The Importance of 1. Enterprise Research

In today’s market environment, competition is intensifying, and consumer needs and preferences are constantly evolving. In order to stay ahead of the competition, companies need to constantly understand their market positioning and the differentiation of their products or services from benchmarking companies. Corporate research is an effective tool for helping companies achieve this goal.

The main objectives of enterprise research are:

Identify and evaluate the scale, market share, characteristics of products or services, pricing strategy, marketing strategy, financial situation, innovation ability, advantages and disadvantages of benchmarking enterprises;

Analyze the objectives, motivations, strategies, actions, priorities, strengths and weaknesses of the benchmarking enterprise;

Predict the future development trend, opportunities and threats of benchmarking enterprises;

Based on the information and analysis of benchmarking enterprises, formulate their own competitive strategies, including product or service improvement, pricing strategy adjustment, marketing strategy optimization, innovation ability promotion, partner selection and other measures.

The main benefits of enterprise research are:

Help companies discover their competitive advantages, that is, those characteristics or capabilities that make them unique in the market, such as brand image, quality, service, technology, innovation, cost, channels, etc;

Help companies avoid or reduce competitive risks, I .e., factors that may cause them to lose their advantage or suffer losses in the market, such as new products or services of benchmarking companies, price wars, marketing activities, legal proceedings, policy changes, etc;

Helping companies identify and seize competitive opportunities, I .e., factors that allow them to increase their revenues or profits in the market, such as shortcomings or mistakes in benchmarking companies, market needs or trends, consumer feedback or preferences, etc;

Help companies improve their competitiveness, that is, those capabilities that can make them more effective or efficient in the market, such as product or service quality, function, design, innovation, cost, speed, flexibility, reliability, satisfaction, etc.

Methods of 2. Enterprise Research

The methods of enterprise research are mainly divided into two categories: active research and passive research.

Active research refers to the active collection and analysis of benchmarking enterprise information, such:

Visit the websites, social media, blogs, forums and other network platforms of benchmarking enterprises to understand the introduction, evaluation, feedback and update of their products or services;

Purchase or experience the products or services of benchmarking enterprises and evaluate their quality, function, design, price, service, etc;

Participate in exhibitions, conferences, seminars, training and other activities of benchmarking enterprises, and observe their presentations, speeches, interactions, and publicity;

Investigate or investigate the customers, suppliers, partners, employees, former employees and other relevant personnel of benchmarking enterprises, and understand their views, feelings, suggestions and other opinions on benchmarking enterprises;

Hire or entrust professional consulting agencies or individuals to provide information and analysis of benchmarking enterprises.

Passive research refers to the use of existing or readily available information about benchmarking companies, such:

Read public documents such as annual reports, quarterly reports, financial statements, press releases, advertisements, recruitment information, etc. of benchmarking enterprises to understand their scale, market share, financial status, strategy, actions, etc;

Analyze the intellectual property rights such as patents, trademarks, copyrights and domain names of benchmarking enterprises, and understand their technology, innovation and brand;

Monitor the price, promotion, discount, coupon and other market activities of benchmarking enterprises, and understand their pricing strategy, marketing strategy and so on;

Pay attention to external factors such as legal proceedings, policy changes, market dynamics, industry trends, etc. of benchmarking enterprises, and understand their opportunities and threats.

Whether it is active research or passive research, we need to follow the following principles:

Select the appropriate benchmark enterprises, that is, those enterprises or institutions that have direct or indirect competition with their own products or services, can be selected according to market segmentation, geographical scope, customer groups and other criteria;

Determine the objectives of the research, that is, the information and analysis of benchmarking enterprises that have an important impact on their competitive strategies, which can be determined according to their own market positioning, competitive advantages, competitive risks, competitive opportunities and other factors;

Design research programs, that is, those methods and steps that can effectively collect and analyze the information of benchmarking enterprises, can be selected according to their own time, budget, resources, capabilities and other conditions;

The process of implementing the research, that is, according to the requirements of the plan, actually collect and analyze the information of the benchmarking enterprise. It should be noted that the research should be conducted in an objective, fair, honest and legal way to avoid infringing on the privacy or interests of the benchmarking enterprise, and to avoid exposing one's own information or intention;

Summarize the results of the survey, that is, organize the information and analysis of benchmarking enterprises into organized, logical and well-founded reports or documents, which can be presented using tools such as tables, charts, matrices and frameworks;

Apply the results of research, that is, according to the information and analysis of benchmarking enterprises, formulate or adjust their own competitive strategies, implement or optimize their competitive actions, and monitor or evaluate their competitive effects.

The Case for 3. Enterprise Research

In order to better illustrate the methods and benefits of enterprise research, this article will introduce several cases of enterprise research provided by Shangpu Consulting for its clients.

Case 1: Enterprise Research on E-commerce Platform

The client of Shangpu Consulting Company is an e-commerce platform, which mainly provides fashionable products such as clothing, shoes, bags and so on. The customer wanted to understand their competition in the domestic market and how to increase their market share and brand influence.

Champ Consulting conducted a corporate study for this client, using the following methodology:

Visited the websites of major domestic e-commerce platforms, such as Taobao, Jingdong, Vipshop, Amazon, etc., and learned about their product types, price ranges, sales rankings, user evaluations, return and exchange policies, logistics services and other information;

Purchased some products of benchmarking enterprises and evaluated their product quality, packaging, distribution, after-sales and other aspects;

Participated in some offline activities of benchmarking companies, such as fashion shows, brand conferences, discount promotions, etc., and observed their brand image, marketing methods, and customer feedback;

Investigated some customers of benchmarking enterprises, and learned their satisfaction, loyalty, preference and suggestion to benchmarking enterprises;

Hired a professional market research organization to provide data and analysis on the market share, growth rate, profit margin, customer group and channel distribution of benchmarking enterprises.

Based on the results of the corporate research, Champu Consulting made the following recommendations for the client:

Make use of their competitive advantages, that is, high standards in the brand, design, quality and service of fashion products, strengthen their brand publicity and promotion, and improve their brand awareness and reputation;

Avoid or reduce direct price competition with benchmarking enterprises, but adopt differentiated pricing strategies, according to their own product characteristics and target customer demand and ability to pay, set a reasonable price range and discount range;

Pay attention to and grasp the defects or mistakes of benchmarking enterprises, such as product quality problems, logistics delays, customer complaints, etc., adjust their products or services in time, and provide better user experience and satisfaction;

Improve their ability to innovate, continue to introduce new products or services to meet market needs and trends, and increase their market attractiveness and competitiveness.

The client adopted the recommendations of Champ Consulting and implemented corresponding competitive strategies and actions with good results. In one year, the customer's market share increased by 5 percentage points, brand influence increased by 10 percentage points, and customer satisfaction increased by 15 percentage points.

Case 2: Enterprise Research of Education and Training Institutions

The client of Champ Consulting is an education and training institution that mainly provides courses in English, mathematics, programming and so on. The client wanted to know how competitive he was in the local market and how he could improve the quality of his courses and the number of students.

Champ Consulting conducted a corporate study for this client, using the following methodology:

I read the official website, WeChat official account, Weibo and other network platforms of major local education and training institutions, and learned about their curriculum, teachers, teaching methods, learning effects, student evaluation and other information;

Experienced some courses of benchmarking enterprises and evaluated their course content, difficulty, interest, interaction, feedback and other aspects;

Participated in some offline activities of benchmarking enterprises, such as open days, lectures, competitions, etc., and observed their institutional environment, teaching equipment, activity organization, and student participation;

Investigate some students of benchmarking enterprises and understand their satisfaction, loyalty, preference and suggestions to benchmarking enterprises;

Hired a professional education consultant to provide him with data and analysis on the quality of courses, the number of students, market share, word-of-mouth communication and other data of benchmarking enterprises.

Based on the results of the corporate research, Champu Consulting made the following recommendations for the client:

Make use of their competitive advantages, that is, high standards in the professionalism, practicality, and cutting-edge of English, mathematics, programming and other courses, strengthen their own course publicity and recommend, and improve their own course visibility and recognition;

Avoid or reduce direct price competition with benchmarking enterprises, but adopt differentiated pricing strategies, and formulate reasonable price ranges and preferential policies according to their own course characteristics and the needs and ability to pay of target students;

Pay attention to and grasp the defects or mistakes of benchmarking enterprises, such as curriculum quality problems, teachers' level problems, learning effect problems, etc., adjust their own courses or teaching in time, and provide better learning experience and effect;

Improve their ability to innovate, continue to introduce new courses or services to meet market needs and trends, and increase their market attractiveness and competitiveness.

The client adopted the recommendations of Champ Consulting and implemented corresponding competitive strategies and actions with good results. Within one year, the customer's course quality increased by 10 percentage points, the number of students increased by 20 percentage points, and the market share increased by 15 percentage points.

Case 3: Enterprise Research of Restaurant Chain Store

Champ Consulting's client is a restaurant chain that offers mostly Chinese fast food. The customer wants to know how competitive they are in the national market and how to improve their brand image and customer loyalty.

Champ Consulting conducted a corporate study for this client, using the following methodology:

I read the official website, APP, take-out platform and other network platforms of major catering chain stores in the country, and learned about their food types, price ranges, sales ranking, user evaluation, membership system, preferential activities and other information;

Tasted some dishes of benchmarking enterprises and evaluated their taste, quantity, health, service and other aspects;

Participated in some offline activities of benchmarking enterprises, such as new store opening, festival celebrations, theme activities, etc., and observed their store decoration, atmosphere creation, customer attraction, etc;

Investigated some customers of benchmarking enterprises, and learned their satisfaction, loyalty, preference and suggestion to benchmarking enterprises;

Hired a professional catering consultant to provide himself with data and analysis of the brand image, customer loyalty, market share, word-of-mouth communication of benchmarking enterprises.

Based on the results of the corporate research, Champu Consulting made the following recommendations for the client:

Make use of their competitive advantages, that is, the high cost performance in the variety, quality and price of Chinese fast food, strengthen their brand publicity and promotion, and improve their brand awareness and reputation;

Avoid or reduce direct price competition with benchmarking enterprises, but adopt differentiated pricing strategies to formulate reasonable price ranges and preferential policies according to the characteristics of their own dishes and the needs and ability to pay of target customers;

Pay attention to and grasp the defects or mistakes of benchmarking enterprises, such as taste problems, health problems, service problems, etc., adjust their own dishes or services in time, and provide better user experience and satisfaction;

Improve their ability to innovate, continue to introduce new dishes or services to meet market needs and trends, and increase their market attractiveness and competitiveness.

The client adopted the recommendations of Champ Consulting and implemented corresponding competitive strategies and actions with good results. Within a year, the customer's brand image increased by 15 percentage points, customer loyalty increased by 20 percentage points, and market share increased by 10 percentage points.

Conclusion

Competitor analysis is a method for examining companies or organizations in the market that compete with one’s own products or services, with the aim of understanding their strengths and weaknesses, as well as their strategies and actions. Corporate research can help companies identify their competitive advantages—those distinctive attributes or capabilities that enable them to stand out in the marketplace. The methods of enterprise research are mainly divided into active research and passive research, both of which need to follow the principles of selecting suitable benchmarking enterprises, determining the objectives of the research, designing the research plan, implementing the research process, summarizing the results of the research, and applying the results of the research. Case studies in business research demonstrate the practical applications and outcomes of corporate analysis, providing valuable references and insights for enterprises.