Market Research: Service Definition

Overview

This document defines what LMC’s Market Research service contains, how we deliver it, what the client receives, and how the LMC Research Guarantee works. It is the source of truth for sales conversations, contract drafting, and delivery scope.

Three tiers exist: Market Pulse, Growth Blueprint, and Omni & IP Audit. Pick the tier that matches your decision depth, not your budget.

What it is

Market Research is the diagnostic rung of LMC’s six-service ladder. It answers one question: should we enter this market, category, or platform, and if yes, how?

Market Research is right for you if:

• You are evaluating Vietnam as a new market (first time selling D2C in Vietnam).
• You are weighing platforms (Shopee vs TikTok Shop, or expanding to Lazada / Amazon SEA).
• You are launching a new category and need sizing, demand validation, and competitor mapping.
• You are evaluating a brand or product-line acquisition and need market-position due diligence.

What it is not

Market Research is the wrong rung if:

• You already have a clear market thesis and need orders. Start with Marketplace Enablement.
• You already have a store underperforming and need a fix. Start with Marketplace Enablement (audit included).
• You are an established brand defending revenue against counterfeits. Start with Brand Protection.

We will tell you if you are on the wrong rung. No-go is a valid answer. Most agency research ends in a sales pitch. Ours sometimes ends in “do not enter this market”, and the report is yours to keep.

Methodology

We use the same data sources to research markets that we use to operate stores. Specifically:

• Live platform telemetry. Shopee Open Platform API and TikTok Shop Partner data: current listings, current pricing, current performance signals.
• Demand-signal analysis. Search volume, top-selling SKUs, and seasonality patterns drawn from active platform data.
• Social listening. Review-mining, KOC / KOL content audit, and seller-group conversation analysis.
• Competitor operational intelligence. What top competitors are running today (campaigns, pricing, content cadence), not what they did last quarter.
• Regulatory grounding. The current Vietnam e-commerce tax and compliance environment, including 2026 platform reporting rules.

What this means for you: our research recommendations are operationally testable. We recommend what we can, and would, execute. We do not produce strategic decks for engagements we could not also deliver. That is the difference between a diagnostic agency and a research vendor.

Tier 1: Market Pulse

39,000,000 VND · 2 weeks · Written report (~15-25 pages) + 1 walkthrough call

Use case: rapid validation of a single niche, category, or platform. A GO / NO-GO decision.

Deliverables

• Category sizing in Vietnam. Total addressable market value for the target category, current market size and 12-month growth trend, share split across Shopee and TikTok Shop. Lazada / Amazon SEA covered if explicitly in scope.
• Top 10 competitor map. Direct competitors selling in Vietnam on the target platform(s), each profiled on platform footprint, opening price, promotional floor (post-voucher net selling price), Mega-Sale event participation, and Mall vs non-Mall status.
• Demand signal analysis. Top 20 high-intent Shopee keywords with monthly search volume, top trending TikTok Shop topics, a 12-month seasonality map, and identification of white space where competitor density is low and demand exists.
• LMC GO / NO-GO recommendation. A direct recommendation with reasoning. We do not produce ambiguous “it depends” conclusions. The recommendation is grounded in your COGS, current platform fee structure, and demand signal.

Tier 2: Growth Blueprint

92,000,000 VND · 4 weeks · GTM blueprint + Excel model + 2 walkthrough calls + Q&A access

Use case: “Yes, we are entering, now we need a real GTM plan.” Brands needing a 12-month roadmap and budget justification.

Deliverables: everything in Tier 1, plus

• Recommended product mix and SKU prioritization. Which SKUs to launch first, which to hold for Phase 2, which to drop. Grounded in demand-signal data and competitor pricing analysis.
• Platform launch sequence. Which platform to launch first, which second, with what time gap. Sequencing logic is platform-specific: TikTok Shop drives discovery, Shopee captures search intent.
• Pricing strategy. Opening price, promotional floor, and MAP (minimum advertised price) guidance for distributor and reseller management. Built from competitor net-selling-price analysis and your COGS.
• Consumer sentiment and review audit. Deep-scale social listening on 1,000+ competitor reviews. Identifies common pain points (packaging, shipping speed, product quality, after-sales) your brand can exploit to gain share.
• KOC / KOL performance benchmarking. A vetted directory of 20+ creators relevant to your category, with 2026 booking-fee benchmarks vs expected affiliate conversion rates.
• 12-month dynamic P&L forecast. A customized Excel model projecting monthly revenue targets, marketing spend, net profit after platform fees and taxes, and sensitivity analysis on the top 3 assumptions.
• Cross-platform content strategy outline. A channel synergy plan: how to use TikTok content to drive organic search demand on Shopee and reduce customer acquisition cost.
• Risk register. Top 5 risks to the GTM plan with specific mitigations, including platform-policy, competitive-response, and supply-chain risk.
• 90-day post-launch operating outline. What the first 90 days look like in practice: campaigns, content cadence, KPI checkpoints. Bridges research into execution.

Tier 3: Omni & IP Audit

157,000,000 VND · 6 weeks · Omni blueprint + IP report + tax assessment + 3 calls + 4-hour workshop

Use case: established brands evaluating multi-platform expansion or pre-launch IP exposure. Enterprise scope.

Deliverables: everything in Tier 2, plus

• Cross-platform omnichannel strategy. A multi-platform rollout plan covering Shopee + TikTok Shop (primary) and Lazada / Amazon SEA (secondary). Single product-knowledge base, shared content asset model, unified reporting design.
• Counterfeit and gray-import landscape audit. A comprehensive scan of unauthorized resellers, hand-carried (xách tay) goods, MAP violations, and trademark infringements visible on target platforms.
• IP exposure assessment. Trademark surface analysis: where your IP is registered, where gaps exist, what platform IP-protection programs you can or cannot file under.
• Brand Protection readiness recommendation. Whether Brand Protection is needed immediately at launch, deferrable to post-launch, or not yet relevant. Specific platform-priority guidance.
• 2026 tax and regulatory compliance audit. An assessment of brand liability under Vietnam’s current e-commerce regulatory environment, plus an audit of distributor network online activities to flag tax or compliance risks for the parent manufacturer.
• Executive strategy workshop (4 hours). An on-site or remote workshop with brand leadership. Walks through the full audit findings, finalizes GTM strategy, aligns internal KPIs, and defines decision-rights between client and LMC for the execution phase.

Scope note. LMC provides operational and platform-level recommendations. Trademark filing, legal representation, and tax-return preparation are referred to qualified IP law firms and tax advisors. We do not deliver legal services.

How Market Research connects to the rest of LMC

Research is the diagnostic rung. After research, every client moves to one of three places, or to no engagement, which is also a valid outcome.

The LMC Research Guarantee

If you go to market with LMC after our research, you pay nothing for the research.

How it works

1. The client commissions Market Research at any tier (T1, T2, or T3) and pays the research fee.
2. Upon delivery of the report, the client is issued a Service Credit Voucher equal to 100% of the research fee paid.
3. If the client engages a qualifying engagement within the credit window, the voucher is applied against the first months of engagement until exhausted.
4. If the client decides not to go to market, or to go to market with another agency, the voucher is not redeemed. The client keeps the full research output.

Guarantee terms

Credit window A defined window from report delivery, confirmed at contract signing.

Qualifying engagements Marketplace Enablement, Launch Starter Pack, Omnichannel Growth, and Full-Stack Partnership.

Non-qualifying Advisory, standalone Brand Protection, standalone Store Build, and referrals to third parties.

Accounting treatment Credit applied at invoice level on the qualifying engagement. Not paid in cash, not transferable.

Asset ownership

Upon final payment for the research engagement, the client receives exclusive intellectual property rights to:

• The final research report (PDF or document form).
• The raw data sets compiled during research (keyword lists, competitor data tables, review-mining outputs).
• The financial model (Excel format, Tier 2 and Tier 3 only).
• Strategic blueprints and recommendations.

LMC retains the right to use anonymized methodology references and aggregated benchmarks for internal training and case-study purposes. Client-specific findings are not republished without written client consent.

What is not in scope

• Market Research outside Vietnam as primary market. SEA / cross-border research is available case-by-case, scoped separately. We do not pretend to be a global research firm.
• Trademark registration, legal filings, or court representation. Referred to qualified IP law firms.
• Tax-return preparation or filing. Referred to qualified tax advisors.
• ERP / WMS / accounting-system integration. Software development is a paused LMC service. We advise on platform-API requirements at a strategic level only.
• Ongoing market monitoring after delivery. Research is a project, not a retainer. Continuous market intelligence is a separate conversation.
• Custom primary research. Focus groups, surveys, and ethnographic studies. Our research is platform-data and social-listening grounded.

How to engage

1. Book a 30-minute scoping call. Free. We confirm whether research is the right rung, recommend a tier, and quote a timeline.
2. Receive scope of work and contract. The engagement begins on signature and deposit.
3. Research conducted over the agreed timeline (2, 4, or 6 weeks).
4. Walkthrough call(s) held to deliver findings and answer questions.
5. Service Credit Voucher issued with report delivery.
6. Optional next step: engage LMC for the recommended execution rung, with the research fee credited.