Purpose of 1. Competitor Research

Competitor research refers to the collection, analysis and evaluation of relevant information of other enterprises that have direct or indirect competitive relationship with their own enterprises, so as to reveal the relative advantages and disadvantages of their own enterprises in the market, as well as the strategic intention, behavior pattern and development trend of competitors, so as to provide a basis and reference for their own enterprises to make reasonable strategic decisions.

The main objectives of competitor research are as follows:

Understand the competitive environment and competitive situation, assess the strength and threat of competitors, determine their competitive position and competitive strategy;

Identify the strengths and weaknesses of competitors, learn from the successful experiences and lessons of competitors, and enhance their core competitiveness;

Discover the gaps and weak areas of competitors, look for market opportunities and innovations, and form differentiated and specialized competitive advantages;

Predict the future trends and possible actions of competitors, formulate countermeasures and plans, and seize the opportunity and initiative.

Methods and procedures for 2. competitor research

There are several main methods of competitor research:

Documentary method: access to basic information, strategic direction, performance data, brand image, etc. of competitors by consulting their official websites, annual reports, announcements, news, social media, etc;

Observation method: by personally or entrusting a third party to the competitor's business premises, sales channels, service points, etc., to observe the competitor's product characteristics, price strategy, promotional activities, service quality, etc;

Interviews: through interviews or questionnaires with competitors' existing or potential customers, suppliers, partners, employees, former employees, etc., to understand competitors' customer satisfaction, supply capacity, partnership, staff quality, internal management, etc;

Experimental method: by simulating a competitor's product or service, a comparative test or test is conducted to evaluate the quality, performance, function, effect, etc. of a competitor's product or service.

The main steps of competitor research are as follows:

Determine the object and scope of research: according to the target market and target customers of their own enterprises, determine the main competitors that have direct or indirect competition with their own enterprises, as well as the number and type of competitors that need to be investigated;

Setting research contents and indicators: according to the research purpose and information demand of the enterprise, set the relevant contents and indicators of the competitors to be investigated, such as the basic situation of the competitors, strategic direction, market share, product characteristics, price strategy, promotion activities, service quality, customer satisfaction, supply capacity, cooperative relationship, staff quality, internal management, financial status, development trend, etc;

Select research methods and channels: according to the characteristics of the research content and indicators, select the appropriate research methods and channels, such as literature, observation, interview, experimental, etc., as well as the corresponding information sources and data acquisition methods;

Collect and organize research data: collect relevant data of competitors according to research methods and channels, organize and classify the data, and form structured and standardized data forms or databases;

Analysis and evaluation of research results: use statistical analysis, comparative analysis, causal analysis, trend analysis and other methods to analyze and evaluate the research data, revealing the strengths and weaknesses of competitors, strategic intentions and behavior patterns, development trends and possible initiatives, as well as their impact and threats to their own enterprises;

Formation and Report ResearchConclusion: Based on the results of the analysis and evaluation, a survey is formed.Conclusionand recommendations, write a research report, which should include the purpose, method, content, results,Conclusion, recommendations, etc., as well as related data tables, charts, attachments, etc.

Case Study of 3. Competitor Research

In order to specify the process and effect of competitor research, this paper takes Shangpu Consulting Company as an example to conduct a case study of competitor research.

Shangpu Consulting Company is a well-known independent third-party research and investment and financing consulting agency in China, dedicated to providing professional solutions for corporate strategic decision-making. The main business of Shangpu Consulting Company includes market research, investment consulting, IPO listing consulting, etc. Its service customers cover many industry fields, such as semiconductor, artificial intelligence, automatic driving, new energy, financial technology, medical health, etc.

Champ Consulting's competitors are in the following categories:

Internationally renowned consulting companies, such as McKinsey, Boston, Bain, etc., these companies have a wide range of customer resources and brand influence in the world, provide a full range of strategic consulting, management consulting, technical consulting and other services, with strong professional ability and industry insight and industry experience;

Well-known domestic consulting companies, such as Washington, Huawei, CICC, etc., these companies have a high reputation and credibility in the domestic market, provide targeted investment consulting, IPO listing consulting, mergers and acquisitions consulting services, and have strong Policy familiarity and resource integration capabilities;

Domestic emerging consulting companies, such as Analysys, iResearch, Sadie, etc., these companies focus on market research and consulting services in emerging fields, such as the Internet, big data, artificial intelligence, etc., and have strong innovation capabilities and acumen.

According to its own business characteristics and market positioning, Shangpu Consulting has selected representative companies from the above three types of competitors as the research objects, namely McKinsey, Washington, and Analysys. Champ Consulting has set the following research content and indicators:

Basic information: including the name, establishment time, registration place, scale, organizational structure, business scope, service field, etc. of the competitor;

Market share: including competitors' share, ranking, growth rate, change trend, etc. in the target market and target customers;

Product features: including the type, quality, performance, function, effect and innovation of products or services provided by competitors;

Price strategy: including the pricing method, pricing level, pricing flexibility, discount policy, price competitiveness, etc. of competitors' products or services;

Promotional activities: including competitors' advertising, public relations activities, marketing channels, sales team, customer relations, etc;

Service quality: including competitors' service process, service standard, service attitude, service efficiency, service satisfaction, etc;

Customer satisfaction: including competitors' customer loyalty, customer reputation, customer complaints, customer churn rate, etc;

Supply capacity: including competitors' supply chain management, procurement costs, inventory levels, logistics efficiency, emergency response capacity, etc;

Partnership: including competitors' partners, cooperation methods, cooperation benefits, cooperation risks, etc;

Staff quality: including the number of competitors, staff structure, staff ability, staff motivation, staff turnover rate, etc;

Internal management: including competitor's strategic planning, organizational culture, decision-making mechanism, risk control, quality assurance, etc;

Financial position: including competitors' operating income, profit margin, asset-liability ratio, cash flow, return on investment, etc;

Development trend: including the competitor's future goals, development direction, development difficulties, development opportunities, etc.

According to the characteristics of the research content and indicators, Shangpu Consulting has selected the following research methods and channels:

Documentary method: access to the basic information, strategic direction, performance data, brand image, etc. of competitors by consulting their official websites, annual reports, announcements, news, social media, etc;

Observation method: by personally or entrusting a third party to the competitor's business premises, sales channels, service points, etc., to observe the competitor's product characteristics, price strategy, promotional activities, service quality, etc;

Interviews: through interviews or questionnaires with competitors' existing or potential customers, suppliers, partners, employees, former employees, etc., to understand competitors' customer satisfaction, supply capacity, partnership, staff quality, internal management, etc;

Experimental method: by simulating a competitor's product or service, a comparative test or test is conducted to evaluate the quality, performance, function, effect, etc. of a competitor's product or service.

According to the research methods and channels, Shangpu consulting company collected the relevant data of competitors, collated and classified the data, and formed a structured and standardized data form or database. The following is an example of some of the data:

Competitor Establishment Time Registration Place Scale Business Scope Service Field Market Share Product Characteristics Price Strategy Promotion Activities Service Quality Customer Satisfaction Supply Capacity Partnership Staff Quality Internal Management Financial Status Development Trend

In 1926, McKinsey ranked first in the world in more than 30000 American strategic consulting, management consulting, technical consulting and other industries, such as finance, energy, medical care, consumer goods, etc, china's second high quality, high performance, high new price, high flexibility, high discount advertising, public relations activities, marketing channels, sales team, customer relations and other high standards, high attitude, high efficiency, high satisfaction, high loyalty, high reputation, low complaints, low turnover rate, high supply chain management, low procurement cost, low inventory level, high logistics efficiency, high emergency response capacity, multiple partners, multiple cooperation methods, high cooperation income, low cooperation risk High quantity, high structure, high ability, high incentive, low liquidity and high strategic planning, high organizational culture, high decision-making mechanism, high risk control, high quality guarantee, high operating income, high profit margin, low asset-liability ratio, high cash flow and high return on investment The future goal is to maintain a leading position in the world, the development direction is to expand emerging fields and emerging markets, the development difficulty is to deal with the challenges of competitors and changes in customer needs, and the development opportunity is to use technological innovation and resource integration.

华盛顿1992年中国1万多人投资咨询、IPO上市咨询、并购重组咨询等多个行业领域，如制造、房地产、教育、旅游等中国第一，全球第五中等质量、中等性能、中等创新中等价位、中等弹性、中等折扣

广告投放、公关活动、营销渠道、销售团队、客户关系等

中等标准、中等态度、中等效率、中等满意度

中等忠诚度、中等口碑、中等投诉、中等流失率

中等供应链管理、中等采购成本、中等库存水平、中等物流效率、中等应急能力

多个合作伙伴、多种合作方式、中等合作收益、中等合作风险

中等数量、中等结构、中等能力、中等激励、中等流动率

中等战略规划、中等组织文化、中等决策机制、中等风险控制、中等质量保证

中等营业收入、中等利润率、中等资产负债率、中等现金流量、中等投资回报率

未来目标是保持国内领先地位，发展方向是提升服务质量和效率，发展难点是应对市场竞争和监管变化，发展机会是利用政策支持和资源整合

易观

2000年

China

500多人

市场调研、数据分析、咨询服务等

新兴领域，如互联网、大数据、人工智能等

中国第三，全球第十

低质量、低性能、高创新

低价位、低弹性、低折扣

广告投放、公关活动、营销渠道、销售团队、客户关系等

低标准、低态度、低效率、低满意度

低忠诚度、低口碑、高投诉、高流失率

低供应链管理、高采购成本、高库存水平、低物流效率、低应急能力

少数合作伙伴、单一合作方式、低合作收益、高合作风险

低数量、低结构、低能力、低激励、高流动率

低战略规划、低组织文化、低决策机制、低风险控制、低质量保证

低营业收入、低利润率、高资产负债率、低现金流量、低投资回报率

未来目标是提升市场份额和品牌知名度，发展方向是拓展新的产品和服务，发展难点是提高产品和服务的质量和性能，发展机会是利用市场需求和技术创新

尚普咨询公司运用统计分析、比较分析、因果分析、趋势分析等方法，对调研数据进行了分析和评价，揭示了竞争对手的优势和劣势、战略意图和行为模式、发展趋势和可能举措等，以及其对自身企业的影响和威胁。以下是部分分析和评价的结果：

麦肯锡是尚普咨询公司的最强劲的竞争对手，其在全球和中国市场都有较高的市场份额和品牌影响力，其产品和服务的质量、性能、创新程度都是行业领先的，其价格策略也是高端定位，其客户满意度和忠诚度都是较高的，其供应能力和合作关系也是较强的，其员工素质和内部管理也是较高的，其财务状况也是较好的，其发展趋势也是较稳健的。麦肯锡对尚普咨询公司的威胁主要来自于其在多个行业领域的深入服务和专业能力，以及其在新兴领域和新兴市场的拓展和创新，尚普咨询公司需要提高自身的专业能力和创新能力，以及寻找自身的差异化和专业化的竞争优势，才能与麦肯锡抗衡。

华盛顿是尚普咨询公司的主要竞争对手，其在国内市场有较高的市场份额和品牌信誉，其产品和服务的质量、性能、创新程度都是中等水平，其价格策略也是中等定位，其客户满意度和忠诚度都是中等水平，其供应能力和合作关系也是中等水平，其员工素质和内部管理也是中等水平，其财务状况也是中等水平，其发展趋势也是较平稳的。华盛顿对尚普咨询公司的威胁主要来自于其在国内市场的领先地位和政策支持，以及其在服务质量和效率的提升和资源整合，尚普咨询公司需要提高自身的市场份额和品牌知名度，以及寻找自身的创新点和机会，才能与华盛顿竞争。

易观是尚普咨询公司的潜在竞争对手，其在国内市场有较低的市场份额和品牌知名度，其产品和服务的质量、性能、创新程度都是较低水平，其价格策略也是低端定位，其客户满意度和忠诚度都是较低水平，其供应能力和合作关系也是较弱水平，其员工素质和内部管理也是较低水平，其财务状况也是较差水平，其发展趋势也是较不稳定的。易观对尚普咨询公司的威胁主要来自于其在新兴领域的专注和创新，以及其在市场需求和技术创新的把握，尚普咨询公司需要提高自身的产品和服务的质量和性能，以及寻找自身的稳定点和优势，才能与易观区分。

尚普咨询公司根据分析和评价的结果，形成了调研Conclusion和建议，撰写了调研报告，报告中包括了调研目的、方法、内容、结果、Conclusion、建议等，以及相关的数据表格、图表、附件等。以下是部分调研Conclusion和建议：

ResearchConclusion：尚普咨询公司在国内和国际市场都面临着激烈的竞争，其竞争对手有各自的优势和劣势，其竞争对手的战略意图和行为模式都有一定的规律和特点，其竞争对手的发展趋势和可能举措都有一定的影响和威胁，尚普咨询公司需要根据竞争对手的情况，制定合理的竞争策略和应对措施，以提升自身的竞争优势和市场份额。

调研建议：尚普咨询公司可以从以下几个方面进行竞争策略和应对措施的制定：

对于麦肯锡这样的强劲竞争对手，尚普咨询公司可以采取以下策略：

专业化策略：尚普咨询公司可以专注于自身擅长的领域，如半导体、人工智能、自动驾驶等，提高自身的专业水平和服务质量，形成专业化的竞争优势，避免与麦肯锡在多个领域的直接竞争；

差异化策略：尚普咨询公司可以根据自身的特点和客户的需求，提供差异化的产品和服务，如定制化的解决方案、增值性的服务、创新性的产品等，形成差异化的竞争优势，吸引和留住客户；

合作化策略：尚普咨询公司可以与麦肯锡进行合作，如共同开发新的产品或服务、共享客户资源或信息、共享供应链或渠道等，形成合作化的竞争优势，实现互利共赢的目标。

对于华盛顿这样的主要竞争对手，尚普咨询公司可以采取以下策略：

创新化策略：尚普咨询公司可以利用自身的创新能力和敏锐度，开发新的产品或服务，或改进现有的产品或服务，以满足客户的新的需求和期望，形成创新化的竞争优势，抢占市场先机；

品牌化策略：尚普咨询公司可以利用自身的品牌影响力和信誉度，加强品牌宣传和推广，提高品牌知名度和美誉度，形成品牌化的竞争优势，增强客户的认知和信任；

机会化策略：尚普咨询公司可以利用自身的市场洞察和分析能力，发现市场的机会和创新点，如新的客户群体、新的市场需求、新的市场空间等，形成机会化的竞争优势，扩大市场份额。

对于易观这样的潜在竞争对手，尚普咨询公司可以采取以下策略：

稳定化策略：尚普咨询公司可以利用自身的稳定性和可靠性，保持现有的产品和服务的质量和性能，维持现有的客户关系和合作关系，形成稳定化的竞争优势，防止客户的流失和竞争对手的侵占；

优化化策略：尚普咨询公司可以利用自身的优化能力和效率，优化现有的产品和服务的流程和标准，优化现有的供应链和渠道，优化现有的员工和管理，形成优化化的竞争优势，降低成本和提高效益；

监控化策略：尚普咨询公司可以利用自身的监控能力和信息，监控竞争对手的动态和举措，监控市场的变化和趋势，监控客户的反馈和评价，形成监控化的竞争优势，及时调整和应对。