Purpose of 1. Competitor Research

The purpose of competitor research is to understand the market environment and competitive situation, assess their competitiveness and market position, discover the strengths and weaknesses of competitors and action intentions, identify competitive space and opportunities, and formulate effective marketing strategies and differentiation advantages. Specifically, competitor research can help companies achieve the following objectives:

Identify and define competitors: Competitors include not only direct competitors, but also potential competitors, substitute competitors, cross-industry competitors, etc. Companies need to identify the most important and influential competitors based on their products, markets, customers and other factors in order to conduct targeted research and analysis.

Understand and compare the situation of competitors: the situation of competitors includes their product characteristics, service quality, price strategy, market share, customer satisfaction, brand image, marketing channels, innovation ability and other aspects. Enterprises need to collect and analyze this information in order to understand and compare the strengths and weaknesses of competitors, find their own gaps and potential, and enhance their competitiveness and market position.

Predict and respond to competitors' actions: competitors' actions include their development history, competitive strategy, core competitiveness, market trends, new product launches, promotional activities, partners and other aspects. Companies need to focus on and anticipate these actions in order to anticipate and respond to the impact and threats of competitors, to grasp and exploit the opportunities and weaknesses of competitors, and to develop effective response strategies and action plans.

Content of 2. competitor research

The content of the competitor research is based on the purpose of the competitor research and the actual needs of the enterprise, and generally includes the following aspects:

Basic information of competitors: including the name, address, contact information, scale, establishment time, organizational structure, management team, shareholder structure, financial status, main business, main customers, main partners and other basic information of competitors. This information can help companies understand the background and profile of competitors and provide a basis for further research and analysis.

Competitor's product profile: including competitors' product categories, product characteristics, product quality, product innovation, product life cycle, product mix, product positioning, product differentiation and other product profiles. This information can help companies understand and compare the advantages and disadvantages of competitors' products, discover their product gaps and potential, and enhance their product competitiveness and market share.

Competitor's price situation: including the competitor's price level, price range, price strategy, price elasticity, price change, price promotion and other price situation. This information can help companies understand and compare the price advantages and disadvantages of competitors, discover their own price gaps and potential, and improve their price competitiveness and profit margins.

Competitor's channel situation: including the competitor's channel type, channel mode, channel layout, channel efficiency, channel control, channel cooperation, channel innovation and other channel situation. This information can help companies understand and compare the advantages and disadvantages of competitors' channels, discover their own channel gaps and potential, and improve their channel competitiveness and market coverage.

Competitor's marketing situation: including competitors' marketing objectives, marketing strategies, marketing mix, marketing activities, marketing effectiveness, marketing innovation and other marketing situation. This information can help companies understand and compare the marketing strengths and weaknesses of competitors, find their own marketing gaps and potential, and enhance their marketing competitiveness and market influence.

Competitor's customer situation: including competitors' target customers, customer needs, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, customer conversion rate, customer maintenance, customer value and other customer situation. This information can help companies understand and compare the strengths and weaknesses of competitors' customers, discover their customer gaps and potential, and enhance their customer competitiveness and market share.

Competitor's brand information: including competitor's brand name, brand logo, brand positioning, brand image, brand proposition, brand value, brand personality, brand communication, brand loyalty, brand innovation and other brand information. This information can help companies understand and compare the strengths and weaknesses of competitors' brands, discover their own brand gaps and potential, and enhance their brand competitiveness and market awareness.

Methods and tools for 3. competitor research

The methods and tools of competitor research are selected according to the content of competitor research and the actual situation of the enterprise, which generally include the following:

Desktop research: Desktop research refers to the collection and analysis of competitors' public information, such as official websites, social media, news reports, industry reports, financial statements, patent applications, job advertisements, etc., to understand competitors' basic information, product conditions, price conditions, channel conditions, marketing conditions, brand conditions, etc. The advantages of desktop research are low cost, fast speed, and wide range, but the disadvantage is that the information may be incomplete, inaccurate, not timely, and not in-depth.

On-site research: On-site research refers to the direct or indirect observation and experience of competitors' products, services, channels, marketing, etc., to understand the competitor's product situation, price situation, channel situation, marketing situation, customer situation. The advantage of on-site investigation is that the information is more real, more intuitive, and more in-depth. The disadvantage is that it is costly, long, and narrow in scope, which may attract the attention and response of competitors.

Questionnaire survey: questionnaire survey refers to the design and distribution of a series of questions to the competitor's customers, suppliers, partners, employees and other relevant personnel to investigate, to understand the competitor's customer situation, brand situation, market trends, action intention and so on. The advantage of questionnaire survey is that the information is more objective, more systematic and more quantitative, but the disadvantage is that it is difficult to design, recycle and analyze, and may be interfered and hindered by competitors.

Interview research: interview research refers to face-to-face or telephone communication with competitors' customers, suppliers, partners, employees and other relevant personnel to understand competitors' customer situation, brand situation, market trend, action intention, etc. The advantages of interview research are that the information is more subjective, more flexible and more qualitative, while the disadvantages are high cost, long time and narrow scope, which may be resisted and counterattacked by competitors.

The methods and tools of competitor research can be organically combined and matched according to different purposes and contents to achieve the best results. For example, you can first collect basic information about competitors through desktop research, then observe competitors' products and services through on-site research, then understand competitors' customer needs and satisfaction through questionnaire research, and finally predict competitors' market trends and action intentions through interview research.

Practical examples of 4. competitor research

In order to better illustrate the practical value and application of competitor research, this paper provides three specific case studies, using Shangpu Consulting as an example, namely:

Case 1: Shangpu Consulting provided a competitor research service for an automobile manufacturer to help it understand and compare the product characteristics, price strategy, market share, customer satisfaction, etc. of its competitors, so as to provide reference for the development and positioning of its new products. Using desktop research and on-site research methods, Champu Consulting collected and analyzed competitors' public information and on-site observations, and came to the following conclusions:

Competitor's product characteristics are mainly the following aspects: safety, comfort, energy saving, intelligence, personalization. Among them, safety and comfort are the basic requirements, energy saving and intelligence are the advantages of value-added, and personalization is the characteristic of differentiation.

Competitors' pricing strategies are as follows: high-end pricing, mid-range pricing, low-end pricing, penetration pricing, and bundled pricing. Among them, high-end pricing and mid-range pricing are for high-income and middle-income customers, low-end pricing and penetration pricing are for low-income and new-to-market customers, and bundled pricing is for diversified and loyal customers.

The market share of competitors is mainly affected by the following factors: brand awareness, product quality, price competitiveness, channel coverage, marketing activities, and customer reputation. Among them, brand awareness and product quality are stable factors, price competitiveness and channel coverage are changing factors, and marketing activities and customer reputation are promoting factors.

Competitors' customer satisfaction is mainly affected by the following factors: product performance, service attitude, after-sales guarantee, user experience, and user participation. Among them, product performance and service attitude are the basic factors, after-sales guarantee and user experience are the factors to enhance, and user participation is the factor to enhance.

Based on the above conclusions, Champ Consulting makes the following recommendations for automakers:

In terms of product characteristics, we should pay attention to the improvement of energy saving and intelligence, as well as personalized differentiation, so as to meet the diversified and personalized needs of customers, while ensuring the basic level of safety and comfort.

In terms of pricing strategy, different pricing strategies should be adopted according to different target markets and target customers in order to achieve maximum profits and market share, while taking into account the impact of competitors' price changes and promotional activities, and flexibly adjust their pricing strategies.

In terms of market share, we should improve our brand awareness and product quality to enhance our market position and competitiveness, and at the same time expand our price competitiveness and channel coverage to seize more market share, while strengthening our marketing Activities and customer reputation to enhance their market influence and loyalty.

In terms of customer satisfaction, we should optimize our product performance and service attitude to meet the basic expectations and needs of customers, and at the same time improve our after-sales protection and user experience to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty, and at the same time increase our user participation and user value to enhance customer stickiness and recommend.

Case 2: Shangpu Consulting provided competitor research services for an e-commerce platform to help it understand and compare competitors' channel models, marketing strategies, brand image, innovation capabilities, etc., in order to optimize and upgrade its platform Provide reference. Using desktop research and questionnaire surveys, Champ Consulting collected and analyzed competitors' public information and questionnaires and came to the following conclusions:

The main channel models of competitors are as follows: self-supporting model, platform model, hybrid model, social model, and content model. Among them, the self-operated model and the platform model are the traditional model, the hybrid model and the social model are the innovative model, and the content model is the emerging model.

Competitors have the following marketing strategies: price marketing, promotional marketing, membership marketing, social marketing, and content marketing. Among them, price marketing and promotional marketing are commonly used strategies, membership marketing and social marketing are efficiency strategies, and content marketing is a value-added strategy.

The brand image of competitors mainly includes the following aspects: brand name, brand logo, brand slogan, brand story, brand color, brand style, brand atmosphere, etc. These aspects can help competitors shape their own brand personality and brand emotions to attract and retain customers.

Competitors' innovation capabilities are mainly in the following areas: technological innovation, product innovation, service innovation, model innovation, and cultural innovation. These aspects can help competitors improve their core competitiveness and market leadership to cope with market changes and challenges.

Based on the aboveConclusion, Champu Consulting has made the following suggestions for e-commerce platforms:

In terms of channel mode, we should choose the appropriate channel mode according to our own product characteristics and customer needs to achieve the maximum channel efficiency and channel effect, and at the same time consider the advantages and disadvantages of competitors' channel mode, and flexibly adjust our own channel mode.

In terms of marketing strategy, we should choose the appropriate marketing strategy according to our own market objectives and market environment to achieve the maximum marketing input and marketing output, while considering the influence and reaction of competitors' marketing strategies, and flexibly adjust our marketing strategies.

In terms of brand image, you should choose the appropriate brand elements according to your own brand positioning and brand proposition to achieve the greatest brand awareness and brand loyalty, while considering the differences and advantages of competitors' brand image, and flexibly adjust your brand image.

In terms of innovation ability, we should choose the appropriate innovation direction according to our own technical level and market demand, so as to achieve the maximum innovation value and innovation effect. At the same time, we should consider the threats and opportunities of competitors' innovation ability, and flexibly adjust our innovation ability.

Case 3: Shangpu Consulting provided a competitor research service for a restaurant chain, with the purpose of helping it understand and compare the development history, competitive strategy, core competitiveness, etc. of its competitors, so as to provide reference for the expansion and upgrading of its brand. Champu Consulting used desktop research and interview research methods to collect and analyze competitors' public information and interview exchanges, resulting in the followingConclusion：

The development process of competitors mainly includes the following stages: entrepreneurship stage, growth stage, stability stage, transformation stage and crisis stage. Among them, the entrepreneurial stage and the growth stage are the stages of rapid development, the stable stage and the transition stage are the stages of steady development, and the crisis stage is the stage of recession development.

The main competitive strategies of competitors are as follows: cost leadership strategy, differentiation strategy, centralization strategy, diversification strategy, and alliance strategy. Among them, cost leadership strategy and differentiation strategy is the basic strategy, centralization strategy and diversification strategy is the advanced strategy, alliance strategy is the strategy of collaboration.

The core competitiveness of competitors mainly includes the following aspects: product quality, service level, brand image, management ability, innovation ability, etc. These aspects can help competitors improve their market position and customer loyalty to resist competition and changes in the market.

Based on the aboveConclusion, Champ Consulting has made the following recommendations for restaurant chains:

In terms of development process, we should choose the appropriate development strategy according to our own development stage and development goals, so as to achieve the maximum development speed and development effect. At the same time, we should consider the experience and lessons of competitors' development process, and flexibly adjust our development strategy.

In terms of competitive strategy, one should choose an appropriate competitive strategy based on one's own competitive advantage and competitive environment in order to achieve the greatest competitive advantage and competitive effect, while considering the impact and reaction of competitors' competitive strategy and adjusting one's competitive strategy flexibly.

In terms of core competitiveness, we should choose the appropriate core competitiveness according to our own product characteristics and service characteristics to achieve the greatest core value and core effect, and at the same time consider the threats and opportunities of competitors' core competitiveness. flexibly adjust your core competitiveness.