Welcome to Market Research Guide
Market Research Analyst Article
. For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for further reading, click here.
Competitor Analysis
from:The assessment of the weaknesses and strengths of potential and current competitors done by companies to gain a strategic insight into the mind of competitor is termed as Competitor analysis in the language of marketing. This analysis is used to identify threats and opportunities by in depth understanding of key competencies, strengths, weaknesses and unique selling proposition of the rivals in the business. Such analysis begins with competitor profiling that serves to coalesce all relevant sources of analyzing your competitor into a framework for effective and efficient strategy formulation, implementing strategies, monitoring the progress and making adjustments as needed. Competitor analysis is a strategic element and essential component of a corporate strategy.
The methodology involves many steps, which are presented as follows:
Competitor Matrix
This is the first and the most important step. If done carefully the Competitor Matrix step alone can accelerate your processes in a big way. The matrix consists of following elements:
Definition of your industry which involves the nature and scope of the industry
Determination of other players or competitors in the area
Determination of your prospective customers are and their expectations
Determination of the factors of success in the industry
Approximate rating of the key success factors of all competitors
Competitor profiling
The competitor profiling is the second step and its strategic rationale cannot be ignored as superior knowledge of rivals is a legitimate source of competitive advantage. Profiling provides an objective analysis of a competitor’s projection in the market and separates strong rivals from weak ones. It is generally observed that those firms that practice systematic and advanced competitor profiling have a significant advantage and because of its success comprehensive profiling capability is rapidly becoming a core competence required for successful competition.
Media scanning
A study of competitor's ads can reveal much more about competitors believe about marketing and his target market than any conventional quantitative or qualitative research tool. Any key change in rival’s advertisement or advertising budget should be carefully noticed as these changes very precisely reflect a change in rival’s strategy. So a tactical study of advertising strategy of rival should be done to extract as much information to gain a business advantage.
New competitors
New competitors enter into the market whenever there is unmet demand or high profits in the existing market. These new competitors should be carefully watched and monitors as they can pose a significant threat to your market segment. The product should always be kept in lines with the existing market demands and customer loyalty should be built so that customers are not weaned away from the company on arrival of new provider.
Market Research Analyst Specific links
Market Research Analyst News
Infonetics Research: Ethernet Access Device (EAD) Market to Grow 81% from 2012 to 2016
The Ethernet access device market grew 17% in 2011 over 2010 and is forecast to grow 81% between 2012 and 2016, reports market research firm Infonetics Research in its new Ethernet
Read more...Infonetics Research: Tighter Spending in China and Europe Squeezes Broadband Aggregation Market in 1Q12
Global spending on DSL, PON, and fiber-to-the-home equipment declined 22% between the fourth quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012 , to $1.8 billion, re
Read more...Infonetics Research: Cisco, Alcatel-Lucent, Juniper Gain Carrier IP Edge Router/Switch Share in Q1; N. America up 27%
The global service provider router and switch market, which includes IP edge routers, IP core routers, and carrier Ethernet switches , sequentially decreased 14% to $3.3 billion in the first quarter of 2012 , reports market research firm Infonetics Research in its latest Service Provider Routers and Switches report.
Read more...Infonetics: Operators Using Residential Gateways to Boost Broadband Revenue via Home Automation, Video
Market research firm Infonetics Research today released excerpts from its new Residential Gateway Deployment Strategies: Global Service Provider Survey. The report delves into serv
Read more...Infonetics Research: $186 billion to be spent on carrier Ethernet equipment over next 5 years
The global carrier Ethernet equipment market grew 13.4% to $31.7 billion in 2011, following a 43% hike in 2010, reports market research firm Infonetics Research in its latest Carri
Read more...