Purpose of Competitor Research

What is the purpose of competitor research? Simply put, it is to understand the situation of competitors, so as to provide basis and reference for enterprises to formulate their own strategies and marketing strategies. Specifically, competitor research can help companies achieve the following objectives:

Identify and define competitors. Competitors include not only direct competitors, but also potential competitors, substitute competitors, indirect competitors, etc. Enterprises need to determine the most important competitors according to their own market positioning, target customers, product characteristics and other factors, as well as their size, region, market share and other basic information.

Analyze and evaluate competitors' strategies, capabilities, strengths, weaknesses, dynamics and expectations. Enterprises need to have a deep understanding of the strategic intention and action logic of competitors, that is, what competitors want to do, why they want to do it, how to do it, how to do it, and so on. At the same time, enterprises need to evaluate the core competitiveness of competitors, that is, in which aspects competitors are stronger than themselves, which aspects are weaker than themselves, as well as the innovation ability and potential threats of competitors. In addition, enterprises need to pay attention to the dynamic changes of competitors, that is, whether competitors have made any major decisions, actions, changes, etc. recently, as well as what competitors may do in the future, what plans, goals, expectations, etc.

Compare and optimize your own strategies and marketing strategies. According to the analysis and evaluation of competitors, enterprises need to find out their own advantages and disadvantages, determine their own differentiation and competitive advantages, and the aspects that need to be improved and improved. At the same time, enterprises need to adjust and optimize their own strategies and marketing strategies according to the dynamics and expectations of competitors in order to meet the challenges of competitors and seize market opportunities.

Content of competitor research

What is the content of competitor research? Generally speaking, the content of competitor research can be divided into the following aspects:

Basic information. Including the name, address, contact information, legal representative, registered capital, establishment time, business scope, organizational structure, shareholders, affiliated enterprises, etc.

Financial position. Including competitors' operating income, profits, assets, liabilities, cash flow, financial ratios, etc.

Market conditions. Including competitors' market positioning, target customers, market share, market growth, market share, market satisfaction, market loyalty, etc.

Product condition. Including competitors' product types, product characteristics, product quality, product price, product innovation, product life cycle, product reputation, product guarantee, etc.

Channel status. Including the competitor's channel model, channel number, channel coverage, channel efficiency, channel cooperation, channel management, channel services, etc.

Promotion status. Including competitors' promotion objectives, promotion strategies, promotion content, promotion channels, promotion investment, promotion effect, promotion evaluation, etc.

Human resources situation. Including competitors' personnel size, personnel structure, personnel quality, personnel training, personnel motivation, personnel mobility, personnel satisfaction, etc.

Technical status. Including the technological level of competitors, technological innovation, technological patents, technological cooperation, technology transfer, technology protection, etc.

Status of research and development. Including competitors' R & D objectives, R & D strategies, R & D content, R & D investment, R & D team, R & D results, R & D evaluation, etc.

Corporate culture status. Including the competitor's corporate mission, corporate vision, corporate values, corporate philosophy, corporate spirit, corporate atmosphere, corporate image, etc.

Methodology for competitor research

What are the methods of competitor research? Generally speaking, the methods of competitor research can be divided into the following:

The literature method. That is, by collecting, sorting, and analyzing various documents of competitors, such as official websites, annual reports, announcements, news, reports, papers, patents, trademarks, certificates, etc., to obtain relevant information about competitors.

Observation method. That is, by directly or indirectly observing the behavior, performance, dynamics, etc. of competitors, such as visiting competitors' factories, stores, exhibitions, activities, etc., or through the Internet, media, social platforms, etc., to obtain relevant information about competitors.

interview method. That is, through exchanges, communication, interviews, etc. with competitors' relevant personnel, customers, suppliers, partners, industry experts, etc., to obtain relevant information about competitors.

experimental method. That is, through simulation, testing, comparison, evaluation, etc., the actual inspection and analysis of competitors' products, services, technologies, etc., to obtain relevant information about competitors.

The digital method. That is, by collecting, organizing, and analyzing various digital data of competitors, such as sales data, market data, financial data, technical data, etc., to obtain relevant information about competitors.

Case law. That is, by studying, summarizing, and summarizing the success or failure of competitors, such as new product development, market entry, channel expansion, brand building, crisis response, etc., to obtain relevant information about competitors.

Trends in competitor research

What is the trend of competitor research? With the complexity of the market environment and the intensification of competition, the methods and contents of competitor research also need to be constantly innovated and improved. According to the practical experience of Shangpu Consulting, the future direction of competitor research can be summarized as follows:

Pay more attention to the strategic intention and action logic of competitors, not just the superficial data and information. The strategic intention and action logic of competitors are the core driving force of competitors and the biggest uncertainty of competitors. Through in-depth analysis of competitors' strategic objectives, strategic choices, strategic implementation, strategic evaluation, etc., we can better predict and respond to competitors' future trends and possible initiatives.

Pay more attention to the innovation ability and potential threats of competitors, not just the existing advantages and disadvantages. Competitor's innovation ability and potential threat is the core competitiveness of competitors, but also the biggest threat to competitors. Through in-depth analysis of competitors' R & D investment, R & D team, R & D results, R & D evaluation, etc., we can better identify and prevent competitors' innovation breakthroughs and disruptive changes.

Make greater use of technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence to improve the efficiency and accuracy of competitor research. Technical means such as big data and artificial intelligence can help competitors to extract valuable data from massive information, mine meaningful rules from complex data, build useful models from multi-dimensional data, and generate reliable predictions from dynamic data, thus improving the efficiency and accuracy of competitor research.

More integrate the results of competitor research and the company's own strategy and marketing decisions to form a closed-loop feedback and optimization mechanism. The results of competitor research are not only to understand the situation of competitors, but also to guide the enterprise's own strategy and marketing decisions. By combining the results of competitor research with the company's own strategy and marketing decisions, a closed-loop feedback and optimization mechanism can be formed to improve the competitiveness and market performance of the company.

Case Study of Competitors at Champu Consulting

Shangpu Consulting Company is a professional market research and strategic consulting company, with many years of experience and ability in competitor research, and provides high-quality competitor research services for many customers. The following are some of the cases investigated by Champ Consulting's competitors for reference:

For an internationally renowned automobile manufacturer, conducted the research on its main competitors in the Chinese market, including the analysis of competitors' market share, product line, channel layout, brand image, customer satisfaction, technological innovation, future planning and other aspects, as well as the evaluation of competitors' advantages and disadvantages, and formulated targeted market strategies and marketing strategies for customers, help customers to enhance the competitiveness and market share in the Chinese market.

For a leading e-commerce platform in China, it conducted research on its potential competitors in overseas markets, including the analysis of competitors' market positioning, target customers, product characteristics, price strategies, promotion methods, partners, legal risks and other aspects, as well as the evaluation of competitors' innovation capabilities and potential threats, and formulated suitable overseas market entry strategies and expansion strategies for customers, help customers to successfully develop the overseas market.

For a well-known domestic food manufacturer, the research on its substitute competitors in emerging markets was conducted, including the analysis of competitors' product types, product quality, product price, product reputation, product guarantee and other aspects, as well as the evaluation of competitors' market influence and consumer preference, and effective product differentiation and brand building strategies were formulated for customers to help customers resist the impact of substitute competitors, enhanced customer loyalty to the market.