The Importance of 1. Enterprise Research

In today's market economy environment, enterprises are facing fierce competitive pressure, not only to deal with changes in customer demand, technological progress in the industry, policy adjustments and other external factors, but also pay attention to the trend and behavior of benchmarking enterprises, in order to prevent benchmarking enterprises beyond or eliminated by the market. Therefore, enterprise research has become an indispensable work for enterprises, with the following aspects of significance:

Discover market opportunities. Through enterprise research, enterprises can understand the market positioning, target customers, product characteristics, price strategy, channel layout, marketing activities, etc. of benchmarking enterprises, and find out the advantages and disadvantages of benchmarking enterprises, as well as the gaps and needs of the market, so as to find their own differentiation and breakthrough points, seize market opportunities, and improve market share and profit margins.

Avoid market risk. Through enterprise research, enterprises can timely grasp the dynamics and changes of benchmarking enterprises, such as the introduction of new products, the application of new technologies, the establishment of new cooperation, the impact of new policies, etc., so as to predict the possible actions of benchmarking enterprises and their impact on the market, and make corresponding countermeasures in time to avoid being seized by benchmarking enterprises or eliminated by the market.

Improve product and service quality. Through enterprise research, enterprises can compare their products and services with those of benchmarking enterprises, evaluate and analyze their functions, quality, performance, design, experience, etc., and find out their own advantages and disadvantages, so as to continuously improve and innovate their products and services and enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Optimize resource allocation. Through enterprise research, enterprises can determine their own strategies and objectives according to the strategies and capabilities of benchmarking enterprises, and reasonably allocate their own resources, such as manpower, capital, technology, channels, etc., in order to maximize efficiency and effectiveness and avoid waste and mismatch of resources.

Enhance brand influence. Through enterprise research, enterprises can clarify their brand positioning, proposition, image, personality, etc., and carry out differentiated and characteristic brand construction with benchmarking enterprises, enhance their brand awareness and reputation, and enhance their brand influence and competitiveness.

Methods and Steps of 2. Enterprise Research

Enterprise research is a systematic process, which needs to follow certain methods and steps to ensure the validity and accuracy of the research. Generally speaking, enterprise research can be divided into the following five steps:

Identify research objects. The first step in enterprise research is to identify the research object, that is, which benchmark enterprises need to be investigated. This step needs to be based on their own market positioning, target customers, product characteristics, etc., to screen out the benchmark enterprises with their direct or indirect competitive relationship, generally can be divided from the following aspects:

Direct benchmarking enterprises. Refers to benchmarking companies that provide the same or similar products or services as themselves, target the same or similar target customers, and adopt the same or similar marketing strategies, such as Tesla and Celeste.

Indirect benchmarking enterprises. Benchmarking companies, such as Tesla and BYD Auto, that offer different but alternative products or services and adopt different marketing strategies for the same or similar target customers.

Potential benchmarking companies. Refers to benchmark companies that have not yet formed a direct or indirect competitive relationship with themselves, but are likely to enter their own markets or fields in the future, or expand the scope of their products or services, and form a competitive relationship with them, such as Tesla and Apple Motors.

General benchmarking enterprises. Refers to benchmarking companies that provide different and irreplaceable products or services, and adopt different marketing strategies for different target customers, such as Tesla and Mercedes-Benz.

Collect information. The second step of enterprise research is to collect information, that is, to collect all kinds of information about the benchmarking enterprise, including basic information, strategic information, capability information, advantage information, disadvantage information, dynamic information and expected information. This step requires the use of a variety of channels and methods to obtain as comprehensive, accurate and timely information as possible, which can generally be collected from the following aspects:

Public information. Refers to the information publicly released by benchmarking enterprises, such as official websites, social media, news reports, financial reports, recruitment information, advertising, product manuals, etc., which are generally easy to obtain, but may also be distorted, outdated, incomplete and so on.

Non-public information. Refers to information that is not publicly released by benchmarking companies, such as internal strategies, core technologies, customer data, market dynamics, future plans, etc., which are generally difficult to obtain, but may also have higher value and authenticity.

First-hand information. Refers to the information obtained through one's own personal experience or direct investigation, such as purchasing products or services of benchmarking enterprises, conducting trials or tests, or conducting surveys or questionnaires on customers, employees, suppliers and partners of benchmarking enterprises. These information are generally true, effective and timely, but there may also be problems such as high cost, high difficulty and small scope.

Second-hand information. Refers to the information obtained through third-party institutions or experts, such as industry reports, market research, professional consulting, academic papers, etc. These information are generally authoritative, professional, and systematic, but there may also be problems such as lagging, incomplete, and untargeted.

Analysis and evaluation. The third step of enterprise research is analysis and evaluation, that is, the collected information is collated, summarized, classified, compared, calculated, etc., in order to obtain valuable.Conclusionand insights to support business decisions. This step requires the use of a variety of analytical tools and methods to analyze and evaluate from different angles and levels, which can generally be analyzed in the following ways:

Strategic analysis of benchmarking firms. Refers to the analysis of the benchmark enterprise's strategic objectives, strategic choices, strategic implementation, etc., in order to understand the benchmark enterprise's development direction, priority, core competitiveness, etc., commonly used tools and methods are SWOT analysis, Porter five forces analysis, value chain analysis, VRIO analysis and so on.

Capability analysis of benchmarking firms. Refers to the analysis of the benchmarking enterprise's resources, technology, talent, innovation, finance and other aspects of the ability to understand the benchmarking enterprise's strength level, advantages, disadvantages, etc., commonly used tools and methods are resource-based theory, core competence theory, balanced scorecard, financial ratio analysis.

Analysis of the advantages of benchmarking enterprises. It refers to the analysis of the advantages of benchmarking enterprises in the market, such as brand awareness, customer loyalty, market share, product quality, service level, channel coverage, cost control, etc., in order to understand the competitive advantage and sustainable advantage of benchmarking enterprises. Commonly used tools and methods include competitive advantage matrix, sustainable advantage matrix, market share analysis, customer satisfaction analysis, etc.

An analysis of the disadvantages of benchmarking firms. Refers to the analysis of benchmarking enterprises' disadvantages in the market, such as brand image, customer churn, market gaps, product defects, service deficiencies, channel bottlenecks, cost increases, etc., to understand the competitive disadvantages and potential crises of benchmarking enterprises. Commonly used tools and methods include competitive disadvantage matrix, potential crisis matrix, market gap analysis, customer churn analysis, etc.

Dynamic analysis of benchmarking firms. Refers to the analysis of the dynamic changes of benchmarking enterprises, such as the introduction of new products, the application of new technologies, the establishment of new cooperation, the impact of new policies, etc., in order to understand the actions and reactions of benchmarking enterprises, commonly used tools and methods are dynamic competition analysis, benchmarking enterprise response analysis, benchmarking enterprise forecast analysis.

Expectation analysis of benchmarking firms. Refers to the analysis of the expected goals, expected strategies, expected behaviors, etc. of benchmarking enterprises to understand the intentions and motivations of benchmarking enterprises, commonly used tools and methods include benchmarking enterprise intention analysis, benchmarking enterprise motivation analysis, benchmarking enterprise behavior analysis, etc.

Develop a strategy. The fourth step of enterprise research is to formulate strategies, that is, according to the results of analysis and evaluation, to formulate their own strategies and marketing strategies to deal with the threats and challenges of benchmarking enterprises, or to use the opportunities and weaknesses of benchmarking enterprises to achieve their own goals and advantages. This step needs to be combined with their own actual situation, to develop a reasonable, feasible and effective strategy, generally can be formulated from the following aspects:

Develop your own strategy for the strategy of the benchmarking company. Refers to the benchmarking enterprise's strategic objectives, strategic choices, strategic implementation, etc., to develop their own strategic objectives, strategic choices, strategic implementation, etc., in order to achieve strategic matching or strategic differentiation with the benchmarking enterprise, commonly used strategies are follow-up strategy, leading strategy, breakout strategy, detour strategy.

Develop your own capabilities for the capabilities of the benchmarking firm. Refers to the benchmarking enterprise's resources, technology, talent, innovation, finance and other aspects of the ability to develop their own resources, technology, talent, innovation, finance and other aspects of the ability to achieve a balance with the benchmarking enterprise or ability beyond, commonly used strategies are catch-up strategy, beyond strategy, differentiation strategy, specialization strategy.

Develop your own strengths for the strengths of the benchmarking company. According to the advantages of benchmarking enterprises in terms of brand awareness, customer loyalty, market share, product quality, service level, channel coverage, cost control, etc., to formulate their own advantages in terms of brand awareness, customer loyalty, market share, product quality, service level, channel coverage, cost control, etc., so as to realize the competition or outstanding advantages with benchmarking enterprises, commonly used strategies are confrontation strategies, imitation strategies, innovation strategies, and focus strategies.

Develop your own disadvantages for the disadvantages of benchmarking companies. It refers to formulating its own disadvantages in terms of brand image, customer loss, market gap, product defect, service deficiency, channel bottleneck and cost increase according to the disadvantages of benchmarking enterprises in terms of brand image, customer loss, market gap, product defect, service deficiency, channel bottleneck and cost increase, so as to avoid or improve the disadvantages of benchmarking enterprises, common strategies include avoidance strategies, improvement strategies, filling strategies, and transfer strategies.

Develop your own dynamics for the dynamics of benchmarking companies. According to the dynamic changes of benchmarking enterprises in the aspects of the launch of new products, the application of new technologies, the establishment of new cooperation, the impact of new policies, etc., to formulate their own dynamic changes in the launch of new products, the application of new technologies, the establishment of new cooperation, the impact of new policies, etc., in order to achieve dynamic follow-up or dynamic leadership with benchmarking enterprises, commonly used strategies are follow-up strategies, leading strategies, counter-strategies, and cooperative strategies.

Develop your own expectations for the expectations of the benchmarking company. Refers to the benchmarking enterprise's expected target, expected strategy, expected behavior and other aspects of the expected situation according to the expected target, expected strategy, expected behavior and other aspects of the expected situation, in order to achieve the expected match with the benchmarking enterprise or expected beyond, commonly used strategies include matching strategy, beyond strategy, interference strategy, influence strategy and so on.

Perform monitoring. The fifth step of enterprise research is to carry out monitoring, that is, to carry out corresponding actions according to the formulated strategies, and to monitor the effects and feedback of themselves and benchmarking enterprises, as well as the changes and trends of the market, and to adjust and optimize their own strategies and actions in time to maintain their competitiveness. This step requires the establishment of an effective enforcement mechanism and monitoring mechanism to ensure the implementation of the strategy and the evaluation of its effectiveness, which can generally be implemented and monitored from the following aspects:

Develop an implementation plan. Refers to the formulation of specific implementation plans based on the developed strategy, including implementation objectives, implementation content, implementation steps, implementation responsibilities, implementation time, implementation budget, etc., to ensure the landing and implementation of the strategy.

Establish an executive team. It refers to the establishment of a professional executive team according to the executive plan, including the executive director, executive members, executive coordinator, etc., to ensure the cooperation and efficiency of the implementation.

Implementation of enforcement actions. Refers to the implementation of specific implementation actions according to the implementation plan and the implementation team, such as the development of new products, the application of new technologies, the establishment of new cooperation, the promotion of new brands, the provision of new services, etc., to ensure the quality and effectiveness of the implementation.

Monitor the execution effect. Refers to the implementation plan and implementation actions, monitoring their own implementation results, such as market feedback, customer satisfaction, sales performance, profit levels, brand influence, etc., to ensure the evaluation and improvement of implementation.

Monitor benchmarking corporate responses. Refers to monitoring the response of benchmarking enterprises according to the implementation plan and implementation actions, such as the actions and feedback of benchmarking enterprises, the strengths and weaknesses of benchmarking enterprises, the dynamics and expectations of benchmarking enterprises, etc., to ensure the response and optimization of implementation.

Monitor market changes. Refers to monitoring changes in the market, such as market demand and supply, market opportunities and risks, market trends and laws, etc., according to the implementation plan and implementation actions, to ensure the adaptation and innovation of the implementation.

Cases and Effects of 3. Enterprise Research

In order to better illustrate the process and significance of enterprise research, the application and effect of enterprise research are shown below with the actual case of Shangpu Consulting Company.

Shangpu Consulting Co., Ltd. is a company specializing in consulting services in the fields of corporate strategy, marketing, organizational change, human resources, financial management, etc., with many years of industry experience and professional knowledge, providing high-quality consulting solutions for many customers Program. The main benchmarking companies of Shangpu Consulting Company include internationally renowned consulting companies such as McKinsey, Boston, and Bain, as well as leading domestic technology companies such as Huawei, Alibaba, and Tencent. These benchmarking companies have strong brand influence and customer resources., Technical capabilities, innovation capabilities and other advantages have put huge competitive pressure on Shangpu Consulting Company.

In order to improve its competitiveness, Shangpu Consulting conducted a comprehensive enterprise research, the specific process and results are as follows:

Identify research objects. Shangpu Consulting has determined its market positioning, target customers, product characteristics, etc., and selected the benchmark enterprises with which it has a direct or indirect competitive relationship, which are divided into the following four categories:

Direct benchmarking enterprises. Refers to benchmarking companies that provide the same or similar consulting services as Champ Consulting and adopt the same or similar marketing strategies for the same or similar target customers, such as McKinsey, Boston, Bain and other internationally renowned consulting firms.

Indirect benchmarking enterprises. It refers to the benchmark enterprises that provide different but alternative consulting services with Shangpu Consulting Company and adopt different marketing strategies for the same or similar target customers, such as Huawei, Alibaba, Tencent and other leading domestic technology companies. They meet the consulting needs of customers by providing cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence and other technical services.

Potential benchmarking companies. It refers to the benchmarking enterprises that have not formed a direct or indirect competitive relationship with Shangpu Consulting Company at present, but may enter the market or field of Shangpu Consulting Company in the future, or expand the scope of their own consulting services. to form a competitive relationship with Shangpu Consulting Company, such as Baidu, Jingdong, Meituan and other rapidly developing Internet companies in China, they provide personalized consulting services by collecting and analyzing massive user data.

General benchmarking enterprises. It refers to the benchmark enterprises that provide different and irreplaceable consulting services with Shangpu consulting company and adopt different marketing strategies for different target customers, such as Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young and other internationally renowned accounting firms. They meet the consulting needs of customers by providing professional services such as audit, tax and legal services.

Collect information. Champu Consulting uses a variety of channels and methods to collect information about benchmarking companies, including the following aspects:

Basic information about the benchmarking enterprise, such as company name, time of establishment, registered capital, legal representative, shareholder structure, organizational structure, employee size, geographical location, main business, main customers, main partners, etc.

The strategic situation of the benchmarking enterprise, such as strategic objectives, strategic choices, strategic implementation, strategic evaluation, etc.

The ability of the benchmarking enterprise, such as resource ability, technical ability, talent ability, innovation ability, financial ability, etc.

The advantages of benchmarking enterprises, such as brand advantage, customer advantage, market advantage, product advantage, service advantage, channel advantage, cost advantage, etc.

Benchmarking enterprise disadvantage, such as brand disadvantage, customer disadvantage, market disadvantage, product disadvantage, service disadvantage, channel disadvantage, cost disadvantage, etc.

The dynamic situation of benchmarking enterprises, such as the introduction of new products, the application of new technologies, the establishment of new cooperation, the impact of new policies, etc.

The expected situation of the benchmarking enterprise, such as expected goals, expected strategies, expected behaviors, etc.

Analysis and evaluation. The information collected was analyzed and evaluated by Champ Consulting, using a variety of analytical tools and methods, from different angles and levels, and the following aspects were obtained.Conclusionand insight:

Strategic analysis of benchmarking firms. Shangpu Consulting Company found that the strategic goal of benchmarking enterprises is to become the world's leading consulting service provider. The strategic choice of benchmarking enterprises is to realize the strategic goal through specialization, internationalization, diversification and innovation. The strategic implementation of benchmarking enterprises is to realize the strategic choice through strengthening internal management, improving service quality, expanding market channels and increasing customer satisfaction, the strategic evaluation of benchmarking enterprises is to achieve strategic optimization by setting key performance indicators, monitoring strategic progress, adjusting strategic measures and summarizing strategic experience.

Capability analysis of benchmarking firms. Shangpu Consulting Company found that benchmarking companies have rich resource capabilities, have multiple international and domestic branches, cover multiple industries and fields, have multiple well-known customers and partners, have multiple patents and honors, and have Sufficient funds and equipment; the technical capabilities of benchmarking companies are advanced, master a variety of consulting methods and tools, and use a variety of data analysis and model building technologies, introduce a variety of artificial intelligence and cloud computing technologies to provide a variety of customized and intelligent consulting solutions; the talent ability of benchmarking enterprises is excellent, with a number of consultants with rich experience and professional knowledge, a number of consulting managers with international vision and cross-cultural communication ability, and a number of consulting assistants with innovative thinking and learning ability. The innovation ability of benchmarking enterprises is strong, continuously introduce new consulting services and products, constantly open up new consulting fields and markets, constantly introduce new consulting concepts and models, and constantly improve the consulting process and quality; the financial ability of benchmarking enterprises is sound, with high operating income and profits, low proportion of liabilities and costs, and high level of assets and efficiency.

Analysis of the advantages of benchmarking enterprises. Shangpu Consulting found that the brand advantages of benchmarking companies are significant, with a high degree of brand awareness and reputation, a strong brand image and personality, a clear brand positioning and proposition, and a unique brand logo and visual identification system; The customer advantages of benchmarking companies are outstanding, with multiple loyal and satisfied customers, and multiple long-term and stable customers, it has a number of large and important customers, and has a number of influential and well-known customers; the market advantage of benchmarking enterprises is obvious, with high market share and growth rate, extensive market coverage and penetration, various market segmentation and positioning, and strong market competition and leadership. The product advantages of benchmarking enterprises are remarkable, with high-quality product design and research and development, it has high-performance product functions and characteristics, high-value product effects and experiences, and high-innovation product forms and contents; the service advantages of benchmarking enterprises are outstanding, with high-level service quality and standards, high-efficiency service processes and speeds, high-satisfaction service attitudes and methods, and high-loyalty service relationships and maintenance; the channel advantages of benchmarking enterprises are obvious, it has a multi-channel sales network and platform, strong channel control and management, good channel cooperation and coordination, and preferential channel policies and support; the cost advantage of benchmarking enterprises is significant, with low-cost procurement and production, low-cost operation and maintenance, low-cost sales and promotion, and low-cost R & D and innovation.

Develop a strategy. The fourth step of enterprise research is to formulate strategies, that is, to formulate their own strategies and marketing strategies according to the results of analysis and evaluation, so as to deal with the influence and threat of benchmarking enterprises and realize their own goals and advantages. This step needs to combine their own internal situation and external environment, comprehensive consideration and trade-off, choose the most suitable strategy, generally can be formulated from the following aspects:

Develop your own strengths for the strengths of the benchmarking company. According to the advantages of benchmarking enterprises, to develop their own advantages, in order to achieve the advantages of benchmarking enterprises to match or surpass the advantages, commonly used strategies are imitation strategy, improvement strategy, innovation strategy, differentiation strategy.

Develop your own disadvantages for the disadvantages of benchmarking companies. Refers to the benchmarking enterprise according to the disadvantages, to develop their own disadvantages, in order to achieve and benchmarking enterprise's disadvantages to avoid or reduce the disadvantages, commonly used strategies are avoidance strategy, improvement strategy, transformation strategy, focus strategy.