After studying this chapter, you should know the following:
1. The necessity of market research;
2. Basic steps of market research;
3. Basic methods of market research;
4. How to design the questionnaire;
5. How to investigate competitors;
Why do you want to conduct market research?
1. Market research is the basis for enterprises to make marketing plans and strategies.
In today's increasingly fierce market competition, without strong marketing activities, it is difficult to ensure the success of enterprises only with excellent quality products and services. The marketing plan must be consistent with the internal and external conditions of the enterprise, so as to make a feasible marketing plan. Enterprise marketing strategy should also consider the internal and external conditions of enterprises, and more external conditions. Only according to the continuous development and changes of the market situation can marketing activities be correct and effective. To understand and master the external situation of these enterprises, we must rely on market research to obtain market information, analyze this information and predict the market development trend. Through market research, we can understand the overall supply and demand situation, market scale and trend of the market. To determine the production plan and sales plan of the enterprise. Through market research, the increasingly complex distribution channels are screened and the most effective distribution channels and methods are established, so as to minimize circulation links, shorten transportation routes, reduce storage costs and reduce sales costs. It can be seen that market research is the basic work for enterprises to formulate marketing plans and strategies. Without market research, there is no basis for making marketing plans and strategies, and it is impossible to make feasible marketing plans and strategies.
2. Market research is an important reason for the weak competitiveness of enterprises in China.
An important reason for the weak competitiveness of enterprises in China is the lack of market research and marketing. The following German Business Daily published a reporter Peter? Cedez's comments can prove it.
Excerpts from the article:
Western products are crowding out China's local products. Foreigners once again occupied China with famous brand products. China people like to use Japanese Fuji Company and American Hysmans? Kodak produces film, buys shampoo, soap, toothpaste and cosmetics exported by proctor Gambu, Johnson & Sons and Unilefer, and is eager to ride Mercedes-Benz and BMW cars. ...
International multinational companies, especially Japanese and Korean companies, have occupied 60% of the color TV market in China. 30% of the hair and hair care products market is owned by foreign brands. The market share of soft drinks produced by foreign companies in China's four major cities is as high as 85%. In the past few years, although the state-owned enterprises in China have changed their equipment and established some joint venture subsidiaries, they have neglected to design effective packaging for their products, failed to formulate marketing strategies suitable for the development of the times, and rarely carried out large-scale advertising activities. In the past, "Tianfu Coke" was not only a must-have item for major hotels, but also a drink for state banquets in the Great Hall of the People. Now, Coca-Cola Company produces concentrated beverage "Tiandi" specially developed for China market through joint ventures; Pepsi is on the banquet table.
Even some China companies with world-famous brands, such as Tsingtao Beer, which was established by Germans in Shandong Province at the beginning of this century, can hardly be sold locally in Qingdao. Foreign competitors and domestic Laoshan beer occupied the market there. Li Guirong, the director of the company, lamented: "We even ignored the market in our hometown, which is unforgivable!"
At the same time, some foreign enterprises broke into supermarkets and department stores with strong propaganda, appeared as sponsors at the opening ceremonies of beer parks, beer houses and restaurants, and occupied prime-time TV advertisements in China.
China enterprises are completely amateurs in marketing and advertising. In the past, people thought that these fields did not need professional training at all, and China enterprises were unwilling to spend money on market consultation. For a long time, enterprises are not interested in the direction of products and the ideas of consumers. Anyway, the state will guarantee the sales of products. Now China enterprises are cornered by western marketing experts. Americans, Japanese and now Koreans are showing aggressive momentum in the competition to occupy the China market. They invest millions of dollars in product promotion and TV advertising every year.
The markets of big cities in China are particularly attractive. Wealthy China people like to buy brand-name products, just like Japanese in 1970s and 1980s and Koreans in 1990s. McDonald's, which entered China from 65438 to 0992, has gained a firm foothold in the fast food market today. Many families in China regularly visit the branch of this rapidly expanding giant. 199 1 There are no foreign brands of ice cream in China, but there are now 220 ice cream manufacturers. Now, the streets and alleys of Beijing are full of stalls selling Kraft, Heluxue and Nestle ice cream.
Not creating your own famous brand is a typical mistake in Asia. The products from Taiwan Province, Hongkong, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia are not well-known in the world. Koreans are the only exception. Although they imitate the Japanese in all aspects, they rely on companies such as Samsung and Daewoo to establish their own brand image in the world.
China government formally protects time-honored enterprises by arousing people's national pride. China's Ministry of Foreign Trade is worried about the decline in the growth rate of export products. It recognizes that China needs its own brand-name products if it wants to occupy foreign markets.
The plight of enterprises in China is largely caused by weak marketing links. The premise of marketing activities is market research. Marketing activities can only be effective if we find the right problem and prescribe the right medicine.
With the deepening of China's reform and the improvement of market openness, especially with the approach of China's accession to the WTO, foreign capital entering China will surely set off a "beach landing" war to seize the China market. Following the film market, washing products market, beverage market and beer market, the markets of color TV, computer and fast food industry are also in a hurry.
Why can foreign capital frequently rush to the beach? When we analyze the successful areas of foreign investment, we will find that they mainly choose three types of products to cut into the market. First, daily industrial products, such as washing products, films, food, beer, fast food, televisions and so on. These products have large market capacity, great flexibility and are easy to be eroded. Second, high-tech products, such as communication equipment and computers. These products are almost blank in China market, so they can't occupy the market. The third is brand-name products. These products have gained considerable popularity and market share in China, but there are widespread problems such as aging equipment, difficulty in expanding production scale and lack of funds. Foreign investors take the opportunity to do what they want and spend money on it. This is the main reason why many famous flowers change hands. Third, we are not sure about the market hotspots ourselves. A prominent feature of China market, especially consumer goods market, is that the relationship between demand and income is extremely sensitive. Once the income allows, it can form a new climax of product consumption in a very short time, and the market capacity is huge. Such as refrigerators and televisions, were almost blank in 1980s, but a few years later, China became the largest producer of televisions and refrigerators in the world. This is the result of grasping market hotspots. However, washing products, beer, drinks and so on. , are not sure; Can you master computer and communication equipment in the next few years?
Inaccurate market trends, that is, invalid market information, can easily lead to business decision-making mistakes. Doing a good job in market research plays a very important role in scientific decision-making strategy, making development plans, determining business objectives, determining distribution channels, setting market prices, improving enterprise management, improving management level, improving economic benefits and realizing enterprise development. Many companies have a marketing department, and one of the important responsibilities of this department is market research. Only on the basis of market research, can we determine the sales target of the enterprise, use appropriate media to influence the sales target, and people can play a role in expanding the influence of the enterprise and increasing sales income. On the other hand, many enterprises do not conduct market research, and as a result, a lot of advertising expenses are spent unreasonably. The reason is that it is impossible for advertising companies and news media to conduct market research on enterprises. Entrusted by enterprises, they only design, arrange and publish advertisements according to the rules. As for the role and influence of advertising, it has already gone beyond their concern. In contrast, manufacturing enterprises, especially consumer goods manufacturers, have achieved fruitful market research, while wholesale and retail enterprises in the circulation field and service enterprises have done poor market research.
Case:
Toyota marches into America
From 65438 to 0958, Toyota entered the American market for the first time, with an annual sales volume of only 288 vehicles. Toyota's first experimental bus in America was a disaster. This bus has serious defects: the engine roars like a truck, the interior decoration is rough and uncomfortable, the lighting is too dim to meet the standard, and the shape of the block is extremely ugly. Moreover, compared with its competitor "Volkswagen Beetle" 1600 dollars, its price of 2300 dollars can not attract customers. As a result, only five agents are willing to distribute their products, and only 288 cars were sold in the first sales year. 1960, Detroit, the American automobile center, launched new cars Falcom, Valiant and Corvair to compete with the Beatles. Although Toyota is not a competitor of Detroit, it was forced to tighten its spending because the United States stopped importing cars.
Faced with difficulties, Toyota has to reconsider how to successfully enter the American market. They have formulated a series of marketing strategies. One of the most important steps is to conduct large-scale market research to grasp the market opportunities in the United States.
The research work is carried out on two fronts: (l) Toyota has thoroughly studied what American agents and customers need and what they can't get; (2) Study the business activities of foreign automobile manufacturers in the United States, so as to find the gap and make better sales and service strategies.
Toyota collects information through various channels. In addition to the information provided by the Japanese government, Toyota also uses trading companies, foreigners and company employees to collect information. Toyota commissioned an American research company to visit the owners of Volkswagen to find out the customers' dissatisfaction with Volkswagen. The research company investigated the characteristics of American car style, road conditions and customers' interest in material daily necessities. From the survey, Toyota found the gap between production and sales in the American market due to the change of demand trend:
The survey shows that the American concept of car has changed from a status symbol to a means of transportation. Americans like American cars with large legroom, convenient driving and smooth running, but hope to greatly reduce the cost of owning cars in terms of car purchase, energy saving, durability and easy maintenance. Toyota also found that customers are disgusted with the increasingly serious traffic jams and have a demand for small cars that are easy to park and more flexible.
The survey also shows that the success of "Volkswagen Caravan" is attributed to the organization it established to provide excellent service. By providing reliable maintenance services to car buyers, Volkswagen can eliminate customers' concerns that buying foreign cars is expensive and spare parts are often not available when needed.
According to the investigation results, Toyota engineers have developed a new product-Coronn, which is a small American car that is more economical to drive and maintain.
Through unremitting efforts, by 1980, the sales volume of Toyota cars in the United States has reached 58,000, which is twice that of 1975, and Toyota cars account for 25% of the total cars imported from the United States.
Content of market research
Any enterprise, whether it is a manufacturing enterprise or a service enterprise, must first have information if it wants to start a business. If an enterprise can't obtain systematic and continuous information, its decision-making will inevitably lack a solid foundation, and may even run counter to reality, thus leading to business failure. As a sales manager, unless you have outstanding personal working ability, it is impossible to recover the losses caused by decision-making mistakes. Therefore, as a sales manager, it is one of his important responsibilities to organize sales personnel to do market research or cooperate with the marketing department to do market analysis, and to provide timely and reliable market information for decision makers.
2. Market demand research
Including market demand capacity, customer and consumer behavior research. The study of market capacity mainly refers to the existing and potential population changes, income level, living standard, market share and purchasing power investment of enterprises. Customer research is mainly to understand the situation of groups or individuals who buy the products or services of this enterprise, such as nationality, age, gender, culture, occupation, and region. Buying behavior research is to investigate buying desire, buying motivation, habits and hobbies, buying habits, buying time, buying place, buying quantity, brand preference and so on. And the customer's welcome to the products of this enterprise and similar products provided by other enterprises. The following example is the research and forecast of the world chip market demand.
According to frankfurter allgemeine zeitung, the chip industry is expected to flourish in 1998. The newspaper said that the American Semiconductor Industry Association predicted that the average annual growth rate of the international market of electronic computer chips would reach 265,438+0.3% in the next three years. According to its forecast, the global chip turnover in 1995 increased by 44%, reaching146 billion US dollars,196 was185 billion US dollars, and197 was 2190 billion US dollars. 1993, global chip sales were only $77.3 billion. According to this forecast, the demand for memory chips is growing rapidly. In 1995, the sales of this market reached $5.41billion, and in 1998, it will reach11400 million. In this way, this market will quadruple from 1993 to 1998. The turnover of microprocessors and similar products will increase from $33.7 billion in196 to $60 billion in198, and the sales of logic chips will increase from $20 billion to $32 billion in the same period. The semiconductor industry association also predicts that the chip sales in the United States will increase by 40% from 65438 to 0995, reaching 47 1 billion dollars; Japanese sales increased by 38% to reach 40.6 billion US dollars; The growth rate in Europe is 45%, reaching $28.6 billion. 1995 the fastest growth in sales is in the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Japan), which will soar by 57% to reach $30.2 billion.
The main reason for the increase in sales is the sharp increase in sales of personal computers. It is estimated that the global sales of personal computers will be 58 million in 1995, 68 million in 1996 and 92 million in 1998.
In order to meet the increasing demand, many companies and consortia have announced that they will build new chip factories. Siemens and Motorola invested $654.38+500 million to build a new chip factory. In addition, IBM and Toshiba also plan to establish joint ventures, and Hyundai, Samsung, Fujitsu and Taiwan Province IC companies also plan to invest heavily in chip projects.
Case:
Chevron's magic weapon
Chevron is an American food company. In the early 1980s, the company invested a lot of money and hired William from the Department of Anthropology of the University of Arizona. Professor Reitz studies garbage. The professor and his assistant choose several bags from the garbage dump on each garbage collection day, and then classify the contents of the garbage according to the name, weight, quantity and packaging form of the original product. After nearly a year of repeated analysis and investigation, the information of local food consumption was obtained.
First, the working class drinks more imported beer than the high-income class. The result of this survey is far beyond the imagination of ordinary people. Without investigation, the consequences of production and sales will be unimaginable. After learning this information, the investigation experts further analyzed and studied, and knew the proportion of various brands in the beer they drank. Second, people in the middle class consume more food than people in other classes, because both employees have to rush to work, so they have no time to deal with the leftover food. Thirdly, we learned about people's consumption of various foods, and learned that diet drinks and orange juice are good consumer goods for high-income people.
After understanding these situations, the company made decisions based on this information, organized manpower and material resources to invest in production and sales, and finally succeeded.
3. Market supply research
Mainly study the supply, supply trend and market share of products or services; Consumers' understanding, evaluation and requirements on the quality, performance, price, delivery date, service and packaging of their products or services; The market life of enterprise products or services, consumers' attitude towards the renewal of enterprise products or services, how long the existing products or services can last, and whether there are new products or services to replace them; Production resources, technical level, production layout and structure; The development trend of local production and import of products or services; The situation of the competitors of the partners, that is, the quality, quantity, cost, price, delivery date, technical level and potential ability of their products or services.
4. Market research
Sales status and sales capacity of the whole industry market, regional market and enterprise market; Mainly the adequacy of commodity supply, market gap and inventory; Degree of market competition, strategies, means and strength of competitors; Comparison of production, management, cost, price and profit of similar products of related enterprises; Product differences, supply and demand relations and development trends of relevant regions and enterprises; The present situation and trend of the whole market price level, the most suitable price-performance ratio and pricing strategy for customers; New product pricing and price changes, etc. This is an example of supply research:
According to the German newspaper frankfurter allgemeine zeitung, the Japanese expect that the demand for LCD screens will increase greatly in the next few years. According to the latest statistics, Japanese industry estimates that by 2000, the market sales of LCD screens will reach 2 trillion yen. According to this estimate, all the big manufacturers have now expanded their production scale.
LCD can be widely used in various computers, navigation and aviation systems. Sharp Corporation is the largest LCD manufacturer in Japan, accounting for almost 50% of the market sales. According to Sharp's own estimation, in the operating year from 1 April 19941March 3, 19951,the output of LCD in Japan increased by 25% and 1995 over the previous year.
Liquid crystal displays are popular because they consume much less energy than cathode ray tubes. To this end, the US government vigorously promotes the application of LCD screens in computers. Another reason for the good sales of LCD screens is the rapid decline in prices. At present, a 10 inch high-quality TFT LCD screen for computers is worth between150,000 yen and150,000 yen. It is estimated that the price of such LCD screens at the beginning of 1997 will be reduced by half.
In view of the huge market potential, Japanese manufacturers are actively investing in the field of new LCD screens. 199465438+In February, NEC invested about 30 billion yen in the new LCD production equipment in Akita Prefecture. 1In July, 1995, Sharp invested 53 billion yen in Mie Prefecture for production. Toshiba and IBM Japan jointly invested 40 billion yen to produce LCD screens in Noju. Star Electric Appliance Manufacturing Company 1996, an important electronic component manufacturer in Japan, invested 30 billion yen to produce LCD screens in Kobe. At the end of February last year, mitsubishi electric announced that it would invest 40 billion yen to build a factory in Kumamoto to produce LCD screens.
5. Marketing research
Mainly sales channels, sales processes and sales trends. Whether the products of the enterprise are self-operated or consignment, whether they are all sold through their own outlets or partially sold through consignment outlets; The operating ability, social reputation, current sales and potential sales of the affiliated company; Transportation costs, tools, routes, storage capacity of warehouses, etc. ; Personnel direct selling and non-personnel direct selling have their own advantages and disadvantages; What kind of advertising media (such as TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, billboards) are eye-catching and have remarkable effects; Advantages and disadvantages of service methods, such as complete supply, spare parts preparation, installment payment, free maintenance, preferential price, technical training, which method is most popular with customers, etc. Here is an example of American sales research:
According to The Wall Street Journal, speed is becoming a top priority for American companies. "Time is money", "Time waits for no one" and "Time waits for no one" are becoming the strategic ideas of more and more American companies. Nowadays, speed has become a top priority for American companies. In the manufacturing revolution of the past 10 years, American companies adopted the "just-in-time" production and marketing technology of Japan. The parts arrived just before assembly, and the products were transported away almost as soon as they went on the production line. Nowadays, American companies, whether service companies or manufacturing companies, are accelerating changes, which is reflected in everything they do, from accepting orders to manufacturing products and transportation, and even answering customers' questions. Many companies have few choices. Michael, a competitiveness expert at Harvard Business School? Porter said that speed has become the key to occupy a leading position in the world. He said: "The competition for resources has now been replaced by the competition for the speed of development." Or like Kim, president of Avalon Software Company? Xie Lidan said: "It is not big companies that eat small companies; It is a fast-moving company that eats slow-moving companies. "
So American companies try to fix the product development cycle and then compress it. Many people are already asking for faster supply. Of course, they don't rule out the time to process documents in the office. Daniel, executive deputy general manager in charge of technology in the mortgage department of Boston Bank Company? Schaeuble said: "Since the rapid development of mortgage, it has become a very important thing." By the beginning of 1995, his goal is to shorten the decision-making time of each mortgage application from the current 25 days to 10 days.
The fashionable way to reform the action rhythm of enterprises with high technology is redesign, and improving the speed is the basis of company redesign. A survey conducted by International Data Corporation in Framingham, Massachusetts, found that among the 200 large companies being redesigned, 28% said that shortening the time of each process was their main goal, and only 23% regarded cost reduction as the number one goal. IBM now accepts computer orders, production and delivery by telephone, and the whole process is completed within 24 hours. Gillette stepped up the pace of launching new products. It will launch 20 new products around the world, including 17 in 193, compared with less than 6 new products in the 1980s.
Market investigative steps
1. Determine the market research objectives.
The purpose of market research is to help enterprises make accurate business strategies and marketing decisions. Before conducting market research, we should first determine the target and scope of market research according to the current market situation and problems to be solved urgently, such as product sales, product life, advertising effect, etc.
2. Determine the required information
Market information is vast, and enterprises must collect information closely related to it according to the established objectives and scope when conducting market research, so it is not necessary to cover everything. Even if there is a mountain of data, if there is no clear goal, it will only get twice the result with half the effort.
3. Determine data collection methods
It is essential for enterprises to collect data when conducting market research. There are many ways to collect data, so enterprises must choose the appropriate methods according to the nature of the data they need, such as experiment, observation and investigation.
Collect ready-made information
In order to effectively use the existing data and information inside and outside the enterprise, we should first collect the information related to the established goals by indoor research methods, including the collection and collation of internal business data, statistical data of governments at all levels, industry investigation reports and academic research results.
5. Design the investigation scheme
On the basis of fully possessing the ready-made data and information as much as possible, according to the requirements of the established goals, we adopt the method of field investigation to obtain targeted market information. Almost all market surveys are sampling surveys, and the core issues of sampling surveys are the selection of sampling objects and the design of questionnaires. How to sample depends on the purpose and accuracy requirements of the survey. However, the design of the questionnaire needs to be targeted, and the questions should be formulated completely according to the content to be understood.
6. Organize field investigation
The field investigation needs the direct participation of researchers, and the vegetarian dishes of researchers affect the correctness of the investigation results. Therefore, researchers must be trained in technology and theory first, and then the planning and monitoring of investigation activities should be strengthened to adjust and remedy the problems in the investigation in time.
7. Conduct observation test
When the survey results are not enough to reveal the established target requirements and the breadth and depth of information, there are also methods of field observation and experiment, and experienced market researchers are organized to follow up the survey objects openly and secretly, or conduct comparative experiments to obtain more targeted information.
8. Statistical analysis results
It is the fundamental purpose of market research to make further statistical analysis of the obtained information and materials and put forward corresponding suggestions and countermeasures. Market researchers should make detailed statistical calculations with an objective attitude and scientific methods, so as to obtain highly summarized market trend indicators, and compare, analyze and predict these indicators horizontally and vertically, so as to reveal the current situation and trend of market development.
9. Prepare the study report
The final stage of market research is to write a written research report based on the results of comparison, analysis and prediction, which is generally divided into a special report and a comprehensive report, clarifying the achievements made against the established goals, as well as the business ideas, alternative action plans and key points for further exploration based on this achievement.
It is particularly important to note that the information obtained after statistics, analysis and prediction of the survey results shall meet the following requirements:
Accuracy: We must adhere to the scientific attitude and the spirit of seeking truth from facts, and objectively reflect the facts of market research. It is necessary to carefully identify the authenticity and credibility of information and ensure that the information is well-founded, rigorous, accurate and reliable.
Timeliness: Any market information and important information have extremely strict time requirements. Therefore, market research must be put forward in time, implemented quickly and completed on time, and the information obtained should be used in time.
Targeted: There are a lot of market information, which should not and cannot be spread everywhere, so the purpose of market research should be clarified first. Aim at the target according to the requirements of the purpose, so as not to waste people and money and get twice the result with half the effort.
Systematization: Market information should be connected with inertia in time and related in space. With the passage and change of time and space, the market will change in a new moon and the information will expand continuously. Enterprises count, classify and sort out the data of market research, and extract information that conforms to the internal relationship of things, rather than "hodgepodge".
Planning: The market information is extensive and comprehensive. Therefore, to do a good job in information management, it is necessary to strengthen planning. It is necessary to broaden the sources of information, but also to distinguish between primary and secondary, highlighting key points; We should not only persevere, but also pay attention to economic benefits; It is necessary to make full use of the strength of all parties, but also to have professional organizations and unified management.
Visibility before purchase: the collection and arrangement of market information should not only meet the needs of current business decision-making, but also analyze the future changing trend and foresee the future development.
Market survey form
Market survey can be roughly divided into two different forms, or two different stages, namely field survey and indoor survey, also known as primary survey stage and secondary survey stage.
1. Field test
Field investigation refers to the centralized collection of first-hand information that can be used for market analysis. The usual methods are inquiry, observation and experiment, and then the information is summarized and classified by statistical methods.
2. Indoor research
Indoor research has two meanings.
Enterprises collect, sort out and count the ready-made information inside and outside the enterprise, which is the process of "investigation";
It is a "research" process that combines the ready-made information inside and outside the enterprise collected, sorted and counted with the targeted field investigation results, and makes statistics, analysis, prediction and utilization, thus providing a basis for the business strategy and marketing strategy of the enterprise.
When an enterprise conducts market research, from the perspective of cost-effectiveness, the first thing to do is not field research, but indoor research, so as to make full use of the existing information inside and outside the enterprise. Taking a housing construction enterprise as an example, we can first collect, sort out and analyze the information of the local and even national construction market held by the enterprise, especially using the industry market statistics released by the statistical departments of the state and local governments. This is an indoor research process. Then, if specific market information is still needed, the builder will be investigated. Find out their demand for housing construction and decoration, and then determine the demand for housing construction and decoration. The latter process is field investigation.