Purpose of consumer research

The purpose of consumer research is to obtain valuable consumer insights to guide the company's market decisions. Consumer research can help companies solve the following types of problems:

-Market demand questions: What is the demand of consumers? What is the size, structure and trend of demand? What are the influencing factors of demand?

-Market segmentation question: What dimensions can consumers be segmented by? What are the characteristics, needs and potential of different market segments?

-Market positioning problem: how should the enterprise position itself in the market? Who are the target market and target consumers? What are the competitive advantages and differentiation strategies?

-Market entry issues: How should firms enter new markets or expand existing ones? What are the entry conditions and barriers to markets? What are the attractiveness and risks of markets?

-Marketing questions: How should companies develop and implement effective marketing strategies? What is the combination of product, price, channel and promotion? What is the effect and feedback of marketing activities?

Methods of consumer research

The methods of consumer research can be divided into two categories: quantitative research and qualitative research. Quantitative research focuses on the quantitative measurement and analysis of consumer behavior and attitudes through mathematical statistics in order to obtain objective, comparable and generalizable data. Qualitative research mainly uses in-depth research, observation and case analysis to deeply explore and understand consumers' motivations, feelings and experiences in order to obtain subjective, detailed and rich information.

Quantitative research and qualitative research have their own advantages and limitations, and generally need to be used in combination to achieve complementary and validation effects. Quantitative research can help companies understand the "what" and "how much" of consumers, while qualitative research can help companies understand the "why" and "how" of consumers ". For example, a company can use quantitative research to understand the consumer's purchase rate, satisfaction, and loyalty to a product, and then use qualitative research to understand the consumer's purchase motivation, use feelings, and suggestions for improvement.

Tools for Consumer Research

Consumer research tools refer to the technologies and platforms used to collect, process and analyze consumer data. With the development of digital technology, consumer research tools are constantly innovating and optimizing to adapt to the complex and changing market environment. Here are some common consumer research tools:

-Online questionnaire: Online questionnaire is a method of sending and recycling questionnaires to consumers through the Internet, which can obtain a large amount of consumer data quickly, conveniently and at low cost. The advantages of online questionnaire are wide coverage, fast response speed, high data quality and high analysis efficiency. The disadvantages of online questionnaires are that it is difficult to obtain deep consumer insights, it is affected by the network environment and sample sources, and it is necessary to pay attention to data security and privacy protection.

-Social media: Social media is a method of using social network platforms and applications to interact and communicate with consumers. It can obtain consumer behavior and attitude data in real-time, dynamic and multi-dimensional. The advantages of social media are wide reach, timely feedback, rich content and strong interaction. The disadvantages of social media are that it is difficult to control and manage, is influenced by public opinion and emotions, and requires attention to copyright and ethical issues.

-Big data analysis: Big data analysis is a method that uses advanced data mining and machine learning technology to integrate, process and analyze massive consumer data, which can obtain consumer insights and predictions in depth, comprehensively and accurately. The advantages of big data analysis are large amount of data, many data sources, high analysis depth and high analysis accuracy. The disadvantages of big data analysis are that data quality is difficult to guarantee, data security is difficult to guarantee, analysis costs are high, and analysis results are difficult to interpret.

-Online community: Online community is a way to invite consumers to participate in discussion and sharing through the establishment of a special online platform, which can continuously, systematically and variously obtain consumers' opinions and suggestions. The advantages of online communities are high participation, high activity, diverse content and fast feedback. The disadvantages of online communities are high cost of establishment, difficult maintenance, low representativeness and difficult quality control.

The Case of Consumer Research

The following are some cases of consumer research provided by Shangpu Consulting for customers, showing how to combine online and offline channels and scenarios to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of consumer research.

-An international beauty brand wants to understand Chinese consumers' perception and evaluation of its products, as well as the differences and advantages with benchmark companies. Shangpu Consulting uses a variety of consumer research methods and tools, including online questionnaires, social media analysis, online community research, offline mysterious customer visits, etc., to collect consumer data from different angles and levels. Through comprehensive analysis of data, Champ provides clients with comprehensive insights into consumers' needs, preferences, behaviors and satisfaction, as well as specific recommendations on products, prices, channels and promotions.

-A domestic food company wants to develop new snack foods and needs to understand consumer needs and preferences, as well as market potential and competition. Shangpu Consulting adopts the methods and tools of big data analysis to collect and analyze consumers' purchase and comment data on e-commerce platforms, social media and online communities, as well as product and marketing data of benchmarking enterprises. it provides customers with in-depth insight into consumers' portraits, behavior, motivation and satisfaction, as well as accurate predictions about the size, structure, trends and opportunities of the market.

-If an international automobile brand wants to improve its brand image and popularity in the Chinese market, it needs to understand consumers' cognition and attitude towards its brand, as well as the comparison and difference with benchmark enterprises. Shangpu Consulting adopts the methods and tools of offline mysterious customers, and by sending professional researchers to car exhibition halls and maintenance centers around the world to experience and evaluate customers' products and services as consumers, as well as the products and services of benchmarking enterprises, it provides customers with real feedback on consumers' experiences, feelings, evaluations and suggestions, as well as optimization suggestions on products, services, channels and promotions.