Purpose of Competitor Research

What is the purpose of competitor research? Simply put, it is to enable companies to better respond to competition, improve competitive advantage, and achieve strategic goals. Specifically, competitor research can help companies achieve the following objectives:

Understand the basic situation of competitors, such as scale, history, products, prices, channels, promotion, finance, manpower, technology, culture, etc., as well as their development trends and changes;

Analyze competitors' competitive strategies, such as target market, target customers, value proposition, core competitiveness, competitive advantage, competitive disadvantage, competitive mode, competitive behavior, etc., as well as their strategic logic and strategic effect;

Evaluate the impact of competitors on the enterprise, such as the market share, market influence, market threats, market opportunities, market cooperation, etc. of competitors, as well as their potential challenges and threats to the enterprise;

Look for the strategic weaknesses of competitors, such as lack of resources, lack of capacity, dissatisfaction with demand, risk exposure, conflicts, innovation stagnation, etc., as well as the crises and problems that may lead;

Develop competitors' coping strategies, such as competitors' defense strategies, offensive strategies, cooperation strategies, avoidance strategies, innovation strategies, etc., as well as their expected effects and risks.

Content of competitor research

What is the content of competitor research? According to the purpose of competitor research, the content of competitor research can be divided into the following aspects:

Basic information of competitors, such as name, address, contact information, legal representative, registered capital, time of establishment, business scope, organizational structure, shareholders, affiliated enterprises, etc;

The development history of competitors, such as important events, milestones, turning points, development stages, development strategies, development goals, development achievements, development issues, etc;

Product information of competitors, such as product type, product characteristics, product quality, product price, product sales volume, product market share, product competitive advantage, product competitive disadvantage, product innovation, etc;

Channel information of competitors, such as channel type, number of channels, channel coverage, channel efficiency, channel cost, channel cooperation, channel competition, channel innovation, etc;

The promotion of competitors, such as promotion methods, promotion content, promotion media, promotion frequency, promotion investment, promotion effect, promotion competition, promotion innovation, etc;

The financial situation of competitors, such as operating income, operating costs, operating profit, net profit, assets and liabilities, cash flow, financial ratio, financial risk, financial competition, financial innovation, etc;

Competitor's manpower, such as the number of employees, employee structure, employee quality, employee benefits, employee turnover, employee training, employee motivation, employee competition, employee innovation, etc;

Competitor's technology, such as technology level, technology source, technology protection, technology input, technology output, technology transformation, technology competition, technology innovation, etc;

The cultural situation of competitors, such as corporate mission, corporate vision, corporate values, corporate philosophy, corporate style, corporate atmosphere, corporate reputation, corporate competition, corporate innovation, etc.

Methodology for competitor research

What are the methods of competitor research? According to the content of competitor research, the methods of competitor research can be divided into the following:

Documentary law, that is, by consulting the competitor's public information, such as the official website, annual report, prospectus, news reports, industry reports, patent literature, legal documents, etc., to obtain the competitor's basic information, development history, financial situation, technical situation, etc;

Observation method, that is, by directly or indirectly observing the behavior of competitors, such as visiting competitors' factories, stores, exhibitions, activities, etc., or through the Internet, television, radio and other media, to obtain competitors' products, channels, promotion, cultural situation, etc;

Interview method, that is, by communicating with the relevant personnel of the competitor, such as the competitor's managers, employees, customers, suppliers, partners, industry experts, etc., to obtain the competitor's development strategy, competitive strategy, manpower situation, competitive advantages and disadvantages, etc;

The experimental method, I .e. by simulating a competitor's situation, such as buying a competitor's product, using a competitor's service, consulting a competitor's customer service, testing a competitor's technology, etc.

The advantages of competitors, such as the advantages of competitors in market, products, channels, promotion, finance, manpower, technology, culture, etc., as well as the source, performance and influence of their advantages;

Competitor's disadvantages, such as competitors' disadvantages in market, products, channels, promotion, finance, manpower, technology, culture, etc., as well as the causes, consequences and crises of their disadvantages;

Competitor opportunities, such as competitors' opportunities in the market, products, channels, promotion, finance, manpower, technology, culture, etc., as well as their conditions, potentials, strategies, etc;

Threats from competitors, such as threats from competitors in terms of markets, products, channels, promotion, finance, manpower, technology, culture, etc., as well as the source, extent, and response of their threats.

Core Points and Common Mistakes of Competitor Research

What are the core points and common misunderstandings of competitor research? In the process of conducting competitor research, you need to pay attention to the following core points and common misunderstandings:

Core Point 1: Clarify the purpose and scope of competitor research, that is, why to do competitor research, which competitors to do, how much in-depth research to do, and what results to get. This can avoid blindly collecting and analyzing irrelevant or excessive information, wasting time and resources, and can also improve the pertinence and effectiveness of competitor research.

Core point two: choose the appropriate methods and tools for competitor research, that is, what methods and tools are used to collect and analyze competitor information, such as literature method, observation method, interview method, experimental method, etc., and how to use these methods and tools, how to ensure the authenticity and reliability of information, how to deal with the redundancy and contradiction of information, and how to refine the key and value of information. This can avoid relying on single or unsuitable methods and tools, resulting in missing or distorted information, and can also improve the comprehensiveness and accuracy of competitor research.

Core Point 3: Build a reasonable framework and model for competitor research, that is, what kind of framework and model are used to organize and present competitor information, such as SWOT analysis, five-force analysis, value chain analysis, strategic map, etc., and how to use these frameworks and models, how to determine the classification and level of information, how to determine the relevance and influence of information, and how to determine the advantages, disadvantages and importance of information. This can avoid confusion or one-sided display of competitor information, resulting in difficult to understand or misleading information, but also can improve the logic and operability of competitor research.

Core Point 4: Formulate the application and implementation of effective competitor research, that is, what methods and measures are used to use and implement competitor information, such as formulating competition strategy, formulating competition strategy, formulating competition action, formulating competition evaluation, etc., and how to use and implement these methods and measures, how to consider their own advantages and disadvantages and opportunity threats, and how to consider market changes and uncertainties, how to consider the reaction and response of competitors. This avoids the ineffective or unreasonable application and implementation of competitors' information, resulting in waste or loss of information, and improves the practicality and effectiveness of competitor research.

Common Myth 1: Ignoring the importance of competitor research, believing that competitor research is useless or dangerous, unwilling or afraid to do competitor research, or not doing it seriously or in a timely manner. This will lead to the lack of information on competitors or behind, loss of understanding and mastery of competitors, loss of response to competition and initiative, loss of influence on the market and lead.

Common misunderstanding 2: blindly imitate the results of competitor research, think that the results of competitor research are the best or most suitable, do not analyze or judge, do not consider their own characteristics or conditions, do not consider the reaction or changes of competitors, do not consider the differences or needs of the market. This will lead to the abuse or misuse of competitors' information, the loss of differences and advantages to competitors, the loss of innovation and breakthroughs in competition, and the loss of satisfaction and attraction to the market.

Common Myth 3: Over-reliance on the results of competitor research, believing that the results of competitor research are complete or certain, do not update or correct, do not consider changes or errors in information, do not consider the secrecy or deception of competitors, do not consider the complexity or instability of the market. This will lead to excessive or blind information about competitors, loss of vigilance and prevention of competitors, loss of flexibility and flexibility in competition, and loss of adaptation and grasp of the market.

Conclusion

Competitor research is an important basis for strategic decision-making, which can help enterprises understand the market environment, competitive situation, their own advantages and disadvantages, potential opportunities and threats. This paper systematically analyzes the purpose, content, method and case of competitor research, points out the core points and common misunderstandings of competitor research, and puts forward the best practice of competitor research, that is, not only to follow the trend, but also to create differences in order to enhance the competitiveness and market position of enterprises.