Purpose of 1. Competitor Research

The purpose of competitor research is to understand the competitive environment, assess competitiveness, develop competitive strategies, and enhance competitive advantage. Specifically, competitor research can help companies achieve the following objectives:

(1) Identify and define competitors. Competitors include not only direct competitors, that is, enterprises that provide the same or similar products or services, but also indirect competitors, that is, enterprises that provide substitutes or potential entrants. Through competitor research, companies can determine the scope and type of competitors they face, as well as their size, status, characteristics and other basic information.

(2) Analyze and evaluate competitors' strategies and capabilities. Competitor's strategy and ability are the key factors that affect the competitiveness of enterprises. Through the competitor research, the enterprise can understand the competitor's mission, vision, goals, values, culture, organizational structure, management mode, innovation ability, financial status, market share, customer satisfaction, brand image, product characteristics, price strategy, channel strategy, promotion strategy and other information, so as to evaluate the competitor's advantages and disadvantages, and predict the competitor's behavior and trend, judging the threats and opportunities of competitors.

(3) Develop and implement competitive strategies. Competitive strategy is the action plan taken by an enterprise to achieve its goals in a competitive environment. Through competitor research, enterprises can choose appropriate competitive strategies according to their own resources and capabilities, as well as the situation of competitors, such as cost leadership strategy, differentiation strategy, concentration strategy, etc., as well as corresponding tactical measures, such as attack, defense, cooperation, avoidance, etc., so as to improve their competitive advantage and realize the improvement of market share and profitability.

Content of 2. competitor research

The content of competitor research refers to the scope and dimensions of information involved in competitor research. The content of competitor research should be determined according to the specific objectives and needs of the enterprise, generally including the following aspects:

(1) Basic information about competitors. This is the basis for competitor research, including the competitor's name, address, contact information, legal representative, registered capital, establishment time, business scope, organizational form, shareholder structure, affiliated enterprises and other information, as well as the competitor's development history, important events, honorary awards and other information.

(2) Strategic information of competitors. This is the core of competitor research, including the competitor's mission, vision, goals, values, culture, strategic direction, strategic objectives, strategic measures and other information, as well as the competitor's competitive advantages, competitive disadvantages, competitive style, competitive attitude and other information.

(3) Competitor capability information. This is the focus of competitor research, including competitors' innovation ability, financial ability, market ability, product ability, price ability, channel ability, promotion ability, service ability, human resource ability, technical ability, management ability and other information, as well as competitors' resource allocation, efficiency level, quality level, satisfaction level, loyalty level and other information.

(4) Dynamic information of competitors. This is the difficulty of competitor research, including the competitor's market dynamics, product dynamics, price dynamics, channel dynamics, promotion dynamics, service dynamics, personnel dynamics, technology dynamics, management dynamics and other information, as well as the competitor's change trend, development direction, future plans, potential risks and other information.

Methods of 3. competitor research

The method of competitor research refers to the technical means of information collection and analysis used by competitor research. The method of competitor research should be selected according to the characteristics of the competitor and the availability of information, which generally includes the following:

(1) Desktop research method. This is a common method of competitor research, which refers to obtaining information about competitors by consulting and analyzing existing public or semi-public sources of information, such as official websites, social media, news media, industry reports, market research reports, financial statements, patent literature, legal documents, etc. The advantages of this method are low cost, fast speed, and wide range, but the disadvantage is that the information may be incomplete, inaccurate, and untimely.

(2) Field visit method. This is a supplementary method of competitor research, which refers to observing and collecting relevant information about competitors by personally or entrusting third parties to competitors' business premises, production bases, sales outlets, exhibition activities, etc. The advantage of this method is that the information is more intuitive, more real, and more in-depth, but the disadvantage is high cost, long time, and difficult.

(3) Questionnaire survey method. This is an auxiliary method of competitor research, which refers to the design and distribution of questionnaires to competitors' employees, customers, suppliers, partners, industry experts and other relevant personnel to obtain relevant information about competitors. The advantage of this method is that the information is more systematic, objective and diverse, but the disadvantage is that the information may be untrue, unreliable and inconsistent.

(4) Intelligence analysis. This is an advanced method of competitor research, which refers to the collation, induction, analysis, evaluation and prediction of competitor information through the use of the theories and methods of information science, so as to obtain the characteristics, patterns, trends and future intelligence of competitors. The advantage of this approach is that the information is more valuable, meaningful and instructive, but the disadvantage is that the information may be incomplete, uncertain and unstable.

Steps to 4. competitor research

The steps of competitor research refer to the specific operation process of competitor research. The steps of competitor research should be based on the purpose, content, methodology and actual situation of the competitor research, which generally includes the following steps:

(1) Determine the objectives and scope of competitor research. This is the starting point for competitor research, and it is necessary to clarify the main purpose and needs of competitor research, as well as the object and scope of competitor research, I .e. which competitors to investigate and what aspects of competitors to investigate.

(2) Collect information about competitors. This is the key to competitor research, according to the objectives and scope of competitor research, select the appropriate competitor research methods, such as desktop research method, field investigation method, questionnaire survey method, intelligence analysis method, etc., from a variety of information sources and channels, to obtain relevant information about competitors.

(3) Analyze and evaluate competitor information. This is the focus of competitor research. According to the objectives and scope of competitor research, appropriate analysis tools for competitor research, such as SWOT analysis, Porter's five forces analysis, value chain analysis, strategic group analysis, competition map analysis, etc., need to be used to sort out, summarize, analyze, evaluate and predict competitor information, so as to obtain the characteristics, laws, trends and future of competitors.

(4) Develop and implement competitive strategies. This is the end of competitor research. It is necessary to formulate appropriate competitive strategies based on the results of competitor research, combined with its own resources and capabilities, such as cost leadership strategies, differentiation strategies, concentration strategies, etc., and corresponding tactical measures, such as attack, Defense, cooperation, avoidance, etc., so as to improve its own competitive advantage and achieve market share and profitability.

5. Champu Consulting's Competitor Research Case

Shangpu Consulting is a consulting company that specializes in providing strategic consulting, management consulting, market consulting, technical consulting and other services. It has many years of industry experience and professional team, and has served many well-known enterprises and institutions. Shangpu Consulting also has rich practice and achievements in competitor research. The following are some competitor research cases of Shangpu Consulting:

(1) Provide competitor research services for an automobile manufacturer. Through desktop research, field investigation and questionnaire survey, Shangpu Consulting has collected the basic information, strategic information, capability information and dynamic information of the main competitors of the enterprise. Through SWOT analysis and Porter's five forces analysis, it has analyzed and evaluated the strengths and weaknesses, threats and opportunities, competitiveness and competitive situation of the competitors. Through value chain analysis and strategic group analysis, it has determined the core competitiveness and competitive position of the competitors, through competitive map analysis and intelligence analysis, the development trend and future trend of competitors are predicted, and finally the differentiation strategy and attack strategy are formulated for the enterprise, which helps the enterprise to improve product quality and brand image, and increase market share and profit margin.

(2) Provide competitor research services for an e-commerce enterprise. Through desktop research, questionnaire and intelligence analysis, Shangpu Consulting collects the basic information, strategic information, capability information and dynamic information of the main competitors of the enterprise. Through SWOT analysis and Porter's five forces analysis, it analyzes and evaluates the strengths and weaknesses, threats and opportunities, competitiveness and competitive situation of the competitors. Through value chain analysis and strategic group analysis, it determines the core competitiveness and competitive position of the competitors, through competitive map analysis and intelligence analysis, the development trend and future trend of competitors are predicted, and finally the centralized strategy and cooperation strategy are formulated for the enterprise, which helps the enterprise to improve the user experience and user loyalty, and expand the market scale and market influence.

(3) Provide competitor research services for a medical device company. Through desktop research, field investigation and questionnaire survey, Shangpu Consulting has collected the basic information, strategic information, capability information and dynamic information of the main competitors of the enterprise. Through SWOT analysis and Porter's five forces analysis, it has analyzed and evaluated the strengths and weaknesses, threats and opportunities, competitiveness and competitive situation of the competitors. Through value chain analysis and strategic group analysis, it has determined the core competitiveness and competitive position of the competitors, through competitive map analysis and intelligence analysis, the development trend and future trend of competitors are predicted, and finally the cost leadership strategy and defense strategy are formulated for the enterprise, which helps the enterprise to improve its technical level and market competitiveness and reduce costs and risks.