Market research is the process of collecting, collating, analyzing and interpreting information related to specific market issues through scientific methods. Market research can help companies understand important information such as market size, competitors, target customers, consumer demand, and purchasing behavior, and provide a basis for companies to make strategic decisions, innovate products and services, and enhance brand power. Market research is the bridge between enterprises and the market, and it is also the key to maintain the competitive advantage.

However, with the development of globalization, digitization and socialization, great changes have taken place in the market environment. On the one hand, there is an oversupply of goods, consumer choices are diverse, and competition is becoming increasingly fierce; on the other hand, consumer demand is constantly changing, consumer behavior is more complex and diversified, and consumer power is constantly increasing. These changes bring higher challenges and greater opportunities to market research companies. How to adapt to market changes, meet customer needs, and improve their competitiveness has become an important issue facing market research companies.

In this context, market research companies must innovate to maintain their leading position in the market. Innovation refers to the activity of achieving improvement or breakthrough in a certain field or level compared with the existing situation. Innovation can involve products, services, processes, organizations or business models. This paper mainly focuses on the innovation of market research companies in products and services, that is, how to use new technologies and new methods to improve the efficiency and accuracy of market research.

1. new technologies to improve efficiency and accuracy

Technology refers to the methods or means used by humans to achieve specific goals. Technology can affect all aspects of market research, such as data collection, analysis and presentation. With the development of information technology, market research companies can use new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and cloud computing to improve the efficiency and accuracy of market research.

Artificial intelligence (Artificial Intelligence，AI) refers to the intelligence shown by systems made by people. Artificial intelligence can simulate and extend human cognitive abilities, such as perception, understanding, reasoning, decision-making, etc. Market research companies can use artificial intelligence for data cleaning, classification, clustering, prediction, optimization and other operations to improve the speed and quality of data analysis. For example,GfKlaunchedgfknewronPlatform that leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide customers with real-time market insights and forecasts.Gartneralso launchedGartner Data & Analytics Summit, using artificial intelligence and advanced analytics to provide customers with data-driven decision support.

Big data (Big Data) is a collection of data that is not sufficiently processed in traditional data processing applications. Big data has the characteristics of mass, diversity, speed and value. Market research companies can use big data to collect and integrate data from different channels and sources, increasing the breadth and depth of data. For example,GfKUse big data to analyze consumers' online behavior, social media activity, mobile device usage, etc. to provide customers with comprehensive consumer insights.GartnerWe also use big data to analyze the market trends, technological developments, and competitive landscape of various industries around the world to provide customers with professional consulting services.

Cloud Computing (Cloud Computing) refers to the self-service acquisition of configurable computing resources (such as servers, storage, networks, applications, etc.) on demand through the network (usually the Internet), and can be quickly released to realize resource sharing and on-demand use. Cloud computing has the advantages of elasticity, scalability and low cost. Market research companies can use cloud computing to store and process massive amounts of data to improve data security and reliability. For example,GfKThe use of cloud computing to build a global unified data platform to provide customers with one-stop data services.GartnerIt also uses cloud computing to build an online knowledge base to provide customers with anytime, anywhere access to information.

Expanding Data Sources 2. New Methods

A method is a step or procedure taken to achieve a purpose. Methods can influence the design and implementation of market research, such as data sources, content, and dimensions. With the popularity of the Internet and social media, market research companies can use new methods such as online research, social media mining, and sentiment analysis to expand data sources, enrich data content, and increase data dimensions.

Online research (Online Research) refers to market research activities conducted through the Internet. Online research can use e-mail, web questionnaires, online interviews, online discussion groups and other ways to collect data. Online research has the advantages of fast, convenient and low cost. Market research companies can use online research to expand sample size, improve sample representativeness, and reduce sample bias. For example,GfKThe use of online research collected more2500More than 10,000 consumers worldwide100consumption data for countries and regions.GartnerWe also used online research to collect more15000Opinions and feedback from business leaders and decision makers.

Social Media Mining (Social Media Mining) refers to information from social media platforms (such as Weibo, WeChat,Facebook、Twitteretc.) on the process of acquiring and analyzing user-generated content. Social media mining can use text analysis, network analysis, topic analysis and other technologies to extract data. Social media mining has the characteristics of real-time, dynamic and active. Market research companies can use social media to mine and understand consumers' opinions, emotions, preferences, etc., and provide customers with deeper consumer insights. For example,GfKSocial media mining is used to analyze consumer evaluations and discussions of different brands and products.GartnerIt also uses social media mining to analyze hot topics and trends in different industries and fields.

Sentiment analysis (Sentiment Analysis) refers to the process of identifying and extracting emotions or attitudes expressed in text through techniques such as natural language processing, text analysis, and computational linguistics. Sentiment analysis can use information such as vocabulary, grammar, and semantics to determine the emotional polarity (e. g., positive, negative, or neutral), emotional intensity (e. g., strong, medium, or weak), and emotional type (e. g., joy, anger, sadness, and joy) of a text. Sentiment analysis has the characteristics of subjective, meticulous and multi-dimensional. Market research companies can use sentiment analysis to evaluate consumers' satisfaction, loyalty, willingness to recommend, etc. to brand, product or service, and provide customers with more accurate consumer insights. For example,GfKEmotional analysis is used to evaluate the emotional tendency and influencing factors of consumers towards automobile brands.GartnerSentiment analysis was also used to assess firms' trust and satisfaction with technology suppliers.

3. Use New Thinking to Optimize Research Process

Thinking refers to the psychological activities of human beings to understand and judge things. Thinking can influence the planning and management of market research, such as research objectives, methods, and processes. With the increasing complexity and uncertainty of market research, market research companies can use new thinking such as design thinking, agile thinking and system thinking to optimize the research process, improve the quality of research and enhance the value of research.

Design Thinking (Design Thinking) refers to an innovative methodology that is people-oriented, value creation as the goal, problem-solving as the orientation, iterative experiments as the means, and cross-border collaboration as the way. Design thinking can help market research companies better understand the needs and expectations of customers and consumers, generate and validate solutions more effectively, and innovate products or services more quickly. For example,GfKUsing design thinking, a gamification-based online survey method was developed, which improved respondents' participation and the quality of their answers by involving them in interesting game tasks.GartnerDesign thinking has also been used to develop a storytelling-based approach to data presentation that improves customers' understanding and memory of data by telling compelling stories.

Agile thinking (Agile Thinking) refers to a project management methodology with adaptation to change as the core, continuous improvement as the goal, rapid feedback as the means, and flexible collaboration as the way. Agile thinking can help market research companies respond more flexibly to market changes, execute research projects more efficiently, deliver research results in a more timely manner, and communicate more closely with customers. For example,GfKUsing agile thinking, we implemented a cross-country research project on the impact of the new crown epidemic on consumers, providing customers with real-time market dynamics through weekly releases of up-to-date data and insights.GartnerWe also implemented a global research project on enterprise-to-digital transformation using Agile thinking to provide timely strategic guidance to our clients by updating the latest data and analysis on a monthly basis.

Systems Thinking (Systems Thinking) refers to a problem-solving methodology based on a holistic view, characterized by a dynamic view, challenged by complexity, and used modeling and simulation as a tool. Systematic thinking can help market research companies to analyze market phenomena more comprehensively, reveal market laws more deeply, predict market trends more accurately, and formulate market strategies more effectively. For example,GfKA consumer behavior model is constructed by using system thinking, which provides customers with a more refined consumer portrait by simulating the interaction between consumer cognition, emotion, attitude, behavior and other factors.GartnerIt also uses system thinking to construct a technology development model, which provides customers with more scientific technology prediction by simulating the dynamic relationship between the process of technology innovation, evolution and diffusion.

4. Conclusion

Market research companies are important partners for companies to obtain market information and insights. In the changing market environment and consumer demand, market research companies must innovate to maintain their leading position in the market. This paper analyzes the innovation path of market research companies from three aspects: first, the use of new technologies to improve efficiency and accuracy; second, the use of new methods to expand data sources; third, the use of new thinking to optimize the research process. This articleGfKandGartnerAs an example, it introduces their innovative practice in the field of market research, and summarizes the significance and enlightenment of market research company innovation.

The significance of innovation in market research companies lies in:

Innovation can improve the efficiency and accuracy of market research, making market research faster, more accurate and reliable.

Innovation can expand the data sources of market research, making market research more comprehensive, in-depth and multi-dimensional.

Innovation can optimize the process of market research, making market research more flexible, efficient and timely.

Innovation can enhance the value of market research and make it more meaningful, influential and valuable.

The implications of market research firm innovation are:

Innovation needs to keep pace with the times and keep up with market changes and consumer needs.

Innovation needs to win-win with customers and meet customer expectations and needs.

Innovation requires collaboration with the team, play team wisdom and strength.

Innovation needs to be in harmony with the environment, in line with social responsibility and ethics.