Significance and purpose of 1. competitor research

Competitor research is the process of systematically collecting, analyzing and evaluating the situation of other enterprises that compete with the enterprise in the same market or industry. The significance and purpose of competitor research are as follows:

Understand the competitive environment. Competitor research can help companies understand the size, structure, trends, needs, opportunities and threats of the market, as well as the number, type, size, position, strengths and weaknesses of competitors, so as to determine their position and competitiveness in the market.

Identify competitive advantages. Competitor research can help companies discover their own and competitors' strengths and weaknesses, as well as potential differentiation and optimization points, so as to formulate targeted competitive strategies and enhance their core competitiveness.

Develop effective strategies and decisions. Competitor research can help companies predict the movements and behaviors of competitors, 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, etc.

Methods and strategies for 2. competitor research

Competitor research is a complex system engineering that requires the use of a variety of methods and strategies to effectively collect, analyze and utilize competitive intelligence. This paper introduces the methods and strategies of competitor research, including the following aspects:

Determine the research object and scope. Shangpu Consulting is an organization specializing in industry research, market research, investment and financing consulting, and IPO listing consulting. Its competitors mainly include similar consulting companies, such as Analysys, iResearch, Sadie, Zero, McKinsey, Boston, etc. And some industry associations, research institutes, investment institutions, etc. Shangpu Consulting needs to select the most representative and competitive competitors for research according to its own business area and target market, such as screening and ranking according to the criteria of popularity, market share, industry position, customer satisfaction, etc.

Break down the research object and divide the research dimension. Competitor research needs to analyze and divide the research object in order to understand the situation of competitors 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. Competitor research requires the collection of large amounts of data, which requires the mobilization of all available resources and the use of multiple channels for data acquisition. 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 the competitor's offline merchants; The fourth is to interview the company, for example, by applying for the position of the competitor, to have an in-depth understanding of the competitor's internal situation; The fifth is to compete for the official website hotline, such as by browsing the competitor's official website or calling the competitor's customer service hotline to obtain the competitor's public information. Sixth, the telephone number of the recruitment website, such as by checking the competitor's recruitment information, or call the competitor's recruitment phone number to obtain the competitor's human resources situation; Seven is the internal staff microblog, blog, pulse, LinkedIn, Zhihu, post bar, WeChat public number, etc., such as by paying attention to the internal staff of competitors on social media, to obtain the internal dynamics of competitors and employee mentality.

Avoid superficial research, in-depth analysis and use of data. Competitor 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. Competitor Research

Although competitor 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. In this paper, we introduce the difficulties and responses of competitor research, including the following aspects, using the example of Shangpu Consulting:

Difficulties in obtaining information. The first difficulty in competitor research is how to obtain effective information, because competitors are often reluctant to disclose or disclose their own situation, or deliberately publish false or misleading information to prevent competition snooping or imitation. 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 competitors' information; The second is to verify information from multiple angles, such as cross-comparison with different information sources, either by comparing it with your own or industry data, or by comparing it with the opinions of experts or peers, to verify the authenticity and validity of competitors' information.

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

Difficulties in the use of information. The third difficulty in competitor research is how to use effective information, because only when competitor information is translated into actual actions and results can it reflect the value and significance of competitor research. 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 competitors' information. 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 competitors' information, as well as flexible adjustment and optimization mechanisms to adapt to market changes and uncertainties.

Conclusion

Competitor 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, competitor 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 competitor research, and how to deal with the challenges of competitor research and improve the effect and value of competitor research. It is hoped that this paper will be helpful and enlightening to the competitor research of Champ Consulting.