Definition and Significance of Consumer Research in 1. Enterprises

Enterprise consumer research refers to the process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting information related to enterprise consumers to help enterprises solve market problems and grasp market opportunities. The purpose of enterprise consumer research is to provide valuable information to support the enterprise's market decision-making.

The significance of enterprise consumer research is that it can help enterprises:

Understand the needs, preferences, motivations, behaviors and satisfaction of business consumers;

Evaluate the market performance, market share and market positioning of the product or service;

Identify market issues and opportunities and propose market strategies and recommendations.

The importance of corporate consumer research is that it can help companies:

Reduce market risk and improve market efficiency;

Enhance market competitiveness and increase market share;

Increase market innovation and expand market space;

Enhance market communication, improve market loyalty;

Enhance market adaptability and respond to market changes.

Methods and Steps of 2. Enterprise Consumer Research

The methods of corporate consumer research can be divided into two categories: qualitative research and quantitative research.

Qualitative research is a research method that explores and understands the deep meaning and interconnectedness of market phenomena through unstructured means, such as interviews, observations, and focus groups.

Quantitative research refers to the research method of measuring and quantifying the scale, degree and relationship of market phenomena through structured methods, such as questionnaires, experiments, statistics, etc.

The steps of enterprise consumer research generally include the following five stages:

Clear research objectives and objectives: through communication with customers, understand the needs and expectations of customers, and formulate clear, clear and feasible research objectives and objectives;

Design research plan: according to the research purpose and objectives, select the appropriate research methods, design samples, questionnaires, interview guides and other research tools, determine the research budget and schedule;

Data collection and arrangement: according to the research plan, various data collection techniques, such as interviews, questionnaires, observation, etc., are used to collect relevant first-hand or second-hand data, and the data are cleaned, coded and entered;

Data analysis and interpretation: using various data analysis techniques, such as descriptive analysis, inferential analysis, causal analysis, etc., to analyze and interpret the data and discover the information and laws behind the data;

Provide reports and recommendations: Based on the results of data analysis and interpretation, write detailed, accurate and persuasive research reports, provide targeted market strategies and recommendations, and support customers' decisions.

Opportunities and Challenges of 3. Enterprise Consumer Research

Enterprise consumer research is facing a variety of opportunities and challenges, enterprises and market research institutions need to deal with and grasp.

The opportunities for corporate consumer research are mainly in the following areas:

Changes in the market environment: with economic development and social progress, the market environment is constantly changing, bringing new market demands and market opportunities, providing more research objects and research content for corporate consumer research;

The development of technology: With the development of information technology, big data technology, artificial intelligence technology, etc., the technical means and technical level of market research continue to improve, providing more data sources and data analysis tools for enterprise consumer research;

Fierce competition: with the increasingly fierce market competition, the needs and preferences of enterprise consumers are becoming more and more diverse and complex. Enterprises need to obtain more market information and market advantages through consumer research, so as to provide more powerful support for market decision-making.

The main challenges of enterprise consumer research are as follows:

The quality of data: data is the basis of market research, and the quality of data directly affects the effect and value of market research. Market research needs to ensure the validity, accuracy, reliability and representativeness of data, and avoid data deviation, error and distortion;

The choice of method: method is the tool of market research, and the choice of method directly affects the process and results of market research. Market research needs to select appropriate qualitative or quantitative research methods according to research purposes and objectives, or use a variety of research methods comprehensively to avoid the limitations, inapplicability and incompatibility of methods;

Implementation of recommendations: recommendations are the output of market research, and the implementation of recommendations directly affects the benefits and value of market research. Market research needs to provide targeted, feasible and operational market strategies and recommendations to avoid vague, unrealistic and unenforceable recommendations.

Cases and Experience of Consumer Research in 4. Enterprises

The following are three enterprise consumer research cases of Shangpu consulting service customers, which show the importance, effectiveness and practical experience of enterprise consumer research.

Case 1: An automobile manufacturer's corporate consumer satisfaction survey.

An automobile manufacturer is an enterprise specializing in the production of commercial vehicles, and its products include trucks, buses, and engineering vehicles. The company wants to understand the level of satisfaction of its corporate consumers and the key factors that affect satisfaction, so as to improve product quality and service levels, and enhance market competitiveness.

Shangpu Consulting has designed a set of enterprise consumer satisfaction research program for the enterprise, including the following steps:

The first step: to determine the purpose and objectives of the survey, that is, to understand the level of consumer satisfaction with the products and services of the enterprise, as well as the key factors affecting satisfaction;

The second step: design research plan, select quantitative research method, design satisfaction questionnaire, including the evaluation of product quality, performance, price, safety and other aspects, as well as the evaluation of service attitude, speed, effect and other aspects, as well as some basic information, such as enterprise scale, industry, purchase frequency and so on;

The third step: data collection and collation, through telephone, mail, network and other means, to the enterprise's existing customers and potential customers to send questionnaires, collect effective samples, data cleaning, coding, entry and other finishing work;

Step 4: Data analysis and interpretation, using descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, regression analysis and other techniques to analyze and interpret the data, calculate the overall satisfaction of corporate consumers and the satisfaction of each dimension, as well as the degree of influence of each dimension on overall satisfaction;

Step 5: Provide reports and recommendations, write corporate consumer satisfaction research reports based on the results of data analysis and interpretation, and provide targeted product improvement and service improvement recommendations to support the company's market decisions.

The results of the enterprise's consumer satisfaction survey show that the overall satisfaction of the enterprise's consumers is 3.8 (out of 5), which is at a medium level and needs to be improved. The key factors affecting satisfaction are the quality, performance and safety of the product, as well as the attitude and effectiveness of the service. The company needs to strengthen improvements in these areas to improve consumer satisfaction and loyalty.

Case 2: A software developer's corporate consumer demand survey

A software developer is a professional enterprise that provides enterprise management software, and its products include financial management, human resource management, project management, etc. The company wants to understand the needs and preferences of its corporate consumers, as well as market trends and opportunities, so as to develop products that are more in line with market needs and increase market innovation and competitiveness.

Shangpu Consulting has designed a set of enterprise consumer demand research plan for the enterprise, including the following steps:

The first step: determine the purpose and objectives of the research, that is, to understand the needs and preferences of the enterprise's consumers for the enterprise's products, as well as market trends and opportunities;

Step 2: Design a research plan, select qualitative research methods, design an interview guide, including requirements for product functionality, performance, ease of use, compatibility, etc., as well as suggestions for product improvement and innovation, as well as some basic information, such as enterprise size, industry, frequency of use, etc;

The third step: data collection and collation, through telephone, video, on-site and other means, the enterprise's existing customers and potential customers to conduct in-depth interviews, collect effective samples, data induction, classification, coding and other sorting work;

Step 4: Data analysis and interpretation, using content analysis, thematic analysis, framework analysis and other techniques to analyze and interpret the data, refining the core needs and preferences of corporate consumers, as well as the main market trends and opportunities;

Step 5: Provide reports and recommendations. According to the results of data analysis and interpretation, write a research report on the consumer demand of the enterprise, provide targeted product development and innovation suggestions, and provide support for the market decision of the enterprise.

The results of the enterprise consumer demand survey show that the core needs and preferences of the enterprise consumers of the enterprise are perfect functions, stable performance, simple use and wide compatibility of the products. The main trends and opportunities in the market are clouding, intelligence, personalization and security of products. The company needs to strengthen development and innovation in these areas and provide products that are more in line with market needs.

Case 3: A survey of corporate consumer behavior in an education and training institution

An education and training institution is a professional enterprise staff training institutions, its products include language training, vocational training, management training. The agency wants to understand the behavioral characteristics of its corporate consumers and the drivers that influence behavior, so as to improve the market performance and market share of products, and increase market communication and loyalty.

Champu Consulting has designed a set of corporate consumer behavior research programs for the agency, including the following steps:

Step 1: Determine the purpose and objectives of the research, that is, to understand the behavioral characteristics of the company's consumers towards the agency's products, as well as the drivers that influence the behavior;

The second step: design the research plan, choose the quantitative research method, design the behavior questionnaire, including the cognition, attitude, choice, purchase, use, evaluation and other aspects of the product, as well as the satisfaction, loyalty, recommend willingness and other aspects of the behavior, as well as some basic information, such as enterprise scale, industry, training purpose and so on;

The third step: data collection and collation, through telephone, mail, network and other means, to the agency's existing customers and potential customers to send questionnaires, collect effective samples, data cleaning, coding, entry and other sorting work;

Step 4: Data analysis and interpretation, using descriptive analysis, cluster analysis, factor analysis, structural equation modeling and other techniques to analyze and interpret the data, to classify the behavior types and behavior patterns of corporate consumers, and to identify the drivers that affect behavior;

Step 5: Provide reports and recommendations, write corporate consumer behavior research reports based on the results of data analysis and interpretation, and provide targeted product positioning and market communication recommendations to support the agency's market decisions.

The results of the corporate consumer behavior survey show that the agency's corporate consumer behavior types can be divided into four categories, namely:

Loyalty type: the agency's products have a higher awareness, attitude, choice, purchase, use, evaluation, satisfaction, loyalty and willingness to recommend, is the agency's loyal customers, accounting for 25% of corporate consumers;

Picky type: have a high awareness, attitude, choice, purchase, use and evaluation of the agency's products, but have a low evaluation of satisfaction, loyalty and willingness to recommend. They are picky customers of the agency, accounting for 30% of corporate consumers;

Potential type: have low cognition, attitude, choice, purchase, use and evaluation of the agency's products, but have high evaluation of satisfaction, loyalty and willingness to recommend. They are potential customers of the agency, accounting for 35% of enterprise consumers;

Invalid type: have low cognition, attitude, choice, purchase, use, evaluation, satisfaction, loyalty and recommend intention to the agency's products, and are invalid customers of the agency, accounting for 10% of corporate consumers.

The drivers that influence corporate consumer behavior are the following:

The quality of products: the quality of products is the most important factor affecting the behavior of enterprise consumers, the higher the quality of products, the more positive the behavior of enterprise consumers;

The price of the product: the price of the product is a secondary factor affecting the behavior of the enterprise consumer, the more reasonable the price of the product, the more positive the behavior of the enterprise consumer;

Product innovation: Product innovation is a potential factor that affects the behavior of corporate consumers. The more product innovation, the more active the behavior of corporate consumers;

The quality of service: The quality of service is an auxiliary factor that affects the behavior of corporate consumers. The higher the quality of service, the more active the behavior of corporate consumers.

The agency needs to develop product positioning and market communication strategies based on the type of behavior and behavioral drivers of corporate consumers, such:

For loyal customers, the organization needs to maintain and strengthen long-term cooperative relationship with them, provide high-quality products and services, increase their loyalty and recommend willingness, and turn them into brand ambassadors of the organization;

For critical customers, the organization needs to improve its satisfaction with products and services, through preferential prices, value-added services, personalized customization and other ways to increase their loyalty and willingness to recommend, and turn them into loyal customers of the organization;

For potential customers, the agency needs to improve its awareness and attitude towards products and services, and increase its behavior of selection, purchase, use and evaluation through effective marketing, promotion and demonstration, so as to turn them into critical customers of the agency;

For ineffective customers, the agency needs to give up or reduce its market investment and focus resources and energy on other types of customers to improve market efficiency and effectiveness.