Research work · 2023
Competitor analysis
Karel Jan Alsem
Routledge eBooks
Abstract
The purpose of competitor analysis is to understand the strengths and weaknesses of key competitors, as well as their anticipated strategies. The combination of both things, coupled with one’s own strengths and weaknesses, determines whether the competitor should be seen as a rival or as a future partner. The question of how many competitors a company has depends on the level at which the target group competes: at the budget level, at the generic level, at the product category level, or at the product form level. The annual marketing plan usually looks at the last two levels. Within a chosen level, the most important competitors must then be determined. It is important to carry out this identification from the point of view of management and, moreover, to check how the target group views the competition (market research). The current strategy and objectives are then determined for the most important competitors, as well as what strengths and weaknesses they have. At the end of a competitor analysis, all collected information is introduced into, for example, a brainstorming or role-playing session, in which a forecast of the competitor’s behavior is made from the perspective of the competitor. This also involves estimating the likelihood that the competitor will react to the future strategy of the company conducting the analysis. Competitor data is largely qualitative in nature. For markets of non-durable consumer goods, a lot of quantitative data is also available from agencies such as Nielsen and GfK. But an organization’s own market research can also contain information about competitors.