Competitor portfolio analysis

Competitor analysis is a strategic assessment wherein businesses identify major competitors and evaluate their strategies to determine their strengths and weaknesses relative to one's own product or service. This analysis provides both an offensive and defensive strategic context through which to identify opportunities and threats.

Identify Competitors: Understand both direct competitors (those offering similar products/services) and indirect competitors (those offering alternative solutions to the same problem).
Assess Strengths and Weaknesses: Determine what competitors are good at and where they could improve, often using a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis.
Evaluate Product/Service Offerings: Understand the features, benefits, and shortcomings of competitors' products or services.
Market and Share Analysis: Determine market positioning, market share, and growth rates.
Strategic Intent: Understand competitors' future goals and strategies.
Operational and Financial Performance: Evaluate their revenue streams, profitability, and other key financial metrics.
Marketing and Sales Strategies: Study their advertising, promotional strategies, and sales tactics.
Understand Entry Barriers: Identify potential barriers to entry in the market, which can be created by established competitors.

Informed Decision Making: Understand where your business stands in the market and make informed strategic decisions.
Opportunity Identification: Spot gaps in the market, under-served areas, or areas where competitors are under-performing.
Risk Mitigation: Foresee potential risks or threats in the market by understanding competitors' moves.
Enhance Offerings: Improve your products or services based on the competition's shortcomings.
Strategic Positioning: Position your brand, product, or service in a way that differentiates it from competitors.

Primary research involves collecting original, firsthand data tailored to address specific questions or issues. It stands out for its originality and specificity. Common methods include surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, experiments, and field trials. While it offers specific, current, and proprietary data with a controlled approach, primary research can be time-consuming, expensive, and requires expertise. It also has potential bias risks if not properly managed. Essentially, primary research is the direct gathering of new data to gain specific insights.
Secondary research, or desk research, uses already-existing data collected for other purposes. It's a cost-effective and less time-consuming method that sources information from libraries, government publications, company reports, academic journals, and the internet. While it provides broad coverage and requires minimal effort, secondary research may not address specific research questions, can be outdated, and varies in quality and reliability. Essentially, it's a quick way to gather general information without initiating new studies.

Informed Decision Making: Understand where your business stands in the market and make informed strategic decisions.
Opportunity Identification: Spot gaps in the market, under-served areas, or areas where competitors are under-performing.
Risk Mitigation: Foresee potential risks or threats in the market by understanding competitors' moves.
Enhance Offerings: Improve your products or services based on the competition's shortcomings.
Strategic Positioning: Position your brand, product, or service in a way that differentiates it from competitors.