Purpose of 1. Benchmarking Enterprise Analysis

The essence of benchmarking analysis is to thoroughly understand the competitive landscape. The objectives of benchmarking analysis are as follows:

Find the opponent's way to success (the core factor behind success)

Analysis of the competitive strategies of benchmarking firms

Finding Strategic Weaknesses in Benchmarking Firms (Macroscopic Review)

Analyze the mental point of consumers occupied by benchmarking enterprises.

Looking for Differentiation Possibilities

Find your own breakthrough point in the industry

Through the analysis of benchmarking enterprises, enterprises can clearly understand their competitive environment, find their own advantages and disadvantages, find their own positioning and differentiation, formulate appropriate competitive strategies, and improve competitiveness and market share.

Methods of 2. Benchmarking Enterprise Analysis

There are many methods of benchmarking enterprise analysis, and this paper mainly introduces the following four:

Michael Porter's Competitive Strategic Framework

4P Analysis

SWOT analysis

Benchmarking Enterprise Matrix

1. Michael Porter's Competitive Strategy Framework

Michael Porter, a well-known master of strategic management, proposed a competitive strategy framework that divides competition into five categories: industry benchmarking firms, buyers, suppliers, potential rivals and substitutes, as shown in Figure 1.

Industrial benchmarking enterprise: refers to other companies that sell the same or similar products in the same market and are direct benchmarking enterprises. For example, Pepsi and Coca-Cola, Champ Consulting and other consulting companies, etc.

Buyer: refers to the consumer or customer whose demand, preference, purchasing power and bargaining power for the product will affect the sales and profits of the enterprise. For example, consumer demand and taste for milk tea, customer budget and expectations for consulting services, etc.

Supplier: refers to other companies or individuals that provide raw materials, equipment, manpower, capital and other factors of production for the enterprise, and their supply of quantity, quality, price and stability will affect the cost and efficiency of the enterprise. For example, raw material suppliers of milk tea, talent recruitment channels of consulting companies, etc.

Potential rivals: other companies or individuals who have the ability or willingness to enter the market, who will increase competitive pressure on the market, divide market share and reduce market profits. For example, a new milk tea shop, a new consulting company, etc.

Substitute: refers to other products or services that can meet the same or similar needs of consumers. They will reduce consumers' demand for the product and affect the sales and profits of the enterprise. For example, takeout and instant noodles have replaced restaurants, mobile phones and cameras have replaced cameras, etc.

By analyzing these five competitive forces, enterprises can understand their own industry structure and competitive situation, evaluate their competitive advantages and disadvantages, and formulate corresponding competitive strategies.

4P Analysis

4P analysis refers to the analysis of the marketing strategy of benchmarking enterprises from four aspects: product (Product), price (Price), channel (Place) and promotion (Promotion), as shown in Figure 2.

Product: refers to the characteristics, functions, quality, brand, packaging, after-sales, etc. of the products or services provided by the benchmarking company. For example, the taste of milk tea, cup type, ingredients, brand, take-out packaging, return policy, etc.

Price: refers to the pricing strategy, discount policy, payment method, etc. of the benchmarking enterprise for the product or service. For example, the price of a single cup of milk tea, package price, member price, coupons, points exchange, online payment, etc.

Channel: refers to the channels through which benchmarking enterprises distribute products or services to consumers, including physical stores, online stores, agents, distributors, etc. For example, the number of milk tea stores, location, size, decoration, online ordering, take-out distribution, etc.

Promotion: refers to the benchmarking enterprises in what ways to promote and promote products or services, including advertising, public relations, sales promotion, direct marketing, network marketing. For example, TV advertisements for milk tea, microblog accounts, buy one get 1. membership cards, WeChat applets, etc.

Through 4P analysis, companies can understand the marketing mix of benchmarking companies, discover their strengths and weaknesses, and find their own differentiation and competitiveness.

3. SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis refers to the analysis of the internal and external environment of benchmarking enterprises from four aspects: strengths (Strengths), weaknesses (Weaknesses), opportunities (Opportunities) and threats (Threats).

Advantage: refers to the ability of a benchmarking enterprise to surpass its benchmarking enterprise, or refers to something unique to the company that can improve the competitiveness of the company. For example, the brand awareness, technological innovation, customer loyalty and cost control of benchmarking enterprises.

Disadvantage: refers to the benchmarking enterprises lack or do bad things, or refers to some kind of condition will make the company at a disadvantage. For example, the product quality, service level, market penetration, financial situation of the benchmarking enterprise, etc.

Opportunity: refers to the factors in the external environment in which the benchmarking enterprise is located that are conducive to its development, or refers to a situation that may bring benefits. For example, the market demand of benchmarking enterprises, policy support, technological progress, social changes, etc.

Threat: refers to the factors in the external environment in which the benchmarking enterprise is not conducive to its development, or refers to a situation that may bring losses. For example, new entrants to benchmarking firms, substitutes, legal risks, increased competition, etc.

Through SWOT analysis, enterprises can understand the strengths and weaknesses of benchmarking enterprises, as well as the opportunities and threats of the external environment, so as to formulate corresponding coping strategies.

4. Benchmarking Enterprise Matrix

The benchmarking enterprise matrix refers to the use of a table to compare the performance of oneself and benchmarking enterprises in various aspects.

The steps to build the benchmarking enterprise matrix are as follows:

Determine the benchmarking enterprise: choose the main competitors who compete with themselves in the same market or the same market segment, generally no more than five.

Determine the evaluation index: select the index that can reflect the core competitiveness of the benchmarking enterprise, generally no more than ten, which can be selected from the aspects of product, price, channel, promotion, brand, quality, service, etc.

Collect data: Collect relevant data of benchmarking enterprises through various channels, including official website, social media, market research, customer feedback, industry reports, etc.

Fill in the matrix: According to the data, score yourself and the benchmarking enterprise on each indicator, generally using a scoring standard of 1-5 points, with 1 point indicating the worst and 5 points indicating the best.

Analysis results: According to the matrix, analyze the strengths and weaknesses of yourself and benchmarking companies, find out your own differentiation and competitiveness, and formulate corresponding competitive strategies.

Through the benchmarking enterprise matrix, enterprises can intuitively compare the performance of themselves and benchmarking enterprises in all aspects, find their own advantages and disadvantages, find their own positioning and differentiation, and formulate appropriate competitive strategies.

Steps to 3. Benchmarking Enterprise Analysis

The steps of benchmarking enterprise analysis can be summarized as the following five:

Determine benchmarking enterprises: according to market segmentation and competition scope, determine their own direct benchmarking enterprises and indirect benchmarking enterprises, generally select 3-5 benchmarking enterprises for analysis.

Collect information: collect relevant information of benchmarking enterprises through various channels, including products, prices, channels, promotions, brands, quality, services, strategies, goals, resources, capabilities, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, etc.

Analysis of information: based on the information collected, the use of benchmarking enterprise analysis methods, such as Porter's competitive strategy framework, 4P analysis, SWOT analysis, benchmarking enterprise matrix, etc., to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of benchmarking enterprises, strategies and weaknesses.

Forecast trends: based on the results of the analysis, predict the future trends of the benchmarking company, including changes in products, prices, channels, promotions, brands, quality, services, strategies, goals, etc., as well as their impact on themselves.

Formulate strategies: According to the predicted trends, formulate corresponding competitive strategies, including attack strategies, defense strategies, cooperation strategies, avoidance strategies, etc., as well as specific action plans.

Through the steps of benchmarking enterprise analysis, enterprises can systematically understand their competitive environment, formulate effective competitive strategies, and improve their competitiveness and market share.

Tools 4. Benchmarking Enterprise Analysis

There are a variety of tools for benchmarking enterprise analysis, and this article focuses on the following three:

Benchmarking enterprise analysis template: refers to a form used to collect and organize benchmarking enterprise information, which can be filled in according to different dimensions and indicators.

Benchmarking enterprise analysis software: refers to a software used to automatically collect and analyze benchmarking enterprise information, which can obtain benchmarking enterprise data from websites, social media, search engines, advertising platforms and other channels.

Benchmarking enterprise analysis report: refers to a document used to summarize and present the results of benchmarking enterprise analysis, which can be written according to different purposes and audiences.

Through the tools of benchmarking enterprise analysis, enterprises can more easily collect and analyze the information of benchmarking enterprises, more clearly present and communicate the analysis results of benchmarking enterprises, and more effectively formulate and implement competitive strategies.