies of products or services, and improve the market performance and market share of products or services;

Understand consumers' consumption trends, consumption changes, consumption potential, etc., to identify market opportunities and threats, make suggestions for market innovation and improvement, and enhance market competitiveness and market share.

However, with the complexity and changes of the market, consumer research is also facing many difficulties and challenges, such as the diversification, personalization, emotion, rationalization and other characteristics of consumers, as well as the quantitative, fragmented and dynamic characteristics of consumer data. These characteristics bring the following difficulties to consumer research:

Diversification of consumers: differences in age, gender, income, education, occupation, region, culture, etc. lead to differences in consumer demand, preference, motivation, behavior and satisfaction, making it difficult to divide and subdivide consumer groups, and to predict and analyze consumer behavior;

Personalization of consumers: differences in consumers' personal characteristics, personal experiences, personal values, etc., lead to differences in consumers' needs, preferences, motivations, behaviors and satisfaction, etc., making consumers' personalized needs and expectations increasing day by day, and consumers' satisfaction and loyalty become difficult;

The emotional influence of consumers: the influence of consumers' emotions, psychology, attitudes, beliefs and other aspects, leading to the influence of consumers' needs, preferences, motivation, behavior and satisfaction, making the emotional factors of consumers increasingly important, and the understanding and influence of consumers' behavior become difficult;

The rationalization of consumers: the influence of consumers' knowledge, information, skills, experience, etc., leads to the influence of consumers' demand, preference, motivation, behavior and satisfaction, making the rational factors of consumers increasingly important, and the control and guidance of consumers' behavior becomes difficult;

The quantification of consumer data: the diversification of consumer data sources, the diversification of data types, the growth of data scale and other aspects, leading to the quantification of consumer data, making it more difficult to collect, store, manage and analyze consumer data, and making it more difficult to use and value consumer data;

The fragmentation of consumer data: the impact of the dispersion, incompleteness, inconsistency and inaccuracy of consumer data leads to the fragmentation of consumer data, which makes the integration, cleaning, verification and completion of consumer data more difficult, and the quality and credibility of consumer data become difficult;

The dynamic of consumer data: the impact of the variability, timeliness, and real-time of consumer data leads to the dynamic of consumer data, making it more difficult to update, track, monitor, and predict consumer data, and the stability and reliability of consumer data become difficult.

Faced with these difficulties and challenges, consumer research also needs continuous innovation and improvement to adapt to market changes and consumer changes to improve the effectiveness and value of consumer research. Based on many years of market research experience of Shangpu Consulting Company, this paper puts forward the following methods and suggestions for consumer research:

Consumer research methods: consumer research methods can be divided into qualitative research and quantitative research two categories. Qualitative research refers to the research method of exploring and understanding the deep meaning and inner connection of consumers through unstructured means, such as interviews, observation, focus groups, etc. Quantitative research refers to the research method of measuring and quantifying the size, degree and relationship of consumers through structured methods, such as questionnaires, experiments, statistics, etc. The method of consumer research should be based on the purpose and objectives of the research, select the appropriate research methods, or use a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods to improve the effectiveness and comprehensiveness of the research. Consumer research methods should focus on the following aspects:

Consumer segmentation: Consumer segmentation refers to the process of dividing consumers into different groups or categories according to certain characteristics or behaviors of consumers. The segmentation of consumers can help enterprises to better understand the differences and needs of consumers, so as to formulate more targeted and effective market strategies. There are many ways to segment consumers, such as segmentation based on geography, demographics, psychology, behavior, etc. The segmentation of consumers should be based on research purposes and objectives, select the appropriate segmentation variables and segmentation criteria to ensure the effectiveness and practicality of segmentation. Examples of consumer segmentation are:

Shangpu Consulting conducted consumer research for an international cosmetics brand to understand the needs and preferences of consumers in the Chinese market. Shangpu Consulting adopts a segmentation method based on psychology and behavior, dividing consumers into four sub-groups: confident, pursuing, conservative and traditional. Consumers in each subdivision have different consumption motivation, consumption attitude, consumption behavior and consumption habits. According to the characteristics of each subdivided group, Shangpu Consulting Company has put forward different market strategies for cosmetics brands, such as product positioning, product characteristics, product packaging, product price, product distribution, product promotion, etc., to meet different consumers' needs and expectations.

Shangpu Consulting conducted consumer research for a domestic automobile brand to understand the market potential and consumer acceptance of new energy vehicles. Champ Consulting uses a demographic and behavior-based segmentation approach to divide consumers into five sub-groups: pioneer, leader, follower, wait-and-see, and reject. Consumers in each subgroup have different consumption intentions, consumption barriers, consumption influencing factors and consumption decision-making processes. According to the characteristics of each subdivided group, Shangpu Consulting has put forward different market strategies for automobile brands, such as product innovation, product promotion, product test drive, product discount, product guarantee, etc., to promote different consumers' purchasing behavior.

Consumer insight: Consumer insight refers to the process of understanding and grasping consumers' deep needs, motivations, emotions, values, etc. to reveal consumers' true thoughts and feelings. Consumer insights can help companies better understand consumer psychology and behavior in order to create more attractive and impactful market strategies. There are a variety of consumer insights, such as insights based on interviews, observations, experiments, and cases. Consumer insights should be based on research purposes and objectives, select the appropriate insight method to ensure the authenticity and effectiveness of insights. Examples of consumer insights are:

Shangpu Consulting has conducted consumer research for an international sports brand to understand the sports habits and sports needs of consumers in the Chinese market. Champ Consulting has adopted an insight method based on interviews and observations to discover the deep needs and motivations of consumers, such as the purpose of exercise, the way of exercise, the difficulties of exercise, the fun of exercise, etc., through in-depth communication with consumers and observation of their sports scenes and behaviors. According to the insight of consumers, Shangpu Consulting puts forward different market strategies for sports brands, such as product function, product design, product culture, product community, etc., to meet the sports needs and expectations of different consumers.

Shangpu Consulting conducted consumer research for a domestic catering brand to understand the catering preferences and catering needs of consumers in the Chinese market. Shangpu Consulting has adopted an insight method based on experiments and cases to discover the deep emotions and values of consumers, such as the meaning of catering, the feeling of catering, the influence of catering, and the memory of catering by designing and implementing different catering scenarios and catering experiences. According to the insight of consumers, Shangpu Consulting Company has put forward different market strategies for catering brands, such as product taste, product quality, product service, product atmosphere, etc., to meet the catering needs and expectations of different consumers.

Consumer analysis: Consumer analysis refers to the process of processing, integrating, summarizing, reasoning, interpreting and evaluating consumer data in order to extract and display consumer information and knowledge. Consumer analytics can help companies make better use of consumer data to support and optimize market decisions and strategy formulation. There are many methods of consumer analysis, such as analysis based on descriptive, exploratory, predictive, causal and so on. Consumer analysis should be based on the purpose and objectives of the study, select the appropriate analytical methods to ensure the accuracy and validity of the analysis. Examples of consumer analysis are:

Shangpu Consulting has conducted consumer research for an international electronic product brand to understand the purchase behavior and purchase influencing factors of consumers in the Chinese market. Champ Consulting uses descriptive and predictive-based analytics to describe and predict consumer buying patterns and trends, such as seasonality of purchases, periodicity of purchases, and volatility of purchases, by collecting and analyzing consumer buying data, such as frequency of purchases, amount of purchases, channels of purchases, and timing of purchases. According to the analysis of consumers, Shangpu Consulting Company puts forward different market strategies for electronic product brands, such as product supply, product pricing, product distribution, product promotion, etc., to adapt and guide consumers' purchasing behavior.

Shangpu Consulting conducted consumer research for a domestic education brand to understand the satisfaction and loyalty of consumers in the Chinese market. Shangpu Consulting Company adopts the analysis method based on exploratory and causality. By collecting and analyzing the data of consumer satisfaction and loyalty, such as satisfaction score, loyalty index, influencing factors of satisfaction and loyalty, it explores and verifies the relationship between consumer satisfaction and loyalty, such as the correlation between satisfaction and loyalty, the causality of satisfaction and loyalty, etc. According to the analysis of consumers, Shangpu Consulting Company puts forward different market strategies for education brands, such as product quality, product service, product reputation, product recommend, etc., to improve consumer satisfaction and loyalty.

Consumer advice: Consumer advice refers to the process of providing companies with solutions and improvements to market problems and opportunities based on consumer segmentation, insights, and analysis. Consumer advice can help companies better develop and execute market strategies to achieve market goals and market effects. There are many ways for consumers to suggest, such as suggestions based on innovation, optimization, differentiation, integration, etc. Consumer recommendations should be based on the purpose and objectives of the study, select the appropriate recommendations to ensure the feasibility and effectiveness of the recommendations. Examples of consumer advice are:

Shangpu Consulting conducted consumer research for an international clothing brand to understand the clothing needs and preferences of consumers in the Chinese market. Shangpu Consulting Company adopts the suggestion method based on innovation, and puts forward a series of innovative solutions for clothing brands, such as product innovation, design innovation, marketing innovation, etc., by combining the results of consumer segmentation, insight and analysis, so as to meet the new needs and expectations of consumers and enhance the popularity and influence of the brand.

Shangpu Consulting conducted consumer research for a domestic tourism brand to understand the travel needs and travel preferences of consumers in the Chinese market. Shangpu Consulting Company adopts the suggestion method based on optimization, and puts forward a series of optimization schemes for tourism brands, such as product optimization, service optimization, experience optimization, etc., by combining the results of consumer segmentation, insight and analysis, so as to meet the existing needs and expectations of consumers and improve brand satisfaction and loyalty.