For sellers operating the Amazon platform, it means selling goods to foreign markets through the Amazon platform. Compared with China, the markets and cultures of foreign countries are very different, so the needs of buyers in foreign countries for goods are also very different. So when sellers choose goods, the first thing they need to understand is the range of goods that can be sold, that is, the market conditions and local culture of the selected site country, and use this as the basis for choosing goods.
Market research
Market research refers to the systematic and objective collection, collation and analysis of various information or data in a certain market, which is used to help
Market research is an important means for sellers to understand the commodity market and grasp the needs of buyers. Through market research, sellers can clearly and effectively understand the local market conditions of foreign countries and clarify the demand for goods. When sellers conduct market research, the steps mainly include the preparation stage, design stage, implementation stage, analysis stage, and conclusion stage, which are described as follows.
1. Preparation stage
The main purpose of market research is to help sellers make accurate business decisions. Therefore, in the preparation stage of market research, sellers must first clarify the current problems to be solved, that is, the goals of this market research, and then determine the scope and objects of market research based on the problems.
(1) Determine the research goal
The research goal is the problem that the seller wants to solve through market research. Only market research with clear goals can obtain valuable decision-making information and reduce the deviation of sellers’ decisions. For example, if the seller wants to know the promotion method that buyers in a certain market like, then the goal of this market research is the promotion method in that market.
(2) Determine the scope of the research
The scope of the research is the scope of the market being investigated. For example, if the seller wants to know the advertising form that British buyers can accept, then the scope of the research is the UK.
(3) Determine the research object
The seller can determine the research object based on the group of people for the problem to be solved. For example, if the seller wants to know the promotion method that white-collar women’s clothing buyers in the British market like, then the object of this research is white-collar women.
2. Design stage
After the seller has determined the goal and scope of the market research, the next step is to formulate a detailed research work plan. By formulating a research plan, the seller can be orderly in the research work and minimize some unnecessary mistakes. The research work plan mainly includes determining the source of information, designing the research content, estimating the research budget, setting the research schedule, etc.
(1) Determine the source of information
The main ways to determine the source of information are crowd channels, modern media channels, business group channels, and professional institution channels. Sellers can choose several of these information source channels to obtain information.
① Crowd channels
Everyone is a source of information. People attract information and spread information in their daily lives. In particular, the crowds that the sellers are facing, practitioners in the same industry, and marketing personnel of related companies can often provide a large amount of direct and valuable information.
In crowd channels, sellers can obtain market information through questionnaires, interview consultations, telephone consultations, etc.
② Modern media channels
The information carried by Internet media is characterized by large quantity, wide coverage, and new information. Sellers can obtain relevant information about overseas markets through modern media channels (such as WeChat public accounts, Toutiao, Baidu Wenku, etc.).
③Business group channels
Whether the seller participates in various chambers of commerce and associations, these organizations will provide business information for a fee or free of charge. For example, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council of China and its local offices allow relevant personnel to query its information at any time. This information includes the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region enterprise directory and the world’s enterprise directory, as well as information on various exhibitions and trade fairs held around the world. Various chambers of commerce will also provide sellers with industry directories and some activity information. Of course, it is best for sellers to join some chambers of commerce or associations, so that they will have a stable and fixed source of information.
④Professional institution channels
Sellers can also obtain relevant market information through professional institutions, such as consulting institutions such as AC Nielsen, Zhongwei Consulting, MIMR Modern International, and the New Generation Market Monitoring Agency. However, if you obtain market information through professional institutional channels, sellers need to pay a certain fee, and the specific fee should be determined according to the price of the specific institution. This channel is generally suitable for strong corporate sellers.
(2) Designing the research content
The content of market research mainly involves various factors that affect marketing strategies, such as buyer demand, commodity prices, promotion forms, etc. According to different research objectives, the focus of the research content will also be very different, and sellers can choose and set it by themselves. The content of market research mainly includes buyer demand research, price research, promotion form research, etc.
①Buyer demand research
Market demand is the center and starting point of seller marketing. If sellers want to gain an advantage in fierce competition, they must understand and meet the relevant needs of buyers in detail, such as commodity quality research, commodity variety research, commodity quality research, etc. Therefore, the research on market demand is one of the main contents of market research.
②Merchant price research
Price will directly affect the sales volume of commodities and the income of sellers. Price research plays a vital role in marketing companies to formulate reasonable price strategies. The content of price research includes research on price change trends, research on international commodity market trends, market price tolerance psychology research, and the impact of national tax policies on prices.
③ Research on promotional forms
Research on promotional forms mainly focuses on the reaction of buyers to promotional activities and understands the promotional forms that buyers are most likely to accept and like. Its specific contents include researching whether various promotional forms highlight the characteristics of the products and whether they play a role in attracting buyers and winning over potential buyers.
(3) Estimating the research budget
After completing the above steps, the real estate agent can determine the budget content of financial resources, human resources, materials, etc. to be spent in the corresponding activities according to the specific information source method and research content. For example, if the seller wants to obtain relevant market information through professional institutions, then it is necessary to estimate the money and number of staff that will be spent on this way of obtaining information sources.
(4) Setting a research schedule
The purpose of setting a research schedule is to stipulate the time arrangement of the detailed items in each stage of the market research process and ensure the progress and efficiency of the market research work. Setting a research schedule mainly includes the following steps.
① List the main work content
First, list the main work to play the role of outline, and as a major item, it must not be omitted.
② List the details of each task
Break down each major item into specific events, the more detailed the better, to avoid omissions in the work.
③ Mark the time schedule
By designing the timeline, the seller marks the time of each specific event from the beginning to the end, so that the completion progress is clear at a glance.
④ Determine the person in charge
The planned work needs to be implemented to the person in charge, so as to maximize the work efficiency. Therefore, when formulating the research schedule, the seller must implement each event to the specific person in charge, clarify the work tasks and work responsibilities of the participating staff, and ensure that the work tasks are implemented in place, the work goals are clear, and the work responsibilities are clear.
⑤ Proofread and beautify the table
After the schedule is completed, the seller must proofread whether the table is correct and reasonable and whether there are any typos and beautify it. The format should be neat and the text should be concise so that the relevant personnel can use and view the table accurately and clearly.
When setting the research schedule, the seller can do it according to his own needs, such as work subdivision and time progress can be specific to each day, the more detailed the better.
3. Implementation stage
During the implementation stage of market research, sellers must first carry out work according to the research schedule to ensure work efficiency and progress. Sellers must keep abreast of the progress of the research work, coordinate the work progress of each responsible person, and communicate and solve problems in a timely manner.
Then sellers must pay attention to the effectiveness and authenticity of the collected information to ensure that the information can be of substantial help to the problem to be solved. Finally, sellers must record the information through tools to facilitate sorting and analysis after the information is collected.
4. Analysis stage
Research analysis is to summarize and analyze the research information and then put forward corresponding suggestions and countermeasures for the problem to be solved. Analysis methods mainly include quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis.
(1) Quantitative analysis
Quantitative analysis is to sort, process and analyze the collected data through some data analysis tools (such as Excel), convert it into charts, models, etc., and then convert it into useful information. For example, after a tea seller conducts market research on a supermarket and collects some data on daily sales, he can use quantitative analysis to count the number of tea products sold in a certain period of time and use it to determine his own purchase quantity.
(2) Qualitative analysis method
Qualitative analysis method is an analysis method that uses the seller’s subjective analysis and judgment ability to infer the nature and development trend of things. This method mainly deals with non-data information. For example, through some consulting agencies, sellers can obtain some existing conclusions about a certain market, and then use subjective judgment and analysis ability to infer the next market changes.
5. Conclusion stage
After the seller completes the analysis, the final analysis results of the market research work need to be presented to the decision maker as a reference for selecting products.
The above are the main process steps of market research and some of the work involved. In specific work practice, sellers should use this as a basis, and then design specific and detailed market research work content in combination with the specific requirements of their own company to ensure that the results of the research meet the company’s requirements.