Basic Concepts of 1. Enterprise Research

Enterprise research is a market research method, which refers to the collection, collation, analysis and utilization of benchmarking enterprise information to understand their strengths, weaknesses, strategies, goals, behaviors and performance, so as to provide reference and support for enterprise decision-making and action.

The object of enterprise research refers to other enterprises that provide the same or similar products or services or meet the same or similar customer needs in the same market or in the same industry. Benchmarking enterprises can be divided into direct benchmarking enterprises and indirect benchmarking enterprises. Direct benchmarking enterprises refer to enterprises that provide identical or very similar products or services in the same market segment as enterprises. For example, the direct benchmarking enterprises of Shangpu Consulting Company include Washington Consulting and Analysys Consulting. Indirect benchmarking enterprises refer to enterprises that provide some of the same or some similar products or services in different market segments. For example, indirect benchmarking enterprises of Shangpu consulting company include Deloitte and McKinsey.

The content of enterprise research refers to all kinds of information of benchmarking enterprises, including but not limited to the following aspects:

Basic information of benchmarking enterprises, such as enterprise name, scale, geographical location, historical evolution, organizational structure, management team, corporate culture, etc;

Product information of benchmarking enterprises, such as product type, function, feature, quality, price, innovation, differentiation, etc;

The market situation of benchmarking enterprises, such as market share, market positioning, market objectives, market penetration, market feedback, etc;

The customer situation of the benchmarking enterprise, such as customer type, customer demand, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, customer transfer, etc;

Channel information of benchmarking enterprises, such as channel type, channel quantity, channel coverage, channel efficiency, channel cooperation, etc;

The marketing situation of benchmarking enterprises, such as marketing strategy, marketing means, marketing investment, marketing effect, marketing innovation, etc;

The financial situation of the benchmark enterprise, such as operating income, profit, cost, assets, liabilities, cash flow, etc;

The strategic situation of benchmarking enterprises, such as strategic objectives, strategic direction, strategic choice, strategic implementation, strategic evaluation, etc;

The dynamic situation of benchmarking enterprises, such as new product development, new market development, new channel establishment, new partners, new competition events, etc.

The purpose of enterprise research refers to the results that enterprises expect to achieve through enterprise research, mainly in the following aspects:

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

Insight and forecast market changes and competitive situation, grasp market opportunities and challenges;

Learn and learn from the successful experience and lessons of benchmarking enterprises, innovate and optimize their own products, services, channels, marketing and other aspects;

Develop and implement targeted competitive strategies and countermeasures to increase market share and profitability.

The basic process of 2. enterprise research

The basic process of enterprise research consists of the following steps:

Determine the objectives and scope of the research, identify the main issues and concerns of the research, and select the benchmarking enterprises and information types for the research;

Design research plans and methods, select appropriate data sources and collection methods, and formulate research schedules and budgets;

Execute research activities and collect data, obtain information of benchmarking enterprises from various channels, record and organize data according to research plans and methods;

Analyze research results and refine information, use various analysis tools and techniques to process and interpret the collected data to obtain valuable information;

Write research reports and make suggestions, present the research process and results in the form of text, charts, attachments, etc., and give targeted suggestions and opinions;

Apply research results and follow-up feedback, submit research reports and recommendations to relevant decision makers and implementers, guide and adjust corporate decisions and actions based on research results, and collect and evaluate research results and feedback.

Common Methods and Tools for 3. Enterprise Research

Common Methods and Tools for Enterprise Research

The common methods of enterprise research can be divided into two categories: active research and passive research.

Active research refers to the method of seeking and collecting information from benchmarking enterprises or related personnel, institutions and channels, such as research, questionnaire, observation, trial purchase, trial and so on. The advantage of active research is that it can obtain more direct, in-depth and detailed information, but the disadvantage is that the cost is higher, the time is longer, and the difficulty is greater, which may cause the vigilance and countermeasures of benchmarking companies.

Passive research refers to the use of existing or public sources of information, through the analysis and integration of information methods, access to benchmarking enterprise information, such as networks, newspapers, reports, exhibitions, advertising, recruitment, patents and so on. The advantages of passive research are lower cost, shorter time, less difficulty, and will not attract the attention and response of benchmarking companies, but the disadvantage is that the information may not be comprehensive, accurate, timely and unique.

The common tools of enterprise research can be divided into two categories: qualitative analysis tools and quantitative analysis tools.

Qualitative analysis tools refer to the description, classification, comparison, interpretation, etc. of the information of the benchmarking enterprise to obtain some non-numericalConclusionand judgment tools, such as SWOT analysis, Porter's Five Forces analysis, value chain analysis, and strategic group analysis. The advantage of qualitative analysis tools is that they can reveal the internal logic and relationships of benchmarking enterprises and provide some insightful views and suggestions, but the disadvantage is that there may be problems such as subjectivity, ambiguity and bias.

Quantitative analysis tools refer to the tools that obtain some numerical results and indicators by calculating, measuring, evaluating and forecasting the information of benchmarking enterprises, such as market share analysis, growth rate analysis, profitability analysis, market efficiency analysis, etc. The advantage of quantitative analysis tools is that they can provide some objective, clear and comparable data and evidence to support some quantitative decisions and actions, but the disadvantage is that they may ignore some factors that are difficult to quantify, such as brand, culture, innovation, etc.

Practical Application and Effect of 4. Enterprise Research

The practical application and effect of enterprise research can be illustrated from the following aspects:

Identify and locate their own competitive advantages and disadvantages, and improve their core competitiveness. For example, through corporate research, Shangpu Consulting found that it has strong professional capabilities and experience in market research, data analysis, and strategy formulation, but is relatively weak in marketing, customer relations, and project execution. Therefore, Shangpu Consulting decided to strengthen their core strengths, while improving their core weaknesses, improve their overall competitiveness.

Insight and forecast market changes and competitive situation, grasp market opportunities and challenges. For example, through enterprise research, Shangpu Consulting Company has found that there are some new needs and trends in the market, such as intelligence, personalization, socialization, etc., and some benchmarking enterprises have begun to provide corresponding products and services for these needs and trends, and have achieved certain market repercussions and advantages. Therefore, the company decided to follow these market changes and competitive situation, to find and seize these market opportunities and challenges.

Learn and learn from the successful experience and lessons of benchmarking enterprises, innovate and optimize their own products, services, channels, marketing and so on. For example, through enterprise research, Shangpu Consulting Company found that some benchmarking enterprises have some innovative and optimized practices in products, services, channels, marketing and other aspects, such as providing diversified product and service combinations, establishing multi-level channel cooperation relations, and adopting various forms of marketing activities, so as to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty, Increase the influence and attraction of the market. Therefore, Shangpu Consulting Company decided to learn from the successful experience and lessons of benchmarking enterprises, innovate and optimize its own products, services, channels, marketing and so on.

Develop and implement targeted competitive strategies and countermeasures to increase market share and profitability. For example, through corporate research, Shangpu Consulting found that some of the benchmarking companies have strong competitive advantages and influence in certain market segments or certain customer groups, while they are relatively weak in these areas. Therefore, Shangpu Consulting decided to develop and implement targeted competitive strategies and countermeasures, such as focusing on its own areas of strength and customer groups, or seeking cooperation and alliances with benchmarking companies, or developing new areas and customer groups, so as to increase its market share and profitability.

5. Conclusion

Enterprise research is an important market research method, which can help enterprises understand the information of benchmarking enterprises, so as to provide reference and support for the decision-making and action of enterprises. The value of enterprise research is mainly reflected in the following aspects:

It can help enterprises identify and locate their own competitive advantages and disadvantages and improve their core competitiveness;

Can help enterprises insight and predict market changes and competitive situation, grasp market opportunities and challenges;

It can help enterprises learn from the successful experience and lessons of benchmarking enterprises, innovate and optimize their own products, services, channels, marketing and so on;

It can help enterprises to formulate and implement targeted competitive strategies and countermeasures to improve market share and profitability.

The basic process of enterprise research consists of the following steps:

Determine the objectives and scope of the research, identify the main issues and concerns of the research, and select the benchmarking enterprises and information types for the research;

Design research plans and methods, select appropriate data sources and collection methods, and formulate research schedules and budgets;

Execute research activities and collect data, obtain information of benchmarking enterprises from various channels, record and organize data according to research plans and methods;

Analyze research results and refine information, use various analysis tools and techniques to process and interpret the collected data to obtain valuable information;

Write research reports and make suggestions, present the research process and results in the form of text, charts, attachments, etc., and give targeted suggestions and opinions;

Apply research results and follow-up feedback, submit research reports and recommendations to relevant decision makers and implementers, guide and adjust corporate decisions and actions based on research results, and collect and evaluate research results and feedback.