1. Introduction

POCT(PointofCareTesting) refers to the rapid and convenient detection at the patient's side, which can reduce the sample transfer process, shorten the reporting time, improve diagnostic efficiency and patient satisfaction. POCT is a fast-growing segment of the in vitro diagnostics industry, with the global POCT market reaching $18 billion billion in 2019 and expected to reach $26 billion billion by the end of 2024, at a compound annual growth rate of 7.6 percent, according to the International Diagnostic Technology Association (IDTA).

With the continuous development and innovation of POCT technology, the types and functions of POCT products are becoming more and more abundant, covering various medical fields and test indicators, such as blood glucose, blood oxygen, blood lipids, blood pressure, ECG, urine, blood coagulation, biochemistry, Immunity, microorganisms, tumor markers, genetics, drugs, etc.

The application scenarios of POCT products have also expanded from traditional hospitals, clinics and other medical institutions to non-medical places such as families, communities, schools, workplaces, sports venues, and transportation, meeting the personalized, convenient, and intelligent needs of different consumers. Detection needs.

However, the market competition of POCT products is becoming increasingly fierce, and consumers' brand preference for POCT products is also changing. Brand preference refers to the cognition, attitude and behavior tendency of consumers to a certain brand, which is an important basis for consumers' purchase decision-making and an important embodiment of enterprise brand competitiveness.

Consumer's brand preference is influenced by many factors, such as consumer's personal characteristics, product attributes, brand image and social influence.

For POCT products, consumers' brand preference depends not only on the technical performance, price, quality, safety and reliability of the product, but also on the portability, operability, intelligence and aesthetics of the product, as well as the popularity, credibility, loyalty and social responsibility of the brand, It is even affected by the age, gender, education, income, health status, lifestyle and values of consumers.

Therefore, exploring the brand preference of POCT consumers and its influencing factors is of great significance for POCT enterprises to formulate effective market strategies and enhance brand competitiveness.

Taking Shangpu Consulting Company as an example, this paper introduces a POCT consumer brand preference research method based on multi-level analysis model (MLA), which can comprehensively consider the personal characteristics, product attributes, brand image and social influence of consumers, analyze the structure and influence mechanism of consumer brand preference, and provide corresponding strategic suggestions. This paper also combines the actual data of POCT consumers in a hospital served by Shangpu Consulting Company, and uses this method to carry out a case study to verify the effectiveness and practicability of the method.

2. research methods

2.1 Multilevel Analysis Model (MLA)

Multi-level analysis model (MLA) is a statistical method used to analyze multi-level data structure. It can divide data into different levels, such as individual level, organizational level, social level, etc., and consider the influence of variables at each level on dependent variables and the interaction between each level, so as to better reflect the complexity and diversity of data.

The advantage of MLA is that it can overcome the limitations of traditional single-level analysis methods (e. g. regression analysis, variance analysis, etc.), such as ignoring hierarchical effects, underestimating error variance, and overestimating the significance of parameter estimates.

Consumer Brand Preference Research Methods

The brand preference of POCT consumers is a multi-level concept, which is influenced by many factors of consumer individual layer and product brand layer. Therefore, this paper uses MLA as the method of POCT consumer brand preference research, and divides the data into two levels, namely, individual layer and product brand layer. The individual layer includes consumer's personal characteristic variables, such as age, gender, education, income, health status, lifestyle, values, etc.; the product brand layer includes product attribute variables and brand image variables, such as technical performance, price, quality, safety, Reliability, portability, operability, intelligence, aesthetics, visibility, credibility, loyalty, social responsibility, etc. At the same time, considering that consumers' brand preference may be affected by social influence, this paper also introduces social influence variables, such as family, friends, colleagues, doctors, media, advertising and so on.

3. case analysis

3.1 data sources and descriptions

In order to verify the effectiveness and practicability of the POCT consumer brand preference research method proposed in this paper, the actual data of POCT consumers in a hospital served by Shangpu Consulting Company are selected for case analysis. The hospital is a third-class general hospital with a variety of POCT products, such as blood glucose meter, oximeter, sphygmomanometer, electrocardiograph, urine analyzer, blood coagulation meter, biochemical analyzer, immune instrument, etc. In this paper, a random sample of 300 POCT consumers from this hospital were surveyed with questionnaires to collect information on their preferences for different POCT brands and related variables. In this paper, four POCT brands with high market share are selected as the research objects, namely A, B, C and D.

Except for media and advertising, all other variables have a significant positive impact on the brand preference of POCT consumers, indicating that consumers' personal characteristics, product attributes, brand image and social influence are all important factors affecting consumer brand preference. Among them, product attributes have the greatest impact, followed by brand image, personal characteristics, and finally social impact. This shows that when consumers choose POCT products, they pay more attention to the technical performance, price, quality, safety, etc. of the products, as well as brand awareness, credibility, loyalty, etc., and are relatively less affected by their own age, gender, and education. And so on, as well as the influence of family, friends, colleagues, etc. This is consistent with the characteristics of POCT products and the needs of consumers, that is, POCT products are a high-tech, high value-added, high-risk products, consumers pay more attention to the function of the product and brand reputation, rather than personal preferences and social pressure.

4. conclusions and recommendations

Taking Shangpu Consulting Company as an example, this paper introduces a POCT consumer brand preference research method based on multi-level analysis model (MLA), which can comprehensively consider the personal characteristics, product attributes, brand image and social influence of consumers, analyze the structure and influence mechanism of consumer brand preference, and provide corresponding strategic suggestions. This paper also combines the actual data of POCT consumers in a hospital served by Shangpu Consulting Company, and uses this method to carry out a case study to verify the effectiveness and practicability of the method. The main part of this paperConclusionAnd the recommendations are as follows:

The brand preference of POCT consumers is influenced by many factors, among which product attributes have the greatest influence, followed by brand image, personal characteristics, and finally social influence. This suggests that POCT companies should focus on improving the technical performance, price, quality, and safety of their products, as well as improving brand awareness, credibility, and loyalty. At the same time, they should also pay attention to consumers' personal needs and social expectations to enhance Consumers' brand preference and loyalty.

The brand preference of POCT consumers varies between different brands, and this paper finds that brand A has the highest consumer brand preference, followed by brand B, brand C, and finally brand D. This shows that brand A has a strong advantage in product attributes and brand image, while brand D is relatively weak. Therefore, POCT enterprises should improve their products and brand advantages according to their own brand positioning and competitive strategy, so as to increase their market share and competitiveness.

The brand preference of POCT consumers is also different between different individual characteristics, and this paper finds that age, gender, education, income, health status, lifestyle, values and so on have a significant impact on consumers' brand preference. This shows that POCT enterprises should carry out market segmentation and differentiated marketing according to different consumer groups to meet the individual needs and preferences of consumers.