1. identify competitor scope

The first step in competitor research is to determine the scope of competitors, that is, to identify which companies are our competitors or may become our competitors. The range of competitors includes not only enterprises that currently compete directly, but also enterprises that compete potentially, as well as enterprises that compete indirectly. Potentially competitive companies are those that have the ability and willingness to enter our market, such as cross-industry companies, emerging companies, or international companies. Indirectly competitive firms are those that offer substitutes or supplements, such as different types of products or services, or different consumption scenarios.

There are many ways to determine the scope of competitors, such as dividing according to market share, product category, customer group, geographic region, channel mode, value proposition and other dimensions, or using Porter's five-force model to analyze the competitive forces in the industry and identify the most threatening competitors. The purpose of determining the scope of competitors is to narrow the scope of research, select the most important competitors, and conduct in-depth analysis.

Case in point: Champu Consulting provided a competitor research service for an online education platform to help it determine the scope of its competitors. Champu Consulting first divided its competitors into four categories based on the segmentation of the online education market: K12 education, vocational education, interest education, and lifelong education. Then, according to the customer's product positioning, vocational education and lifelong education are selected as the main competitive areas, and more than a dozen of the most representative competitors are selected as the object of follow-up analysis according to the dimensions of market share, product form, customer portrait, channel model, profit model and so on.

2. collection of competitor information

The second step in competitor research is to collect competitor information, I .e., to obtain relevant data and information about competitors to provide a basis for subsequent analysis. Competitor information includes the following:

Basic information: including competitor's name, logo, slogan, establishment time, place of registration, legal representative, shareholder structure, organizational structure, employee size, main products, main customers, main partners, main suppliers, main distributors, etc.

Financial information: including competitor's revenue, profit, cost, assets, liabilities, cash flow, investment, financing, market value, valuation, financial ratio, etc.

Market information: including competitors' market share, market growth rate, market size, market segmentation, market positioning, market opportunities, market threats, etc.

Marketing information: including competitors' product strategy, price strategy, promotion strategy, channel strategy, brand strategy, customer relationship management, public relations campaign, advertising, social media, word-of-mouth evaluation, etc.

R & D information: including competitors' technology level, technology innovation, technology patent, technology cooperation, technology transfer, R & D investment, R & D team, R & D project, R & D achievement, etc.

Human resources information: including competitors' talent strategy, talent recruitment, talent training, talent incentive, talent loss, talent structure, talent quality, talent culture, talent satisfaction, etc.

There are many ways to collect competitor information, such as using public information sources, such as official websites, annual reports, news, social media, industry reports, third-party data platforms, etc., or using non-public information sources, such as questionnaires, interview visits, secret customers, espionage, etc. The purpose of collecting competitor information is to obtain as comprehensive, accurate, timely, and valuable information as possible to support subsequent analysis.

Case: Champu Consulting collected competitor information for an online education platform, using a variety of information sources, such as competitor's official website, financial reports, news, social media, user reviews, industry reports, third-party data platforms, etc., to obtain competitor basic information, financial information, market information, marketing information, research and development information, and human resources information. Shangpu Consulting also collected some non-public information about competitors, such as customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, product advantages and disadvantages, price sensitivity, brand loyalty, etc., through questionnaires, interviews, and secret customers.

3. analysis of competitor strategy

The strategic analysis of competitors can help enterprises understand the behavior patterns of competitors, predict the future movements of competitors, evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of competitors, and formulate effective competitive strategies. There are many ways to analyze competitors' strategies, such as using SWOT analysis to analyze competitors' strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, or VRIO analysis to analyze competitors' value, scarcity, non-replicability, and organization, or value chain analysis to analyze competitors' primary activities, ancillary activities, and value creation. The purpose of analyzing competitor strategy is to reveal the core competitiveness, competitive advantages, and competitive disadvantages of competitors, and to provide a basis for subsequent countermeasures.

Case: Champu Consulting analyzed the strategy of competitors for an online education platform, using SWOT analysis, VRIO analysis, and value chain analysis to reveal the strategic characteristics of competitors from different perspectives. For example, Shangpu Consulting found that competitor A's advantages are strong brand influence, high-quality course content, and loyal customer base. Its disadvantages are higher price, single channel, and weak innovation ability. Its opportunities are market demand growth, policy support, and international expansion. Its threats are new entrants, substitutes, and regulatory risks. Shangpu Consulting also found that Competitor A's core resource is its brand, its core competence is its content production, its core value is its teaching quality, its core activity is its curriculum development, its core cost is its teacher fees, and its core income is its curriculum sales.

4. Evaluate Competitor Strengths and Weaknesses

The fourth step of competitor research is to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of competitors, that is, to compare the performance of competitors and themselves in various aspects, to determine the strengths and weaknesses of competitors, to find out their own strengths and weaknesses. Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of competitors can help companies understand their relative position in the market, discover their own differentiated advantages, make up for their competitive disadvantages, and enhance their competitiveness. There are many ways to assess the strengths and weaknesses of competitors, such as using comparative analysis to compare the data of competitors and themselves on various indicators, or using benchmarking to compare the efficiency of competitors and themselves on various processes, or using strengths and weaknesses analysis to compare the quality of competitors and themselves on various elements. The purpose of evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of competitors is to find out their own competitive advantages, competitive disadvantages, and competitive space, and to provide reference for subsequent strategy formulation.

Case: Champu Consulting assessed the strengths and weaknesses of competitors for an online education platform, using comparative analysis, benchmarking analysis, and strengths and weaknesses analysis to compare the performance of competitors and themselves from different perspectives. For example, Shangpu Consulting found that competitor A is superior to itself in terms of market share, brand awareness, customer satisfaction, course quality, etc. Its advantage is its brand power, its disadvantage is its high price, and its space is its channel single. Shangpu Consulting also found that Rival A is less efficient than itself in curriculum development, teacher recruitment, customer service, etc. Its advantage is its content production, its disadvantage is its innovation ability, and its space is its international expansion.

5. predict future actions of competitors

The fifth step of competitor research is to predict the future actions of competitors, that is, to infer the future goals, plans, strategies, and initiatives of competitors, and to predict future changes, impacts, and threats of competitors. Predicting the future actions of competitors can help companies prepare in advance, seize opportunities, meet challenges, and avoid risks. There are many ways to predict the future actions of competitors, such as using scenario analysis to construct different scenarios and analyze the possible reactions of competitors, or using game theory analysis to construct different games and analyze the optimal choice of competitors, or using trend analysis to analyze the historical data of competitors and predict the future trend of competitors. The purpose of predicting the future actions of competitors is to improve their early warning ability, adaptability, and competitiveness, and to provide a basis for subsequent strategic adjustments.

Case: Champu Consulting predicted the future actions of competitors for an online education platform, using scenario analysis, game theory analysis, and trend analysis to speculate on the future changes of competitors from different perspectives. For example, Shangpu Consulting found that competitor A may adopt strategies to expand scale, increase courses, expand channels, reduce prices, and increase market share in the face of growing market demand, creating greater competitive pressure on itself. Shangpu Consulting also found that under the game of policy support, competitor A may choose to cooperate with the government to obtain policy preferences, improve brand image, and increase customer trust, which will pose a greater competitive threat to itself. Shangpu Consulting also found that in the face of the trend of international expansion, competitor A may choose to enter new markets, develop new products, establish new cooperation, and increase its international influence, which will create greater competition for itself. challenge.

6. development of response measures

The sixth step of competitor research is to formulate countermeasures, that is, according to the advantages and disadvantages of competitors, future actions, and their impact on themselves, formulate targeted coping strategies to improve their competitive advantages, reduce their competitive disadvantages, and increase their competitive space. There are various approaches to developing a response, such as using Porter's competitive strategy model, choosing a strategy of cost leadership, differentiation, or centralization, or using Ansoff's growth matrix model, choosing a strategy of market penetration, market development, product development, or diversification, or using a blue ocean strategy model, choosing a strategy of elimination, reduction, enhancement, or creation. The purpose of developing response measures is to improve their market share, market growth rate, market profit, and market loyalty to achieve their strategic goals.

Case: Champ Consulting developed a response for an online education platform, using Porter's competitive strategy model, Ansoff's growth matrix model, and the Blue Ocean strategy model to propose targeted response strategies from different perspectives. For example, Shangpu Consulting Company suggests that in view of the brand strength advantage of competitor A, we can adopt differentiation strategy, highlight our own product characteristics, service characteristics, and cultural characteristics, build our own brand image, improve our brand awareness, and brand loyalty. Shangpu Consulting also suggested that for competitor A's international expansion plan, it can adopt market development strategies to enter new markets, expand new customers, establish new partnerships, and increase its market share and market growth rate. Shangpu Consulting also suggests that in view of the disadvantage of competitor A's innovation ability, we can adopt creative strategies, develop new products, introduce new technologies, create new value, improve our product quality, and product competitiveness.

7. Monitoring Competitor Changes

The seventh step of competitor research is to monitor the changes of competitors, that is, to continuously pay attention to the information, strategy, actions, and effects of competitors, and to discover new trends, new changes, new influences, and new threats of competitors in a timely manner. Monitoring changes in competitors can help companies adjust their strategies in time, respond to changes in competitors, maintain their competitive advantages, avoid their competitive disadvantages, and expand their competitive space. There are many ways to monitor changes in competitors, such as using information systems, establishing a competitor information base, regularly updating competitor information, or using evaluation systems, establishing competitor evaluation indicators, regularly evaluating competitor performance, or using early warning systems, establishing competitor early warning signals, and regularly warning competitor risks. The purpose of monitoring changes in competitors is to maintain their competitive sensitivity, competitive flexibility, and competitive stability, and to achieve their own strategic adjustments.

Case: Champu Consulting monitored the changes of competitors for an online education platform, using information systems, evaluation systems, and early warning systems to focus on the new trends of competitors from different perspectives. For example, Shangpu Consulting uses an information system to regularly collect competitors' news, financial reports, social media, user reviews, industry reports, third-party data platforms and other information, update the competitor information base, and provide timely feedback to customers. Shangpu Consulting uses the evaluation system to regularly compare the performance of competitors and themselves in market share, market growth rate, market profit, market loyalty and other indicators, update competitor evaluation indicators, and timely feedback to customers. Shangpu Consulting uses the early warning system to regularly monitor competitors' new products, new strategies, new cooperation, new risks and other signals, update competitors' early warning signals, and give timely feedback to customers.

Conclusion

Competitor research is an important strategic analysis work, which can help companies understand their position in the market, find their strengths and weaknesses, develop effective competitive strategies, and enhance their competitiveness. This paper introduces the seven steps of competitor research, namely: determining the scope of competitors, collecting competitor information, analyzing competitor strategies, evaluating competitor strengths and weaknesses, predicting competitor future actions, formulating countermeasures, and monitoring competitor changes. This paper also shows the practical method and value of competitor research combined with the specific case of competitor research service provided by Shangpu Consulting Company. I hope this article can be helpful to you, so that you can better understand the competitors and better deal with the competition.