Analyzing Natural Digital Information in the Context of Market Research

Abstract

The dynamics of irreversible multidimensional digitalization of production and consumption processes can be described today with a linear-positive or even exponential function. A significant part of the information background of a product, enterprise or brand is formed by their consumers, competitors or partners on the Internet, which considerably increases its accessibility and spread. Such kind of information can be called natural digital information (NDI). Its high market value is counterbalanced by its inhomogeneity and complexity for analysis. The solution to this problem lies in the field of creating automated tools for its subsequent search, aggregation, primary processing, quantification and analysis. The aim of this study is to describe the unique methodological properties of market research based on natural digital information. In order to achieve this aim, this study analyzes the theoretical basis in the field of NDI research, defines the categories of NDI and sources of its formation, describes the key properties of NDI, determines its advantages in comparison with other types of market information, and suggests a basic methodology for conducting typical NDI-based market research. An applied research study was carried out according to the designed methodology to show its advantages, as well as to describe the unique methodological properties of market research based on processing of NDI. The main result of this study is a universal algorithmic model for analyzing NDI in the context of market research, which includes a mechanism for defining and categorizing the digital sources of NDI, a model for forming the key properties of NDI, and basic classes of NDI analytical metrics. The toolkit developed by the authors allows market research to be conducted without direct attraction of research subjects, which results in cost reduction and elimination of the phenomenon of social desirability; this creates the so-called reasoned advertising messages that meet the requests of the target audience, which is proved by the big data that underlie the presented methodology. The developed algorithmic model is universal for analyzing natural digital information, and, with minor adaptations, can be used by any subject conducting market research.