1. Introduction

Fuel cell vehicle is a kind of vehicle driven by the electrochemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen to generate electric energy. It has the advantages of cleanliness, high efficiency and safety, and is considered to be one of the development directions of future vehicles.

With the global energy crisis and environmental problems becoming increasingly serious, fuel cell vehicles have been highly valued by governments and automobile companies, and have formulated relevant development plans and goals.

However, the market promotion of fuel cell vehicles faces many challenges, such as high cost, immature technology, lack of infrastructure, and low consumer awareness.

In order to better understand the needs, preferences, attitudes and behaviors of consumers and improve the market competitiveness of fuel cell vehicles, consumer research is an effective method.

Consumer research refers to the process of collecting and analyzing consumer information through scientific methods in order to provide a basis for marketing decisions.

There are many methods of consumer research, such as questionnaires, in-depth interviews, focus groups, observational and experimental methods.

Different methods have different advantages and disadvantages and applicable scenarios, which need to be considered and selected according to the research purpose, object, content, time, cost and other factors. In general, consumer research methods can be divided into quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative methods are mainly used to collect and analyze data on the number, proportion, and frequency of consumers to reflect the overall characteristics and patterns of consumers. Qualitative methods are mainly used to collect and analyze consumers' opinions, feelings, motivations and other data to reveal the deep-seated psychology and behavior of consumers. Quantitative and qualitative methods complement each other, and the combined use can improve the effectiveness and comprehensiveness of consumer research.

Taking Shangpu Consulting Company as an example, this paper introduces the application and effect of multiple methods of consumer research in the fuel cell vehicle industry. Shangpu Consulting Company is a well-known independent third-party research and investment and financing consulting agency in China, dedicated to providing professional solutions for corporate strategic decision-making.

Shangpu Consulting has many years of research experience in the fuel cell vehicle industry, and has provided market research, investment consulting, IPO listing consulting and other services for a number of fuel cell vehicle companies and projects. This paper uses five consumer research methods, such as questionnaire, in-depth interview, focus group, observation and experimental method, to collect and analyze consumer information from different angles and levels, and draw some valuable information.Conclusionand revelation.

Multiple Methods of 2. Consumer Research

(I) questionnaire survey

Questionnaire is a method of collecting data from a certain number and structure of consumers through the design and distribution of standardized questionnaires.

The advantages of questionnaire survey are simple operation, low cost, wide range, large amount of data, easy to quantify and statistical analysis. The shortcomings of the questionnaire are difficult to design, low recovery rate, limited data quality, and difficult to understand consumers in depth. The questionnaire survey is suitable for collecting data on consumers' basic information, general opinions, and behavioral characteristics to reflect the overall situation and trends of consumers.

The survey conducted by Champ Consulting in the fuel cell vehicle industry has the following steps:

Determine the purpose and content of the study. According to customer needs and questions, clarify the purpose and content of the questionnaire, such as consumer awareness, purchase intention, use behavior, evaluation and feedback.

Design the questionnaire structure and topic. According to the research content, the structure and topic of the questionnaire are designed, including the opening remarks, basic information, core questions, concluding remarks and so on. The types of topics include single-choice questions, multiple-choice questions, fill-in questions, scale questions, open questions, etc. Attention should be paid to avoid guiding, suggestive, ambiguous and other issues to ensure that the topics are clear, accurate, objective, and concise.

Determine sample size and sample structure. According to the research content and objectives, determine the sample size and sample structure of the questionnaire, such as the age, gender, education, income, region, occupation and other characteristics of consumers. Sample size and sample structure should be representative of the overall situation of consumers, generally using stratified sampling, stratified random sampling, stratified group sampling and other methods.

Issuing and recycling questionnaires. According to the characteristics and distribution of the sample, select the appropriate questionnaire distribution and recovery methods, such as mail, telephone, network, face-to-face, etc. Attention should be paid to improving the recovery rate and efficiency of the questionnaire, avoiding missing values, abnormal values, wrong values and other issues, to ensure the quality and credibility of the data.

Clean and analyze data. Clean and analyze the collected data, including data entry, verification, coding, sorting, description, statistics, inference, modeling and other steps. Appropriate software and methods, such as SPSS, Excel, R, Python, ANOVA, regression, clustering, factor analysis, etc., should be used to obtain meaningful results andConclusion。

The main results of the survey conducted by Champ Consulting in the fuel cell vehicle industry andConclusionAs follows:

Consumers have low awareness of fuel cell vehicles. Only 23.5 percent of consumers know the principles and characteristics of fuel cell vehicles, while 76.5 percent of consumers know nothing or have misunderstandings about fuel cell vehicles.

Consumer willingness to buy fuel cell vehicles is influenced by price, performance, safety, and environmental protection, with price being the most important factor, affecting 68.7 percent of consumers' willingness to buy, followed by performance (54.3 percent), safety (48.9 percent), and environmental protection (37.6 percent). Consumers are more price sensitive to fuel cell vehicles. Only 12.4 percent of consumers are willing to pay higher prices than traditional cars, while 87.6 percent of consumers hope that the price of fuel cell vehicles is comparable to or lower than traditional cars.

Consumers' use of fuel cell vehicles is restricted by charging stations, maintenance points, policy support and other factors, of which charging stations are the most critical factor, affecting 78.5 per cent of consumers' use behavior, followed by maintenance points (65.4 per cent) and policy support (52.3 per cent). Consumers have high requirements for the distribution, number, speed, and cost of charging stations for fuel cell vehicles. Only 15.7 percent of consumers believe that current charging stations can meet their needs, while 84.3 percent of consumers believe that current charging stations are insufficient or problematic.

There are differences and deficiencies in consumers' evaluation and feedback on fuel cell vehicles. In terms of evaluation, consumers' satisfaction, loyalty, recommend and other indicators of fuel cell vehicles are lower than those of traditional vehicles. In terms of feedback, consumers' opinions, suggestions, complaints and other channels and methods of fuel cell vehicles are not convenient and effective enough.

(II) in-depth interviews

In-depth interview is a method of exploring consumers' opinions, feelings, motivations and other deep-seated information through long, unstructured or semi-structured conversations with a small number of consumers face-to-face or over the phone. The advantages of in-depth interviews are flexible, in-depth, detailed, and rich. The disadvantages of in-depth interviews are time-consuming, laborious, subjective, difficult to quantify and promote. In-depth interviews are suitable for collecting data on consumers' psychology, emotions, attitudes, and values to reveal consumers' internal drives and potential needs.

Champ Consulting's in-depth interviews in the fuel cell vehicle industry have the following steps:

Determine the purpose and content of the study. According to the customer's needs and problems, clarify the purpose and content of the in-depth interview, such as consumers' purchase motivation, use experience, evaluation criteria, improvement opinions, etc.

Design interview outlines and questions. According to the research content, the outline and questions of the interview are designed, including the guide language, the core question, the conclusion and so on. The types of questions include open-ended questions, exploratory questions, projection questions, situational questions, etc. Attention should be paid to avoid guiding, suggestive, ambiguous and other issues to ensure that the questions are clear, accurate, objective and concise.

Determine who and how to interview. According to the research content and objectives, determine the object and method of interview, such as the characteristics, quantity, source and choice of consumers. Interviewees should be able to represent the diversity and typicality of consumers, and methods such as intentional sampling, convenient sampling, and snowball sampling are generally used. The interview method should be able to ensure the efficiency and quality of the interview, generally using face-to-face interviews, telephone interviews, online interviews and so on.

Interviews were conducted and recorded. According to the interview outline and questions, conduct a long, unstructured or semi-structured dialogue with the interviewee to explore the interviewee's views, feelings, motivations and other in-depth information. Attention should be paid to establishing good communication and trust, encouraging interviewees to express freely, flexibly adjusting the rhythm and direction of the interview, and avoiding embarrassment, conflict, misunderstanding and other situations. It is necessary to record the process and content of the interview in a timely, accurate and complete manner, including voice, text, image, video and other forms.

Analyze and summarize the interview content. The content of the interview is analyzed and summarized, including the steps of sorting, classification, coding, interpretation and summary of the interview. Appropriate software and methods, such as NVivo, Atlas.ti, MAXQDA, content analysis, discourse analysis, narrative analysis, etc., should be used to obtain meaningful results andConclusion。

The main results of in-depth interviews in the fuel cell vehicle industry by Champ Consulting andConclusionAs follows:

Consumers have the following main motivations for buying fuel cell vehicles:(1) Environmental motivation, that is, out of a sense of responsibility and conscience for environmental protection, they choose fuel cell vehicles as a clean means of transportation. (2) Innovation motivation, that is, out of curiosity and experimentation with new technologies, fuel cell vehicles are selected as an advanced means of transportation. (3) Social motivation, that is, out of the influence and recognition of others, choose fuel cell vehicles as a fashionable means of transportation. (4) Economic motivation, that is, out of cost and benefit considerations, choose fuel cell vehicles as a saving means of transportation.

Consumers' experience of fuel cell vehicles mainly includes the following:(1) Comfort experience, that is, consumers' feelings about the driving, riding, and operation of fuel cell vehicles, such as stability, quietness, flexibility, and convenience. (2) Safety experience, that is, consumers' feelings about the safety and reliability of fuel cell vehicles, such as stability, durability, explosion-proof, fire-proof, etc. (3) Environmental protection experience, that is, consumers' feelings about the environmental impact of fuel cell vehicles, such as no pollution, no emissions, energy saving, carbon reduction, etc. (4) Innovative experience, that is, consumers' feelings about the technical characteristics and advantages of fuel cell vehicles, such as high efficiency, intelligence, cutting-edge, leading, etc.

Consumers' evaluation criteria for fuel cell vehicles are mainly as follows:(1) Price, that is, consumers' consideration of the purchase and use cost of fuel cell vehicles, such as vehicle price, charging fee, maintenance fee, maintenance fee, etc. (2) Performance, that is, consumers' consideration of the functions and effects of fuel cell vehicles, such as power, endurance, speed, acceleration, etc. (3) Safety, that is, consumers' consideration of the safety and reliability of fuel cell vehicles, such as failure rate, accident rate, insurance premium, warranty period, etc. (4) Environmental protection, that is, consumers' consideration of the environmental impact of fuel cell vehicles, such as emissions, energy saving rate, carbon footprint, environmental labeling, etc.

Consumers' opinions on the improvement of fuel cell vehicles are mainly as follows:(1) reduce the price, that is, consumers hope that the price of fuel cell vehicles can be more friendly and reasonable, equivalent to or lower than that of traditional vehicles, so as to improve the market competitiveness of fuel cell vehicles and consumers' willingness to buy. (2) Improve performance, that is, consumers hope that the performance of fuel cell vehicles can be more excellent and stable, equivalent to or higher than traditional cars, in order to improve the product quality of fuel cell vehicles and consumer satisfaction. (3) Increase safety, that is, consumers hope that the safety performance of fuel cell vehicles can be more complete and reliable, equivalent to or higher than traditional vehicles, in order to improve the product reputation of fuel cell vehicles and consumer confidence. (4) Strengthen environmental protection, that is, consumers hope that the environmental protection effect of fuel cell vehicles can be more significant and prominent, compared with traditional cars or better, in order to improve the social responsibility of fuel cell vehicles and consumer pride.

The Effect and Enlightenment of 3. Consumer Research

Through the multiple methods of consumer research, Shangpu Consulting Company provides some valuable information and suggestions for the fuel cell vehicle industry, which has certain reference value and enlightenment significance for the marketing and product development of fuel cell vehicles. Based on the results of consumer research andConclusion, put forward the following effects and enlightenment:

Increase consumer awareness and acceptance. Consumers' awareness and acceptance of fuel cell vehicles is an important factor affecting the market promotion of fuel cell vehicles. It is necessary to strengthen publicity and education to improve consumers' understanding and trust of fuel cell vehicles, increase consumers' interest and preference for fuel cell vehicles, and stimulate consumers' demand and preference for fuel cell vehicles.

Improve the cost performance and reliability of the product. Consumers' purchase intention and use behavior of fuel cell vehicles are the key factors affecting the market competitiveness of fuel cell vehicles. It is necessary to reduce costs and improve performance, improve the cost performance and reliability of fuel cell vehicles, meet consumers' expectations and requirements for the functions and effects of fuel cell vehicles, and increase consumers' motivation and confidence in the choice and use of fuel cell vehicles.

Improve infrastructure and service systems. Consumers' experience and evaluation feedback on fuel cell vehicles are important factors affecting the development of the fuel cell vehicle market. It is necessary to increase charging stations and maintenance points, improve infrastructure and service systems, and improve consumers' convenience for fuel cell vehicles. And safety, to meet consumers' needs and requirements for support and guarantee for the use of fuel cell vehicles, and to increase consumers' satisfaction and loyalty to the use of fuel cell vehicles.

Establish effective communication and improvement mechanisms. Consumers' evaluation and feedback on fuel cell vehicles is an important factor affecting the continuous improvement of the fuel cell vehicle market. It is necessary to establish an effective communication and improvement mechanism to collect and analyze consumers' opinions, suggestions, complaints and other information on fuel cell vehicles. Timely and effectively solve consumers' problems and dissatisfaction with fuel cell vehicles, and increase consumers' trust and support for fuel cell vehicles.

4. Conclusion

Taking Shangpu Consulting Company as an example, this paper introduces the application and effect of multiple methods of consumer research in the fuel cell vehicle industry. This paper uses five consumer research methods, such as questionnaire, in-depth interview, focus group, observation and experimental method, to collect and analyze consumer information from different angles and levels, and draw some valuable information.Conclusionand revelation. The research of this paper has certain reference value and enlightenment significance for the development of fuel cell vehicle industry.