The Significance and Purpose of 1. Enterprise Research

Enterprise research refers to the process of systematic collection, analysis and evaluation of the situation of other enterprises that compete with the enterprise in the same market or industry. The significance and objectives of corporate research can be summarized as follows:

Understand the competitive environment. Enterprise research can help enterprises understand the scale, structure, trends, needs, opportunities and threats of the market, as well as the number, type, scale, status, advantages and disadvantages of benchmarking enterprises, so as to judge their position and competitiveness in the market.

Identify competitive advantages. Enterprise research can help enterprises find their own and benchmarking enterprise strengths and weaknesses, as well as potential differentiation and optimization points, so as to formulate targeted competitive strategies to enhance their core competitiveness.

Develop effective strategies and decisions. Enterprise research can help enterprises to predict the trend and behavior of benchmarking enterprises, as well as their own impact, so as to make strategies and decisions to adapt to market changes, such as product development, pricing strategy, channel selection, marketing promotion, partners and so on.

Methods and Strategies of 2. Enterprise Research

Enterprise research is a complex system engineering, which requires the use of a variety of methods and strategies in order to effectively collect, analyze and utilize competitive intelligence. Taking Shangpu Consulting Company as an example, this paper introduces the methods and strategies of enterprise research, including the following aspects:

Determine the research object and scope. Shangpu Consulting is an institution specializing in industry research, market research, investment and financing consulting, and IPO listing consulting. Its benchmarking companies mainly include similar consulting companies, such as Analysys, iResearch, Sadie, Horizon, McKinsey, Boston, etc. And some industry associations, research institutes, investment institutions, etc. Shangpu Consulting needs to select representative and competitive benchmarking companies for research based on their own business areas and target markets, such as screening and ranking based on criteria such as visibility, market share, industry status, and customer satisfaction.

Break down the research object and divide the research dimension. Enterprise research needs to analyze and divide the research objects in order to understand the situation of benchmarking enterprises in more detail. Champ Consulting can use the "correlation method" and the "multi-dimensional division method" to decompose the research object. The so-called "correlation method" refers to finding out all the roles associated with the research object and conducting research in turn, such as upstream suppliers, midstream enterprises themselves, downstream cooperative customers, end consumers, etc. The so-called "multi-dimensional division method" refers to the multi-dimensional division method applicable to several research directions, such as time dimension, product dimension, price dimension, channel dimension, promotion dimension, brand dimension, financial dimension, human dimension, technology dimension, risk dimension, etc.

Mobilize all resources and collect data through multiple channels. Enterprise research needs to collect a large amount of data, which needs to mobilize all available resources and use multiple channels to obtain data. Shangpu Consulting Company can collect data through the following channels: first, the company's internal resource sharing, such as using the company's existing databases, reports, cases, experience, etc.; second, its own contacts, such as using its own or colleagues' network to contact experts, peers, customers, etc. in the industry; third, offline merchant referrals, such as through on-site visits, telephone interviews, questionnaires, etc, obtain the information of offline merchants of benchmarking enterprises; The fourth is to compete for interviews with companies, such as applying for positions in benchmarking enterprises to gain in-depth understanding of the internal situation of benchmarking enterprises. The fifth is to compete for the official website hotline, such as browsing the official website of benchmarking enterprises or calling the customer service hotline of benchmarking enterprises to obtain public information of benchmarking enterprises. Sixth, the recruitment website telephone number, such as by checking the recruitment information of benchmarking enterprises, or call the recruitment phone of the benchmarking enterprise to obtain the human resources of the benchmarking enterprise; The seventh is the internal employee microblog, blog, pulse, LinkedIn, Zhihu, Tieba, WeChat public number, etc. For example, by paying attention to the internal employee's dynamics on social media, the internal dynamics and employee mentality of the benchmarking enterprise can be obtained.

Avoid superficial research, in-depth analysis and use of data. Enterprise research is not only the process of collecting data, but also the process of analyzing and using data. Champ Consulting needs to avoid superficial research and instead analyze and use data in depth.

Difficulties and Countermeasures of 3. Enterprise Research

Although enterprise research has important significance and purpose, it also faces many difficulties and challenges, such as the acquisition, analysis and utilization of information, as well as market changes and uncertainties. This paper takes Shangpu Consulting Company as an example to introduce the difficulties and responses of enterprise research, including the following aspects:

Difficulties in obtaining information. The first difficulty in corporate research is how to obtain effective information, because benchmarking companies are often reluctant to disclose or disclose their own situation, or deliberately publish false or misleading information to prevent competitors from prying or imitating. The coping strategies of Shangpu Consulting Company are: First, collect information through multiple channels. As mentioned above, use the company's internal resources, its own contacts, offline merchants, company interviews, official website hotline, recruitment website telephone, internal employee microblog and other channels to obtain the information of benchmarking enterprises; The second is to verify the information from multiple angles, such as cross-comparison with different information sources, either by comparing with their own or industry data, or by comparing with the opinions of experts or peers, to verify the authenticity and validity of the information of the benchmark enterprise.

Difficulties in the analysis of information. The second difficulty in enterprise research is how to analyze effective information, because the information of benchmarking enterprises is often scattered, complex, dynamic and vague, and needs to be systematically organized, summarized, analyzed and evaluated in order to form valuable competitive intelligence. The coping strategies of Shangpu Consulting Company are: First, multi-method analysis of information. As mentioned above, use comparative analysis, SWOT analysis, Porter's five forces analysis, value chain analysis, strategic map analysis and other methods to classify, evaluate, explain and infer the information of benchmarking enterprises; Second, multi-dimensional analysis of information, as mentioned above, use correlation and multi-dimensional division to analyze and divide the information of benchmarking enterprises, in order to understand the situation of benchmarking enterprises in more detail.

Difficulties in the use of information. The third difficulty of enterprise research is how to use effective information, because only when the information of benchmarking enterprises is transformed into actual actions and results can the value and significance of enterprise research be reflected. The coping strategies of Shangpu Consulting Company are: First, formulate effective strategies and decisions, such as formulating targeted product development, price strategies, channel selection, marketing promotion, partners and other strategies and decisions based on the information of benchmarking companies. Enhance its own competitiveness and market share; the second is to establish an effective feedback and adjustment mechanism, such as establishing a regular monitoring and evaluation system based on the information of benchmarking companies, as well as flexible adjustment and optimization mechanisms to adapt to market changes and uncertainties.

Conclusion

Enterprise research is an important part of market research, which aims to understand the competitive environment and competitive advantage, and provide the basis for enterprises to formulate effective strategies and decisions. However, enterprise research also faces many difficulties, such as the acquisition, analysis and utilization of information, as well as market changes and uncertainties. Taking Shangpu Consulting Company as an example, this paper introduces the methods and strategies of enterprise research, and how to deal with the challenges of enterprise research and improve the effect and value of enterprise research. It is hoped that this paper can be helpful and enlightening to the enterprise research of Shangpu Consulting Company.