Enterprise research refers to the systematic analysis and evaluation of the market environment and competitive situation of the enterprise, in order to understand the basic situation, strategic intention, action plan, advantages and disadvantages, market performance, customer satisfaction, innovation ability and other aspects of the information of the benchmark enterprise, so as to provide the basis and guidance for the enterprise to formulate its own competitive strategy. Enterprise research is an important part of market analysis, which can help enterprises to achieve the following purposes:

Identify their own competitive advantages and disadvantages, improve their competitiveness and core competitiveness;

Find the strategic intention and action plan of the benchmarking enterprise, and predict the future trend and possible reaction of the benchmarking enterprise;

Analyze the advantages and disadvantages and market performance of benchmarking enterprises, find out the weaknesses and loopholes of benchmarking enterprises, as well as their own opportunities and threats;

Formulate targeted competitive strategies, such as differentiation, focus, cost leadership, alliances, etc., to deal with the challenges and threats of benchmarking enterprises, or to take advantage of the weaknesses and loopholes of benchmarking enterprises to seize market share and dominant position;

Continuously track and update the dynamics of benchmarking companies, and adjust their competitive strategies in a timely manner to adapt to market changes and needs.

The content of enterprise research mainly includes the following aspects:

Basic information of benchmarking enterprises, such as name, scale, geographical location, historical evolution, organizational structure, management, products or services, market share, financial status, brand image, etc;

The strategic intent of the benchmarking enterprise, such as vision, mission, objectives, values, strategic direction, strategic choice, strategic priority, etc;

The advantages and disadvantages of benchmarking enterprises and market performance, such as product or service quality, performance, function, innovation, differentiation, price, cost, profit, sales volume, market share, market growth rate, market penetration, market coverage, market loyalty, market satisfaction, market reputation, market influence, etc;

The customer satisfaction and innovation ability of benchmarking enterprises, such as customer demand, preference, expectation, perception, satisfaction, loyalty, complaint, suggestion, feedback, participation, introduction, etc., as well as the R & D investment, technological innovation, product innovation, service innovation, mode innovation, organizational innovation, cultural innovation, etc.

The main methods of enterprise research are as follows:

First-hand information collection, such as direct observation, secret purchase, user research, employee research, supplier research, partner research, industry enterprise research, benchmarking enterprise research, etc;

Second-hand information collection, such as benchmarking enterprises' official websites, social media, news reports, public reports, industry reports, market reports, professional journals, academic papers, patent documents, legal documents, policy documents, etc;

Third-hand information collection, such as third-party consulting agencies, research agencies, evaluation agencies, monitoring agencies, investigation agencies, data agencies, analysis agencies, etc.

When conducting corporate research, you need to follow some of the following principles:

Select appropriate benchmarking enterprises, determine the scope and priority of benchmarking enterprises according to the similarity, importance, threat, opportunity and other indicators of benchmarking enterprises, and avoid too many or too few benchmarking enterprises, as well as irrelevant or unimportant benchmarking enterprises;

Collect effective information, determine the type, source, channel, method, time, frequency, quality, quantity and other elements of information according to the purpose and content of enterprise research, and avoid invalid or outdated information, as well as missing or redundant information;

Analyze objective data, according to the methods and tools of enterprise research, organize, summarize, classify, compare, evaluate, explain and infer the collected information, so as to avoid subjective or biased data, as well as data errors or ambiguities;

Formulate targeted strategies, according to the results and enlightenment of enterprise research, determine their own competitive advantages and disadvantages, as well as the opportunities and threats of benchmarking enterprises, formulate corresponding competitive strategies, such as attack, defense, cooperation, avoidance, etc., to avoid ineffective or excessive strategies, as well as inconsistent or uncoordinated strategies;

Continuously track and update the dynamics of benchmarking enterprises, regularly collect, analyze and evaluate the information of benchmarking enterprises according to the changes and needs of the market, and adjust their competitive strategies in time to adapt to the changes and needs of the market and avoid falling behind or losing competitiveness.

In order to demonstrate the practical application and value of enterprise research, here are some examples of enterprise research provided by Shangpu Consulting for clients:

Case 1: Provide enterprise research for an automobile manufacturer, analyze the strategies, actions, performance, advantages and disadvantages of its benchmark enterprises in the Chinese market, as well as the opportunities and threats in the Chinese market, and formulate entry and expansion strategies for the Chinese market, such as product positioning, product differentiation, product pricing, product distribution, product services, etc., to help it succeed in the Chinese market;

Case 2: Provide corporate research for an e-commerce platform, analyze the innovation capabilities, technological advantages, customer satisfaction, etc. of its benchmark companies in the global market, as well as the opportunities and threats in the global market, and formulate innovation and competition strategies for the global market., Such as technological innovation, product innovation, service innovation, model innovation, etc., to help it maintain a leading position in the global market;

Case 3: Provide corporate research for a restaurant chain, analyze the products, prices, services, brands, word-of-mouth, etc. of its benchmark companies in the local market, as well as the opportunities and threats in the local market, and formulate maintenance and growth strategies for the local market, Such as product optimization, price adjustment, service improvement, brand building, word-of-mouth marketing, etc., to help it increase market share and customer loyalty in the local market.