Competitors are other businesses that offer the same or similar products or services in the same market, competing with the business for market share, customers, and profits. Competitor research is the process of identifying and studying competitors to obtain information about their background, products, prices, channels, marketing, finance, strategy, etc. The purpose of competitor research is to understand the competitive environment, discover the strengths and weaknesses of competitors, formulate effective competitive strategies, and improve the competitiveness and profitability of enterprises.

Competitor research tools and resources are the means and means that can help companies collect competitor information, including the Internet, competitive platforms, customer feedback, and personal channels. The following describes the characteristics and usage of each of these four tools and resources, and how to use them for competitor research.

Internet

The Internet is one of the most commonly used and convenient tools for competitor research. It can provide a large amount of public and free competitor information, including competitors' official websites, social media, news reports, industry reports, patent databases, recruitment websites, review platforms, etc. Through the Internet, enterprises can obtain the basic situation of competitors, development history, product characteristics, price strategy, channel layout, marketing activities, technological innovation, financial situation, word-of-mouth evaluation and other information, so as to have a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of competitors.

There are several ways to use the Internet to conduct competitor research:

Use professional competitor analysis tools, such as Ahrefs, use industry websites and databases, such as Crunchbase, enter the name of the competitor, view the competitor's company profile, investment, acquisition, financial report, etc., and analyze the size, background and financial situation of the competitor.

Use social media, such as Weibo, WeChat, LinkedIn, Zhihu, etc., to pay attention to competitors' official accounts, employee accounts, customer accounts, etc., view competitors' dynamics, interactions, comments, etc., and analyze competitors' brand image, customer relationship, market feedback, etc.

Use comment platforms, such as G, to enter competitors' products, view competitors' user evaluations, ratings, advantages and disadvantages, etc., and analyze competitors' product performance, user satisfaction, market reputation, etc.

Competition Platform

Competition platform refers to the platform that allows enterprises and competitors to directly or indirectly compare and compete, including bidding platform, e-commerce platform, industry exhibition, selection activities and so on. Through the competition platform, enterprises can obtain competitors' product samples, quotation plans, sales data, industry status and other information, so as to have an intuitive and practical understanding of competitors.

There are several ways to use competitive platforms to conduct competitor research:

Use the bidding platform, such as the Chinese government procurement network, enter the relevant project name, industry category, regional scope, etc., view the bidding announcement, bid announcement, bid winning results, etc., find out the competitors participating in the bidding, and analyze the competitors' quotation level, technical solutions, partners, etc.

Use e-commerce platforms, such as Taobao, Jingdong, Amazon, etc., enter relevant product names, brand names, keywords, etc., view product pages, store pages, sales rankings, etc., find out competitors selling the same or similar products, and analyze Competitor's product characteristics, price strategy, sales volume, customer evaluation, etc.

Use industry exhibitions, such as China International Import Expo, China International Information and Communication Exhibition, etc., to participate in related exhibition activities, check exhibitions, forum speeches, business negotiations, etc., identify participating competitors, and analyze competitors' product display and technology Demonstration, marketing, etc.

Use selection activities, such as China's Best Employer Award, China's Most Valuable Brand Award, etc., pay attention to related selection activities, check the selection criteria, selection process, selection results, etc., find out the winning competitors, and analyze the competitors' advantages, Industry influence, market recognition, etc.

Customer Feedback

Customer feedback refers to the information about competitors collected by enterprises from existing customers or potential customers, including customer satisfaction surveys, customer interviews, customer complaints, customer suggestions, etc. Through customer feedback, enterprises can obtain information about competitors' product quality, service level, customer needs, customer preferences, etc., so as to have an objective and true assessment of competitors.

There are several ways to use customer feedback to conduct competitor research:

Use customer satisfaction surveys, such as questionnaire stars, design related questions, send online or offline questionnaires to customers, collect customers' evaluations, feelings, suggestions, etc. of competitors, and analyze customer satisfaction, loyalty, conversion rate, etc.

Use customer interviews, such as telephone interviews, face-to-face interviews, etc., select some representative customers, conduct in-depth communication with customers, collect customers' views, experiences, expectations, etc. on competitors, and analyze customers' needs, pain points, solutions, etc.

Use customer complaints, such as customer service center, complaint platform, etc., to collect customer dissatisfaction, complaints, opinions, etc. to analyze competitors' problems, weaknesses, room for improvement, etc.

Use customer suggestions, such as suggestion boxes, proposals, etc., to collect customers' praise, affirmation, proposals, etc. for competitors, and analyze the advantages, highlights, innovations, etc. of competitors.

Personal channels

Personal channel refers to the enterprise through their own employees, partners, industry experts and other network, to collect competitor information, they include employee internal information, partner external information, industry experts professional information. Through personal channels, companies can obtain information about competitors' organizational structure, personnel changes, partnerships, industry dynamics, etc., so as to have a deep and sensitive insight into competitors.

There are several ways to use personal channels to conduct competitor research:

Use employee internal information, such as employee address book, employee social network, etc., to identify employees associated with competitors, such as former employees, friends and relatives, peer employees, etc., communicate with them, collect the internal situation of competitors, personnel changes, strategic plans, etc.

Use partner external information, such as suppliers, distributors, customers, etc., to identify partners with competitors, such as common suppliers, distributors, customers, etc., to contact them, to collect the external situation of competitors, cooperation status, market reaction, etc.

Use professional information of industry experts, such as consultants, analysts, scholars, etc., to find out industry experts who have research on competitors, such as consultants who provide consulting for competitors, analysts who do analysis for competitors, and scholars who write papers for competitors, etc., consult with them and collect professional information, industry trends, technological development, etc. of competitors.

These are the four tools and resources for competitor research and how to use them to collect competitor information. The following will show the process and methodology of competitor research, as well as the value and significance of competitor research, in conjunction with the actual case of Champ Consulting.

Case Study of Competitors at Champu Consulting

Shangpu Consulting Company is a consulting company specializing in corporate management consulting, strategic consulting, market research and other services. It was established in 2010 and is headquartered in Beijing. It has more than 100 consultants and analysts. Its clients include PetroChina, Huawei, Baidu, Jingdong and other well-known enterprises. Champ Consulting's competitors are in the following categories:

Internationally renowned consulting companies, such as McKinsey, Boston Consulting, Bain Consulting, etc., have a long history and deep accumulation in the consulting field, have a wide range of customers and excellent consulting teams, and have a strong brand influence and industry status.

Leading domestic consulting companies, such as Washington Consulting, Huawei Consulting, CIIC Consulting, etc., have rich experience and professional capabilities in the consulting field, have stable customer relationships and efficient consulting processes, and have high market share and customer satisfaction.

Emerging consulting companies, such as Analysys Consulting, iResearch Consulting, McKinsey Digital, etc., have innovative thinking and flexible models in the consulting field, have keen market insights and advanced technical means, and have great development potential and competition Advantage.

In response to these competitors, Champ Consulting has used the following competitor research methodology:

Using the competitive platform, Shangpu Consulting collected competitors' product samples, quotation plans, sales data, industry status, etc. through bidding platforms, e-commerce platforms, industry exhibitions, selection activities, etc., so as to understand competitors' product display, technology demonstration, marketing, etc.

Using customer feedback, Shangpu Consulting collected competitors' user evaluations, ratings, advantages and disadvantages through customer satisfaction surveys, customer interviews, customer complaints, customer suggestions, etc., so as to evaluate competitors' product performance, user satisfaction, market reputation, etc.

Personal channels

Personal channel refers to the enterprise through their own employees, partners, industry experts and other network, to collect competitor information, they include employee internal information, partner external information, industry experts professional information. Through personal channels, companies can obtain information about competitors' organizational structure, personnel changes, partnerships, industry dynamics, etc., so as to have a deep and sensitive insight into competitors.

There are several ways to use personal channels to conduct competitor research:

Use employee internal information, such as employee address book, employee social network, etc., to identify employees associated with competitors, such as former employees, friends and relatives, peer employees, etc., communicate with them, collect the internal situation of competitors, personnel changes, strategic plans, etc.

Use partner external information, such as suppliers, distributors, customers, etc., to identify partners with competitors, such as common suppliers, distributors, customers, etc., to contact them, to collect the external situation of competitors, cooperation status, market reaction, etc.

Use professional information of industry experts, such as consultants, analysts, scholars, etc., to find out industry experts who have research on competitors, such as consultants who provide consulting for competitors, analysts who do analysis for competitors, and scholars who write papers for competitors, etc., consult with them and collect professional information, industry trends, technological development, etc. of competitors.

Through these competitor research methods, Champu Consulting obtained the following competitor research results:

For internationally renowned consulting companies, Shangpu Consulting found that their advantages lie in brand reputation, customer resources, consulting quality, etc., but there are also some disadvantages, such as high prices, service rigidity, and poor adaptability. Therefore, the competitive strategy of Shangpu Consulting is to provide more cost-effective, more flexible and customized, and more local consulting services to attract customers who are price-sensitive, flexible, and localized.

For the leading domestic consulting companies, Shangpu Consulting found that their advantages lie in market share, customer relationship, consulting efficiency, etc., but there are also some disadvantages, such as product homogeneity, conservative service, lack of innovation and so on. Therefore, the competitive strategy of Shangpu Consulting is to provide more differentiated, forward-looking, and innovative consulting services to attract customers who are interested in product characteristics, service frontiers, and innovative value.

For emerging consulting companies, Shangpu Consulting found that their advantages lie in market insight, technical means, innovation models, etc., but there are also some disadvantages, such as lack of experience, team instability, low reputation and so on. Therefore, the competitive strategy of Shangpu Consulting is to provide more experienced, more stable, and more reputable consulting services to attract customers who are important to experience, important to stability, and important to reputation.

Through these competitor research results, Shangpu Consulting has obtained the following competitor research value and significance:

Through competitor research, Shangpu Consulting can more clearly understand its position and advantages in the market, so as to provide its own consulting services with more confidence and direction.

Through competitor research, Shangpu Consulting can more accurately identify customer needs and preferences, thereby more effectively and satisfactorily meeting customer consulting needs.

Through competitor research, Shangpu Consulting can identify market changes and opportunities in a more timely manner, so as to adjust its consulting strategy more flexibly and innovatively.