1. what is consumer research?

Consumer research refers to the process of collecting and analyzing consumer-related information through various methods and technologies in order to understand consumer needs, preferences, behaviors and motivations, so as to provide basis and guidance for marketing decisions. Consumer research can be divided into two categories: quantitative research and qualitative research. Quantitative research refers to the measurement and analysis of large amounts of data through mathematical and statistical methods to obtain objective and quantifiable results. The common methods of quantitative research are questionnaire, experiment, observation and so on. Qualitative research refers to the interpretation and understanding of a small amount of data through non-mathematical and non-statistical methods to obtain subjective and in-depth results. Common methods of qualitative research include interviews, focus groups, and scenario analysis.

The purpose of consumer research is to help companies solve marketing problems and improve marketing efficiency and effectiveness. Consumer research can help businesses:

Understand the size, structure, trends and competitive conditions of the market;

Identify and classify the target market and target consumers;

Determine and optimize the mix of products, prices, channels and promotions;

Evaluate and improve the execution and effectiveness of marketing activities;

identifying and satisfying potential and unmet needs of consumers;

Establish and maintain consumer loyalty and satisfaction;

Enhance and differentiate the company's brand image and competitive advantage.

The Art of 2. Consumer Research

Consumer research is not simply about collecting and analyzing data, but about using creative and critical thinking to extract valuable insights from the data to guide marketing decisions. Data is the basis of consumer research, but the data itself can not solve the marketing problem, but through the interpretation and application of data, in order to produce marketing value. The interpretation and application of data is the art of consumer research, which requires consumer researchers to have the following abilities:

Observation and discovery ability: able to observe and discover the behavior and psychological characteristics of consumers, as well as the internal and external factors that affect consumers from massive data;

Analysis and reasoning ability: the ability to analyze and reason consumer needs, preferences, motivations and values, as well as the relationship between consumers and products, brands and markets from the surface data;

Inductive and summary ability: able to summarize and summarize the commonality and individuality of consumers, as well as the classification and stratification of consumers from complex data;

Creativity and imagination: the ability to create and imagine potential and unmet needs of consumers, as well as new products, services and experiences that meet consumer needs from existing data;

Communication and presentation skills: Ability to communicate and express consumer insights, as well as insight-based marketing recommendations and solutions from abstract data.

3. processes and methods from data to insights

The process from data to insight is a transformation process from quantity to quality, which includes the following four steps:

Data collection: through quantitative research and qualitative research methods, collect consumer-related data, including consumer basic information, behavioral data, psychological data, etc;

Data collation: collate consumer data through data cleaning, data verification, data coding and other methods to make it meet the requirements and standards of analysis;

Data analysis: through descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, causal analysis and other methods, analysis of consumer data, to obtain the characteristics of the data, laws, relationships, etc;

Data interpretation: through comparative analysis, trend analysis, hypothesis testing and other methods, the interpretation of consumer data, to obtain the significance of the data, impact, enlightenment.

The approach from data to insight is a process of fact-to-opinion formation, which includes the following four levels:

Description: Description is an objective statement of data, which answers the question of "what is the data", for example: "Consumer satisfaction with the product is 80%";

Explanation: Interpretation is the subjective understanding of the data, which answers the question "why is the data like this", for example: "consumers are highly satisfied with the product because the function, performance and design of the product meet the needs and preferences of consumers";

Evaluation: Evaluation is the value judgment of data. It answers the question of "what are the advantages and disadvantages of data", such as: "consumers' satisfaction with products is high, which is beneficial to the enterprise and can improve consumers' loyalty and word-of-mouth, but there are also risks, which may lead to the saturation of consumers' demand and the decline of brand loyalty";

recommend: recommend is an action suggestion for data. It answers the question of "how should data be used", for example: "consumers are highly satisfied with products, enterprises should continue to maintain the advantages of products, and at the same time increase product innovation and differentiation, so as to meet the diversified and personalized needs of consumers, and improve consumer satisfaction and loyalty".

How 4. use insights to create marketing value

Insight is a deep interpretation of consumer data, which reveals the needs, preferences, motivations and values of consumers, as well as their relationship with products, brands and markets. Insights are the foundation and guide for marketing decisions, and it can help companies:

Design and develop products, services and experiences that meet consumer needs and preferences;

Develop and implement effective product positioning, brand positioning and market positioning;

Select and optimize the appropriate price strategy, channel strategy and promotion strategy;

create and disseminate attractive advertising, public relations and word of mouth;

Establish and promote consumer awareness, attitudes and behavior.

The key to using insights to create marketing value is to translate insights into action, which requires close cooperation and communication between consumer researchers and marketing decision makers. Consumer investigators need to present insights to marketing decision makers in a clear, concise, and persuasive manner, such as through reports, presentations, stories, etc. Marketing decision makers need to apply insights to marketing activities in innovative, practical, and effective ways, such as through planning, execution, and evaluation.

5. Shangpu Consulting's Consumer Research Case

Shangpu Consulting is a professional consumer research and marketing consulting company. It provides high-quality consumer research services to customers in all walks of life, helping customers gain insights from data and create value from insights. The following are some consumer research cases provided by Shangpu Consulting Company for customers, showing the practical application and effect of consumer research.

Case 1: Consumer Satisfaction Survey for a Fast Fashion Brand

Customer background: The customer is an internationally renowned fast fashion brand, mainly for young consumers, providing fashionable, affordable, diverse clothing and accessories. Customers want to understand consumer satisfaction with their brands and products, as well as the factors that affect satisfaction, so as to improve consumer loyalty and word of mouth.

The purpose of the survey is to measure consumer satisfaction with customer brands and products, analyze the factors affecting satisfaction, and put forward suggestions to improve satisfaction.

Research methods: A combination of quantitative and qualitative research was used to collect consumer satisfaction data and feedback through online questionnaires and offline interviews.

Survey results: consumers' satisfaction with customers' brands and products is high, mainly because customers' products are fashionable, affordable and diverse, which meet consumers' needs and preferences. However, there are also some unsatisfactory aspects, mainly the customer's product quality, service quality and after-sales service are not good enough, which affects the trust and loyalty of consumers.

Research suggestion: it is suggested that customers should improve the quality of products, service quality and after-sales service while maintaining the fashionable, affordable and diversified characteristics of products, so as to enhance the trust and loyalty of consumers and improve the satisfaction and reputation of consumers.

Case 2: Consumer demand research for an electronics brand

Customer background: The customer is a leading domestic electronic product brand, mainly providing smart phones, tablets, laptops and other products. The customer wanted to develop a new smartwatch product to expand its product line and market share. Customers want to understand consumers' needs, preferences, motivations and values for smartwatches in order to design and develop products that meet their needs.

The purpose of the research is to explore consumers' needs, preferences, motivations and values for smart watches, and to propose product design and development suggestions.

Research methods: Using qualitative research methods, through situational analysis and focus groups, to collect consumer needs, preferences, motivations and values data and feedback.

Survey results: Consumer demand and preferences for smart watches are mainly in the following aspects:

Function: Consumers hope that smart watches can provide a variety of functions, such as health monitoring, sports tracking, communication, entertainment media, etc., to meet the different scenarios and needs of consumers;

Performance: Consumers want smart watches to have efficient performance, such as fast response, stable connection, long life, etc., to ensure the consumer experience;

Design: Consumers hope that smart watches can have fashionable designs, such as thin and light shapes, exquisite materials, and diverse colors, to show the personality and taste of consumers;

Compatibility: Consumers hope that smart watches can be compatible with other devices, such as smart phones, tablets, laptops, etc., to achieve data synchronization and sharing.

Consumers' motivation and values for smart watches are mainly in the following aspects:

Convenience: Consumers believe that smart watches can bring them the convenience of life and work, such as convenient viewing information, operating equipment, managing time, etc., to improve the efficiency and convenience of consumers;

Health: Consumers believe that smart watches can bring them health monitoring and guidance, such as monitoring heart rate, blood pressure, sleep, etc., guiding exercise, diet, rest, etc., to improve consumers' health and happiness;

Fashion: Consumers believe that smart watches can bring them a sense of fashion and image, such as showing their taste, personality, attitude, etc., to improve consumers' confidence and charm;

Innovation: Consumers believe that smart watches can bring them innovative experiences and feelings, such as trying new technologies, functions, designs, etc., to satisfy consumers' curiosity and exploration.

Research recommendations: It is recommended that customers fully consider consumer needs, preferences, motivations and values when designing and developing smart watch products to create products that meet consumer needs. Specifically, customers are advised:

In terms of functions, it provides a variety of functions to meet the different scenarios and needs of consumers, such as health monitoring, exercise tracking, communication, entertainment media, etc;

In terms of performance, improve the efficiency and stability of performance, such as fast response, stable connection, long-lasting battery life, etc., to ensure the consumer experience;

In terms of design, create fashionable designs, such as light and thin shapes, exquisite materials, various colors, etc., to show the personality and taste of consumers;

In terms of compatibility, increase the scope and degree of compatibility, such as data synchronization and sharing with other devices, to achieve data convenience and security.

Case 3: Consumer Insight Research for a Luxury Brand

Customer Background: The customer is a French luxury brand, mainly providing high-end clothing, shoes, bags, accessories and other products. Customers want to understand consumers' awareness, attitudes and behaviors of their brands, as well as the internal and external factors that affect consumers, so as to improve consumers' brand loyalty and reputation.

The purpose of the research is to reveal consumers' cognition, attitude and behavior towards customers' brands, analyze the internal and external factors affecting consumers, and put forward suggestions to improve brand loyalty and reputation.

Research method: Using a combination of qualitative research and quantitative research, through offline interviews and online questionnaires, consumer cognition, attitude and behavior data and feedback are collected.

Research results: consumers' cognition, attitude and behavior of customer brand mainly include the following aspects:

Cognition: Consumers have a high cognition of customer brands, mainly because customer brands have a long history, excellent quality, unique style, prominent status and other characteristics, which meet the expectations and appreciation of consumers;

Attitude: Consumers have a good attitude towards customer brands, mainly because customer brands can bring consumers a sense of dignity and image, as well as a confident attitude and temperament, to meet consumers' needs for self-expression and self-improvement;

Behavior: Consumers have less behavior towards customer brands, mainly because the price of customer brands is higher, which exceeds the consumer's spending power and willingness, and there are fewer channels for customer brands, which limits the convenience and purchase of consumers. opportunity.

The internal and external factors affecting consumers are mainly the following:

Internal factors: consumers' personal characteristics, psychological characteristics, lifestyle, etc., which affect consumers' needs, preferences, motivations and values for customers' brands, such as consumers' age, gender, income, education, personality, values, lifestyle habits, etc;

External factors: consumers' social environment, cultural environment, market environment, etc., affect consumers' cognition, attitude, behavior and satisfaction with customers' brands, such as consumers' family, friends, colleagues, celebrities, media, competitive brands, policies and regulations, etc.

Research suggestion: it is suggested that customers should fully consider the internal and external factors of consumers when improving the brand loyalty and reputation of consumers, so as to create brands that meet the needs of consumers. Specifically, customers are advised:

In terms of price, appropriately lower the price, or provide more price concessions and discounts, so as to reduce the purchase threshold and purchase pressure of consumers, and increase consumers' purchase intention and purchase frequency;

In terms of channels, increase the number and coverage of channels, or provide more online and offline purchase methods to improve consumers' purchase convenience and purchase opportunities, and increase consumers' purchase scope and purchase volume;

In terms of communication, strengthen the intensity and scope of communication, or provide more communication content and forms, so as to improve consumers' brand awareness and brand image, and increase consumers' brand trust and brand love;

In terms of services, improve the quality and level of services, or provide more service content and forms to improve consumer brand satisfaction and brand loyalty, and increase consumer brand recommend and brand re-purchase.