Purpose of 1. Competitor Research

The purpose of competitor research is to collect, analyze and evaluate information about competitors, including their background, objectives, strategies, capabilities, behaviors, performance, strengths and weaknesses. Through competitor research, companies can:

Understand the changes and development of the competitive environment, grasp the dynamics and trends of competitors, and predict the future actions and impacts of competitors;

Discover their own competitive strengths and weaknesses, assess their competitive position and competitiveness, and determine their own competitive goals and directions;

Identify competitive threats and opportunities, develop effective competitive strategies, improve competitive advantages, reduce competitive risks, and increase competitive returns;

Learn from the successful experience and failure lessons of competitors, learn from the innovative thinking and excellent practices of competitors, and enhance their competitiveness and level.

Methods of 2. competitor research

There are several main methods of competitor research:

Desktop research: use public information sources, such as the Internet, newspapers, books, reports, databases, etc., to collect basic information and data of competitors, and conduct preliminary analysis and collation;

On-the-spot investigation: by personally or entrusting a third party to the competitor's location, business premises, production base, sales outlets, etc., on-the-spot observation, investigation and interview, to obtain the first-hand information and materials of the competitor;

Simulation analysis: through the use of mathematical, statistical, economic and other theories and methods, the establishment of competitors' models and equations, simulation of competitors' behavior and results, speculation and prediction;

Intelligence analysis: through the use of information science, management, psychology and other disciplines of knowledge and technology, in-depth analysis and evaluation of competitors' information and data, reveal the characteristics and laws of competitors, and put forward competitors' evaluation and suggestions.

Steps to 3. competitor research

The steps of competitor research generally include the following stages:

Identify competitors: according to the characteristics of the enterprise's products, markets, customers, regions, etc., determine the scope and type of competitors, select the sample and number of competitors;

Set research objectives: according to the strategic needs and problems of the enterprise, set the purpose and content of the research, clarify the key points and difficulties of the research, and formulate research plans and programs;

Collect information: according to the objectives and methods of research, collect information and data of competitors from various channels and channels, pay attention to the quality and quantity of information, and avoid information deviation and misleading;

Analysis and evaluation results: according to the objectives and methods of the research, the collected information and data are collated, summarized, analyzed and evaluated, and various tools and technologies are used to extract key information and data of competitors and form analysis and evaluation reports of competitors;

Formulation of competition strategy: According to the results of analysis and evaluation, combined with the enterprise's own situation and objectives, formulate competition strategies for competitors, including competition objectives, competition actions, competition resources, competition control, etc., implement competition strategies, monitor competition effects, and adjust competition strategies.

4. competitor research how to predict future trends and seize opportunities

Competitor research can not only help companies understand the current situation and history of competitors, but also help companies predict the future and trends of competitors, so as to seize the opportunity, advance layout, and win competitive advantage. Competitor research how to predict future trends and seize opportunities, mainly in the following areas:

Predict the goals and strategies of competitors: by analyzing the background, vision, mission, values, culture, organization, management, etc. of competitors, understand the development direction and intentions of competitors, predict the long-term and short-term goals of competitors, as well as the strategies and measures taken by competitors to achieve their goals;

Predict the ability and behavior of competitors: by analyzing the resources, technology, products, services, quality, cost, price, channels, marketing, innovation, etc. of competitors, understand the competitive strength and level of competitors, predict the competitive ability and behavior of competitors, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of competitors;

Predict the performance and impact of competitors: by analyzing the sales, profits, market share, customer satisfaction, brand awareness, reputation, risk, etc. of competitors, understand the competitive results and effects of competitors, predict the competitive performance and impact of competitors, as well as the threats and opportunities of competitors;

Predict the changes and development of competitors: by analyzing the dynamics, trends, laws, patterns, mutations, crises, etc. of competitors, understand the changes and development of competitors, predict the future direction and state of competitors, as well as the opportunities and challenges of competitors.

By predicting the future trends of competitors, companies can prepare and respond in advance, seize opportunities, and create competitive advantages. For example, businesses can:

According to the objectives and strategies of competitors, formulate corresponding competitive objectives and strategies, form different competitive relationships with competitors such as cooperation, competition, avoidance or withdrawal, and realize the coordination and balance of competition;

According to the ability and behavior of competitors, formulate corresponding competitive ability and behavior, form different competitive advantages such as differentiation, low cost, centralization or diversification with competitors, and realize the difference and optimization of competition;

According to the performance and influence of competitors, formulate corresponding competitive performance and influence, form different competitive positions with competitors, such as leading, following, challenging or Nietzsche, and realize competitive leadership and influence;

In view of the changes and development of competitors, formulate corresponding competitive changes and development, and form different competitive strategies such as innovation, adaptation, prevention or response with competitors, so as to realize the change and development of competition.

5. Competitor Research Cases

In order to better illustrate the practical application and value of competitor research, this paper combines the specific cases of Shangpu consulting service customers to carry out a simple analysis and introduction.

Case 1: an e-commerce platform company, facing fierce competition from Amazon, Alibaba, Jingdong and other domestic and foreign giants, wants to improve its competitiveness and market share, and seeks the help of Shangpu Consulting. Through a survey of competitors, Champu Consulting found the following:

Amazon's goal is to become the world's largest e-commerce platform. Its strategy is to provide more products and services through continuous innovation and expansion, meet more customer needs, and establish a stronger brand and loyalty. Its ability is through Strong technical, logistics, financial and other support, providing efficient transactions and distribution, and its performance is to have a huge market share and income on a global scale, its impact is to lead and shape the e-commerce industry, and its changes are constantly entering new fields and markets, such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, drones, etc;

Alibaba's goal is to become the world's largest digital economy. Its strategy is to build an open platform and ecosystem to connect more merchants and consumers and provide more values and opportunities. Its ability is to provide convenient transactions and services through powerful data, Internet, payment and other support. Its performance is to have a huge market share and revenue in China and Asia, its impact is the promotion and innovation of the digital economy, and its change is the continuous expansion of new businesses and fields, such as social networking, entertainment, finance, etc;

Jingdong's goal is to become the world's largest retail infrastructure service provider. Its strategy is to provide more categories and quality, and ensure more speed and safety through the establishment of a self-operated model and system. Its ability is to provide high-quality transactions and experiences through strong storage, Distribution, after-sales and other support, its performance is to have a larger market share and income in China, its impact is the change and improvement of the retail industry. Its change is to continuously optimize its own operations and efficiency, such as smart, Internet of Things, blockchain, etc.

Through the analysis of competitors, Champ Consulting helped the e-commerce platform company develop the following competitive strategies:

For Amazon, avoid competition, try to avoid direct competition with it, find its own market segments and characteristic products, and provide differentiated services and values, such as localization, personalization, socialization, etc;

For Alibaba, we should adopt a competitive competitive relationship, compete with it head-on, look for our own competitive advantages and innovations, and provide low-cost services and values, such as simplification, efficiency, and transparency;

For JD, adopt a cooperative competitive relationship, cooperate with it, find its own complementarity and synergy, and provide centralized services and values, such as sharing, integration, and coordination.

Case 2: an automobile manufacturing company, facing fierce competition from Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen and other domestic and foreign brands, wants to improve its competitiveness and market share, and seeks the help of Shangpu Consulting. Through a survey of competitors, Champu Consulting found the following:

Tesla's goal is to become the world's largest electric car manufacturer. Its strategy is to provide more smart and environmentally friendly cars through continuous innovation and subversion, meet more customer needs, and build a stronger brand and loyalty. Its ability is to provide high-performance transactions and distribution through strong technical, design, manufacturing and other support, its performance is to have a large market share and income on a global scale, its impact is to lead and shape the automotive industry, and its changes are constantly entering new fields and markets, such as space, solar energy, batteries, etc;

Toyota's goal is to become the world's largest automobile manufacturer. Its strategy is to provide more categories and quality automobiles through continuous improvement and optimization, meet more customer needs, and establish stronger brand and loyalty. Its ability is to provide efficient transactions and distribution through strong technical, management, and production support, its performance is to have a huge market share in the world and predict the performance and impact of competitors: by analyzing the sales, profits, market share, customer satisfaction, brand awareness, reputation, risk, etc. of competitors, to understand the competitive results and effects of competitors, to predict the competitive performance and impact of competitors, as well as the threats and opportunities of competitors;

Predict the changes and development of competitors: by analyzing the dynamics, trends, laws, patterns, mutations, crises, etc. of competitors, understand the changes and development of competitors, predict the future direction and state of competitors, as well as the opportunities and challenges of competitors.

By predicting the future trends of competitors, companies can prepare and respond in advance, seize opportunities, and create competitive advantages. For example, businesses can:

For Tesla, take a challenging competitive position, compete with it, find its own innovation and subversion, and provide smart and environmentally friendly cars, such as autonomous driving, new energy, shared travel, etc;

For Toyota, take the following competitive position, cooperate with it, find its own improvement and optimization points, and provide category and quality cars, such as hybrid, high efficiency and energy saving, safety and reliability;

For Volkswagen, take a leading competitive position, distinguish it, find its own differentiation and diversification points, and provide personalized and customized cars, such as design, function, service, etc.

Case 3: An education and training company is facing fierce competition from domestic and foreign brands such as New Oriental, Good Future, and Netease. It wants to improve its competitiveness and market share and seeks the help of Shangpu Consulting. Through a survey of competitors, Champu Consulting found the following:

New Oriental's goal is to become the world's largest education service provider. Its strategy is to provide more courses and services through continuous expansion and diversification, to meet more learning needs, and to establish a stronger brand and loyalty. Its ability is to provide high-quality teaching and guidance through strong teachers, content, platform and other support, its performance is to have a huge market share and income in China and overseas, its impact is to lead and promote the education industry, and its change is to constantly enter new fields and markets, such as vocational education, online education, international education, etc;

TAL's goal is to become the world's largest education technology company. Its strategy is to provide more products and solutions through continuous innovation and optimization, to meet more education needs, and to establish a stronger brand and loyalty. Its ability is to provide efficient education and services through powerful technology, data, algorithms and other support, its performance is to have a large market share and income in China, and its impact is to change and improve the education industry, and its change is to continuously optimize its own products and services, such as intelligence, personalization, adaptability, etc;

NetEase's goal is to become the world's largest online education platform. Its strategy is to provide more resources and opportunities through continuous opening and cooperation, meet more learning needs, and build a stronger brand and loyalty. Its ability is through Strong network, media, community and other support to provide convenient education and communication, its performance is to have a large market share and income in China and overseas. Its impact is to expand and connect the education industry. Its change is to continuously expand new cooperation and fields, such as famous teachers, famous schools, famous enterprises, etc.

Through an analysis of its competitors, Champ Consulting helped the education and training company develop the following competitive strategies:

In view of New Oriental, we should adopt diversified competitive advantages, distinguish them, look for their own characteristics and advantages, and provide differentiated courses and services, such as interests, hobbies, specialties, etc;

In view of the good future, take the competitive advantage of low cost, compete with it, find its own cost and efficiency, and provide low-cost products and solutions, such as free, preferential, incentive, etc;

For NetEase, take a centralized competitive advantage, cooperate with it, find its own resources and opportunities, and provide centralized resources and opportunities, such as sharing, integration, coordination, etc.