The competitive position of the enterprise in the market. Encyclopedia of Marketing. Voluntary health insurance program

Analysis of the competitive position of "Own Company"

The most famous marketing model for describing competition in the market, used in domestic and foreign literature, is Porter's model of five forces of competition.

According to the research of the famous English scientist, the authority in the field of competition M.E. Porter, the state of competition in a particular market can be characterized by five competitive forces:

1. Rivalry among competing sellers.
2. Competition from products that are substitutes for competitive in terms of price.
3. The threat of the emergence of new competitors.
4. Economic opportunities and trading ability of suppliers.
5. Economic opportunities and trading ability of buyers.
(1) Each firm follows its own competitive strategy to gain a better position and benefit from competitive advantage.
(2) Competing forces resulting from threats from substitute goods.
(3) Competing forces resulting from the threat of new competitors emerging.
(4) Competing forces arising from the capabilities and trading capabilities of suppliers.
(5) Competing forces arising from the opportunities and trading abilities of buyers.

Profit motivates competing firms to develop their strategies for creating competitive interactions.

The features of competitive interactions between firms can be characterized as follows:

1. Firms are fighting for a more advantageous market position, which is manifested, ultimately, in the desire of everyone to win their clientele (the most profitable market share).
2. The competing strategies of firms and the ways in which these strategies are implemented are different. Firms are mainly limited by their own considerations about what and how will work in this market (customer reaction, etc.), and what is generally legal (antitrust laws permitting competitive actions, etc.).
3. From time to time, firms update their strategies (to improve their position or to protect already won advantages). The duration of a firm's functioning within the framework of any strategy depends, on the one hand, on market success (or failure), and on the other hand, on the actions of rival firms.
4. Firms try to choose competitive strategies that cannot be imitated or circumvented by competitors.
5. Inter-firm rivalry can end in success or failure. Strategic success can give the firm the ability to control the direction of market forces or competitive efforts. Strategic setbacks can lead to a change in strategy, loss of market position, and even exit from the industry.
6. Shares and contracts of rival firms ultimately result in the creation of new conditions of supply and demand or in response to the existing market conditions: the marketing strategies of rival firms in the competitive struggle affect the market, and the market, in turn, forces firms adopt such marketing strategies that can bring success in the current environment.

The forces of competition due to the threat from substitute products.

Firms in one industry are often in close competition with firms in other industries because their products are good substitutes.

Competitive forces arising from the availability of substitutes for the product are pushing sellers together.

First, the prices and availability of substitute products create a price ceiling for the manufacturer, while the price ceiling limits the potential profit margin.

Secondly, the manufacturer of goods and / or services can highlight the product / service with quality, reduce prices, by reducing costs, or in another way differentiate his product from substitutes, but the more the sales of a product depend on changes in the prices of substitutes, the stronger the influence of the competitive forces of substitutes.

Third, competition from substitutes depends on how easily a buyer can choose a substitute.

The most frequently cited indicator of the strength of competitive pressure on a manufacturer from substitute manufacturers is the rate of growth in sales.

The forces of competition, driven by the threat of new competitors.

How serious the threat posed by the possible appearance of new competitors on the market is depends on two groups of factors:

· Barriers to entry;
· The expected reaction of firms to newcomers to the industry.

Porter notes the following major barriers to entry:

1.efficient production scale;
2. the effect of the life cycle of products (sometimes the achievement of low costs per unit depends on the experience in the production of the goods and other benefits obtained during the development of the goods;
3. consumer preferences and loyalty to certain brands;
4. the need for capital (the greater the amount of investment required to ensure the success of entering the market, the fewer people willing to enter this market);
5. obstacles in the form of additional costs associated with access to cheaper sources of raw materials, patents and know-how, production experience, fixed capital acquired at lower (due to inflation) prices, convenient location of the enterprise, etc. NS.;
6. access to distribution channels;
7. government measures and policies (this refers to the legal rules and restrictions applied in this market).

Firms are expected to react more aggressively to new entrants to the industry if:

· Existing firms have been aggressive in the past, defending their market positions;
· Existing firms own the most important financial assets;
· Existing firms have strong links with distribution channels;
· Existing firms are willing and able to use price reduction policies to maintain their market share;
· Demand for a product and / or service is growing slowly;
· For existing firms, leaving the market is much more expensive than fighting to the end (due to expensive investments in special equipment, contracts with trade unions, close ties with the production of other products).

An indicator of the reaction of firms is the orientation of the top personnel echelon of competing firms, their attention to scientific research, development, advertising, technological equipment, their opinion of themselves and their business.

It should be added that the threat of new firms entering the market tends to change with changing market economic conditions in general.

Competitive influence on the part of suppliers mainly depends on how important these cost components are for the buyer (if the supplies of a certain group of suppliers take up a significant share of the total costs, then the degree of influence on the part of suppliers increases).

Supplier influence is stronger when the following factors are present:

· Production costs play an important role for the buyer;
· Suppliers are a few large firms that are not constrained by intense competition;
· The products of suppliers are so differentiated that it is difficult and expensive for the buyer to switch from one supplier to another;
· Buyers are not important customers for supplier firms, i.e. suppliers are not locked into a specific industry;
· Suppliers do not compete with substitute manufacturers in other industries;
· From one or several suppliers there is a real threat of direct integration into the buyer's industry business;
· Buying firms are not inclined to integrate into supplier markets.

The need to analyze the competitive position.

In the process of transitioning to the market, enterprises faced many problems of survival. Full access to the external environment brought not so much new opportunities as new problems of the effective functioning of the enterprise in the market. Enterprises came to the introduction of marketing and to this day come only as a result of the disastrous situation with the sale of their own products. This is typical for most domestic enterprises. And often, the newly created marketing department turns into a second sales department. Also, often the management does not fully understand the essence of marketing and "ties" the salary of the marketing department specialists to the sales volume. As a result, marketers do not have the time or significant motivation to continuously and comprehensively analyze the market. The actions of the management are clear - it is necessary to sell products and make a profit now and to the maximum, and not spend time, money and efforts of specialists in order for them to conduct research, which often does not bring a quick and one hundred percent return. Thus, by creating a marketing department, the company hopes to get additional consumers and ensure the sale of its products.

Meanwhile, focusing exclusively on sales, the company cannot fully control the situation. It is "brewed in its own juice", unaware of the danger of becoming an outsider in the industry.

Often the management has a delusion - "we know our competitors, we don't need to constantly monitor the situation in the industry ...". This misconception leads to the fact that the company freezes at a certain stage of development. Due to the fact that the competitive position is not clearly defined, management begins to understand that something is wrong only after a clear decrease in sales. In this situation, as a rule, attempts are made to establish sales by searching for more and more sales markets for their products, while its life cycle, for example, due to the development of technology from competitors, is already at the stage of residual demand. Or, for example, finding new raw materials allowed competitors to significantly reduce prices for their products. This clearly shows the need for constant monitoring of the industry and a comprehensive study of their competitive position in it.

Information Needed to Analyze Competitors

It should be noted that classical marketing does not insist on an in-depth study of competitors; it offers a simple ranking according to the breadth of the range, external advantages, quality characteristics, prices and product promotion systems. It also uses the opinions of consumers regarding the products of competitors, which also affects the rank of the competitor.

In my opinion, such a superficial study is unacceptable for Russian enterprises. The fact is that the situation in most domestic markets is extremely unstable and those who were “nobody” yesterday may become leaders tomorrow and vice versa. This is due to many features and macro factors. This situation can be described as "the unpredictability of their own position and the position of neighbors in the market."

In this regard, it is necessary to highlight the problem facing the majority of Russian marketers - how to predict changes in the situation in the industry in a year, in a number of years. To answer this question, a sufficiently detailed study of competitors is required.

All information about competitors can be classified into two groups: primary and secondary.

Data specially obtained for the analysis of specific aspects of a competitor's activities is primary information. The main methods of collecting primary information are observations, polls and experiments. With their help, facts of interest are established, the actions of a competitor are quantitatively and qualitatively described. The main sources of primary information about competitors are as a rule: distribution channels of products, suppliers and consumers of products; advertising agencies, sales agents, marketing firms serving a competitor, engineering, sales and management personnel of a competitor's enterprise, special analytical services.

The main advantage of primary information: quick response to questions of interest, simplicity of its subsequent reduction in the desired form, presentation of a "live" opinion on the activities of a competitor.

The disadvantages of primary information are: subjectivity, incompleteness, a high degree of unreliability, difficulty of access and high cost (in the case of enterprise personnel and special analytical services).

Secondary information about a competitor includes data that has undergone preliminary analytical processing, the purposes of which, as a rule, do not coincide with the purposes of the analysis. In this regard, this information requires additional procedures for selection, ranking and compilation, bringing it into the form required for the analysis. The main sources of secondary information include: reports on production and economic activities, articles on the activities of a competitor in periodicals, reference publications on market conditions, trends and problems of its development, including data on the competitor, published interviews of management personnel and company management, consumer opinions on characteristics of the competitor's products.

Problems associated with collecting the necessary information.

It should be noted that often, the above information is clearly not enough to draw up a picture of competition. For an in-depth study, secondary information of a confidential nature is also required, for example - production volumes of a particular item, production schedule, shipping base of an enterprise - a competitor, which also includes a description of all its consumers. In general, an in-depth study of a competitor begins with an analysis of financial indicators (balance sheet data) - here you can already trace the dynamics of a competitor's development and its relative strength.

All secondary information on the degree of accessibility can be divided into three groups:

Open information(nomenclature, prices, quality characteristics of products, promotion system, market presence).
Conditionally open information(balance sheet of the company, profit and loss statement, rating of the company).
Closed Information(production volumes of products broken down by nomenclature lines, production schedule, shipping base, technologies used).

When collecting and analyzing information, a number of problems arise: the first group is characterized by incomplete information for a full study of the competitive situation in the market, the second group is often characterized by inaccuracy - domestic enterprises tend to falsify balance sheet data in order to avoid taxes, i.e. an inaccurate assessment of the competitor's strength is possible, and, finally, the third group is characterized by closed access or extremely high cost.

To solve the problem of unreliability, it is desirable to collect information from various (independent) sources, which increases the objectivity of the results. Here, a good way is expert weighing of information sources according to their relative reliability, or according to the credibility of the source. The solution to the problems with the third group of information is seen in increasing the financing of marketing at the enterprise. As practice shows, not a single serious study of competitors' activities is complete without the use of such information.

Methods for analyzing the competitive position of an enterprise in the industry.

All methods of researching the competitive position of an enterprise are usually divided into two groups.

First group- parametric (mainly based on primary information, when the parameters for comparing competitors are selected and the opinions of consumers, sellers, suppliers regarding these parameters are clarified, then the information is summarized in a convenient form - a matrix or table). The advantage of these techniques is speed and relative cheapness, but at the same time there is a danger of subjectivity and inaccuracy of opinions. It is quite difficult to trace the strength or weakness of a competitor, moreover, it is impossible to make forecasts for its development.

Second group- rating scores (here the information obtained by interviewing managers and the consolidated financial statements of competitors are used, then a clear mathematical model is built, on the basis of which all data on competitors are brought together in coefficient indicators). Based on the indicators, a rating of enterprises is built. The obvious advantage of these methods is sufficient accuracy and the ability to identify the exact position of your own enterprise in the industry.

But, in my opinion, it is necessary to add one more group of methods associated with a more detailed study of the industry - in-depth analysis of competitors and making forecasts for the development of the industry. Here you need information that reveals the internal mechanisms of the competitor's work. Such information may include data on the volume of production of products broken down into individual nomenclature items, detailed data on exports and shipment, production plans, etc. On the basis of these data, it is possible to construct a competitor's behavior model, his future state. These techniques will allow you to get a huge advantage over competitors and, possibly, win the competition, if used correctly.

It is impossible not to note the specificity of the third group of methods - there is a fairly thin line between these methods and industrial espionage, special care is needed here.

A situational approach to the analysis of competition in the market (the problem of choosing alternatives).

Despite the obvious relevance of constant monitoring of the competitive position of the enterprise, it is necessary to take into account the factor of the high cost of information and the margin of time for making a decision. When determining the composition of the data used, it is important to constantly compare these factors and the significance of the results obtained during the analysis. In other words, it is necessary to correctly determine your position regarding objective, but rather "expensive" results, and "cheap", but not accurate enough, comparing all this with time to make a decision.

Depending on the situation at the enterprise, marketers are advised to select the information necessary to analyze the competitive position based on the following model (Fig. 1.).

Rice. 1. Model for choosing the information required for the analysis of the industry.

The presented model assumes the choice of one or another information for the analysis of competitors under the following conditions:

Block 1- it is necessary to quickly respond to the current problem, with a lack of funding for marketing research. Here you can choose only general information, such as: the number of competitors in the industry, their nomenclature lines, prices, assessments of enterprises - competitors in the press, external characteristics of promotion systems, etc. As a result, there may be insufficient data for a comprehensive analysis of the industry.

Block 2, here also a tactical task is solved, most often - a quick determination of one's place in the industry. With sufficient funding, it is recommended to use ready-made ratings of the largest consulting companies or rating agencies for this. Basically, these are such companies as: Standard & Poor "s, Dun & Bradstreet, Moody" s, etc., and in Russia - the rating agency "Expert RA", the agency AK&M, etc. - or a decision, but does not allow to build plans for the future. Also, the basis for constructing ratings is the financial performance of the enterprise, and in Russia, falsification is possible and, as a result, an incorrect assessment.

Block 3- this block is questionable, as it is probably not possible to conduct an in-depth analysis of the industry cheaply and quickly.

Block 4, here most likely - the enterprise is in a crisis situation and the management sees the way out in a quick change in the enterprise's behavior on the market. In this case, in order to quickly navigate the capabilities of your enterprise and its neighbors in the industry, it is best to purchase a ready-made industry analysis report from a well-established marketing or consulting company. In this case, the result is guaranteed, but there are also disadvantages - firstly, you will have to trust other people's results, and secondly, you will have to pay a lot.

Block 5- this block characterizes the situation when it is necessary to develop a line of conduct for an enterprise in the industry, without having large funds for this and not striving for detailed study. In this case, the best way to analyze competitors is parametric analysis based on primary information. If it is carried out correctly, it is possible to obtain good results.

Block 6- this block, like block 3, raises doubts, but for other reasons - is it advisable to carry out the analysis of competitors for a long time and expensive, and even without a sufficient degree of detail? Most likely not, but if you still have to, then you can advise to develop a rating of enterprises on your own, although there will be a lot of difficulties and there will be quite large financial costs.

Block 7 characterizes a situation when the management of an enterprise feels that the leadership in the industry, which has been holding for many years, has begun to "stagger" and it is necessary to study in detail its competitors, which until recently were not visible. Here it is possible to make forecasts for the development of the industry on their own, by the forces of the marketing department. Application of project management is possible.

Block 8- this block most likely shows not a specific situation, but constant monitoring of the situation in the industry. This is the most effective block that allows you to keep control over all your competitors and most effectively respond to market changes.

Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that the need for constant monitoring of the industry is obvious, but there are many options for using financial resources and time. Thus, using the knowledge of marketers competently, it is possible to obtain a lot of benefits for achieving leadership in the industry or simply surviving in it.

The mission of IE "Koshlyak E.P." is to meet the needs of residents of the Omsk region in high-quality and inexpensive clothing.

The strategic goal of the enterprise is to become leaders in the clothing market of the Omsk region. The sub-goals are: 1) expanding the range of goods sold; 2) an increase in the volume of activities and profits; 3) increasing the competitiveness of the enterprise; 4) entering new markets (markets of neighboring regions: Novosibirsk, Chelyabinsk, Tyumen, etc.). Taking into account the expansion of the assortment, the company's strategy is offensive, aimed at expanding the sales market.

4. Marketing plan. The marketing plan is drawn up on the basis of marketing research, consisting of the collection, processing and analysis of information. When they are carried out, the market is divided into segments, the most suitable of them are selected and the positioning of the goods is carried out on the selected segments. Positioning means distinguishing your product from a number of competitive ones, formulating its advantages and distinctive features from the point of view of the buyer. Positioning is the reason why a customer chooses a given product. Here is the marketing research data.

For a detailed analysis, it is possible to construct a matrix of probabilities / impacts, in one of which it is necessary to position the identified environmental factors that have a positive impact on the organization (opportunities), in the other - environmental factors that have a negative impact on the organization (threats). Such matrices are shown in the form of Table 2.9 and Table 2.10.

Table 2.9 Opportunity Matrix

Impact of opportunities on the company
	Moderate
The likelihood of realizing opportunities		Improving the living standards of the population; Changes in advertising technologies	The emergence of new suppliers	Reduction of taxes and duties
	Bankruptcy and departure of sales firms;	Decrease in prices for raw materials and finished products; Improving management	Decrease in peremptory norms of legislation; Reducing unemployment
	Unsuccessful behavior of competitors; Fashion changes	Improvement of production technology

Table 2.10 Threat Matrix

Impact of the threat on the company
Destruction	Critical situation	Serious condition	Light "bruises"
The likelihood of the implementation of threats				Disruptions in the supply of products; Growth in inflation rates; The emergence of substitute goods	Increasing competitive advantages from competitors; Jumps in currency rates
		Decrease in the standard of living of the population; Increase in taxes and duties	Changing shopping preferences; Tightening legislation	The appearance of a fundamentally new product; The emergence of new concerns
		Changes in the price level; Rising unemployment	The emergence of new firms on the market; Increased competition	Business nationalization;

According to the results of the data given in the tables, it can be seen that the company FE "Koshlyak E.P." factors of the immediate environment have a strong negative impact, i.e. represent the strongest threat. Only macro-environment factors have a positive impact on this organization.

To obtain a more complete picture, it is necessary to rank the obtained data in descending order of their degree of impact in Table 2.11.

Table 2.11 External opportunities and threats

	Possibilities
	Improving the living standards of the population	Changing shopping preferences
		The emergence of substitute goods
	Development of the information industry	Changes in the rules for the import of products
	The emergence of new suppliers	Disruptions in the supply of products
	Fashion changes	The appearance of a fundamentally new product
	Decrease in purchase prices	Decrease in the standard of living of the population
	Reduction of taxes and duties	Growth in inflation rates
	Improving management	Tightening legislation
	Growth in the well-being of the population	Price level change
	Bankruptcy and departure of sales firms	Jumps in currency rates
	Reducing peremptory norms of legislation	The emergence of new concerns
	Improvement of trading technologies	Increased competitive advantage from competitors
	Cooperation proposals from domestic entrepreneurs	Increase in taxes and duties
	Unsuccessful Competitor Behavior	Increased competition
	Rising unemployment
	Deteriorating political environment
	Business nationalization
	The emergence of new firms on the market

Thus, it becomes obvious which of the certain external factors have the greatest positive or negative impact on the company.

The SWOT matrix makes it possible to bring the results of the research into a system, to establish the lines of communication between the strength and weakness that are inherent in the enterprise, external threats and opportunities, which will later be used to formulate its strategy.

Table 2.12 SWOT card of activity of IE "Koshlyak E.P."

Possibilities
1) Growth in consumption of imported clothing		1) inflationary processes;
2) growth of incomes of the population;		2) changes in market conditions;
3) attraction of investments;		3) changes in the solvency of buyers;
4) search for new suppliers;		4) growth of tariffs;
5) reduction of distribution costs;		5) changes in customer demand;
6) increasing the trade markup;		6) the emergence of new competitors
7) Enhancing competitiveness		7) change in taxation;

Strengths		Weak sides
1) a wide range;		1) a large number of competitors;
2) an acceptable level of prices;		2) high concentration of similar goods;
3) good relationship with clients;		3) poor motivation of employees;
4) vendor credits;		4) trade and technological process due to the location of the enterprise;
5) close and good relationships with suppliers;		5) high trade markup;
6) convenient location;		6) high level of distribution costs;
7) high quality goods;		7) lack of specialists in the field of marketing;
8) qualified trading and operational personnel;		8) lack of analysis and planning of key economic indicators;

As the analysis has shown, the greatest number of points was given to the field strengths of the enterprise. For the most complete picture of the further development and choice of the enterprise strategy, it is necessary to draw up a generalizing SWOT matrix.

Table 2.13 Summary Enterprise SWOT Matrix

The calculation results showed that the highest value was defined in the “Strength and Opportunities” field, therefore, the main goal of the activity is to maximize profit. To improve the competitive position, it is recommended to use:

Growth strategy - using the strengths of the enterprise to realize the opportunities associated with the external environment of its activities;

Expansion of retail space; Opening of new pavilions

Strategic alternatives:

Intense growth:

Increase in sales of existing goods (application of sales incentives, search for new suppliers, quality control of supplied goods, monitoring of competitors' prices);

Diversified growth:

Concentric diversification (distribution of new products through established sales channels);

Analysis of marketing decisions at the enterprise IE "Koshlyak EP", as well as the analysis of indicators of economic activity showed that the management of this enterprise needs to pay special attention to the implementation of commodity and pricing policy.

Market competition is a system of relations between economically independent producers (sellers) of goods and services. It takes place only when manufacturers and sellers are able to respond to changes in market conditions, to certain actions of their competitors L. V. Sokolova "Enterprise competitiveness and criteria for its assessment.", Http: ookr.ru

The enterprise enters into a competitive struggle ultimately for the sake of making a profit. When studying the competitive environment, managers, on the one hand, need to assess how strong the competition is, how it affects the activities of the organization, identify the main competitors, real and potential threats from their side; on the other hand, they need to know how strong the position of their organization is and what are its competitive advantages in the confrontation of the parties, in order to develop a certain competitive strategy.

From the moment of its creation and throughout its entire life, any company or enterprise is faced with the need to solve an important problem of competitiveness for them. With a huge difference in management approaches in the system of long-term goals, two groups of indicators can be distinguished that ensure the solution of the main tasks associated with the development of an enterprise.

The indicators of the first group are the company's share in the market, its dynamics, sales volume, etc. - reflect (albeit in an indirect way) the degree of satisfaction of consumers with the products of the enterprise, its services.

Indicators of the second group - profit, labor productivity, etc., reflect the level of efficiency of the enterprise. A.N. Zakharov, A.A. Zokin “Enterprise competitiveness: Essence, estimates, mechanisms for increasing htpp: www masters. Edu / ru

The indicators of the second group were discussed in part 2.1. of this thesis, so let's dwell in more detail on the indicators of the first group.

The turnover of production and trade in construction materials in the Omsk region in January-June 2004 amounted to 74.0 billion rubles and an increase in comparison with the corresponding period of 2003 in comparable prices by 14.1%.

An increase in trade turnover indicates that the products were and will be in great demand, and a real increase in the income of buyers leads to the fact that the consumer does not prefer cheap products, but prefers a reasonable ratio between the price and quality of the product. Moreover, priority is given to the more, the last factor, i.e. quality.

In 2003, the turnover of Neostroy LLC products amounted to 23.91 million rubles. this is 2.54% of the total turnover of trade in building materials in the city of Omsk (retail trade turnover in Omsk in 2003 amounted to 941.29 million rubles).

The most dangerous (priority) competitors must be identified for each product market. The first step in prioritizing competitors is usually based on certain concepts. So, depending on their role in the competitive struggle, all organizations can be divided into four groups: market leader, applicant, follower and organization that has found a market niche.

Market Leader - The organization with the largest market share in the industry. These organizations are usually also leaders in pricing, new product development, use of a variety of distribution systems, and optimization of marketing costs. To remain a market leader, an organization must act on three fronts. First, it seeks to expand the market either by attracting new customers, or by finding new uses for its products, or by increasing the frequency of use of products (“Eat more fruit is better for your health!”). Secondly, try to increase your market share, although this does not automatically lead to an increase in the amount of profit, since the price of such an expansion can be prohibitively high.

Table 2.1 Classification of trade enterprises in Omsk

Let's take a closer look at the closest competitors of Neostroy LLC. The main competitors of the enterprise are: LLC "Inside", OJSC "UM-4", CJSC "Stroyinvestregion", LLC "Portal.

Diagnostics of the competitive environment should be considered the most important link in the entire process of marketing research, because it is the basis for achieving and maintaining the competitive advantages of an enterprise. In the context of increasing competition in the global and local markets, the problem of creating and retaining competitive advantages is one of the most urgent.

The leader in the market of construction organizations in Omsk is the Attika construction company, followed by DSK-3 LLC, N.A. Svirkov private enterprise and UM-4 JSC, you can also see that among the market followers of Neostroy LLC »Occupies a leading position.

To identify the competitive advantages of LLC "Neostroy", a questionnaire was drawn up for clients, both of our organization, and for clients who place orders from competitors. Since buyers can purchase goods, both from us and from our competitors.

In total, 150 clients of our company were interviewed, who are also buyers of our competitors.

One of the advantages of Neostroy LLC over its competitors is the offered range of goods, they check the availability of goods in the organization on a daily basis in order to control the execution and submission of applications.

Another undoubted advantage of Neostroy LLC is the level of service. The company is justly proud of its staff (in 2001, at the city competition "Best Seller" LLC "Neostroy" took the first 3 prizes).

Also, undoubtedly, the advantage of LLC "Neostroy" is the quality of the goods offered, and buyers noted this, among the tested organizations the highest score was only at the enterprise LLC "Neostroy".

Obviously unsatisfactory sales stimulation, it should be noted that the company has practically no incentive methods, which cannot be said about Inside LLC, where there is always a good system of discounts. This is due to the fact that LLC "Inside" exists from the largest plant in the city, and enjoys its unlimited support.

It is quite obvious that Neostroy LLC has competitive advantages in the market (among its target segment), but one should be wary of an equally progressive competitor, LLC Inside.

Meanwhile, focusing exclusively on sales, the company cannot fully control the situation. It is "brewed in its own juice", unaware of the danger of becoming an outsider in the industry.

Information Needed to Analyze Competitors

It should be noted that classic marketing does not insist on in-depth research of competitors. But, for Russian enterprises, such a superficial study is unacceptable. The fact is that the situation in most domestic markets is extremely unstable and those who were “nobody” yesterday may become leaders tomorrow and vice versa. In this regard, it is necessary to highlight the problem facing the majority of Russian marketers - how to predict changes in the situation in the industry in a year, in a number of years.

All information about competitors can be classified into two groups: primary and secondary.

Data specially obtained for the analysis of specific aspects of a competitor's activities is primary information. The main methods of collecting primary information are observations, polls and experiments. The main sources of primary information about competitors are as a rule: distribution channels of products, suppliers and consumers of products; advertising agencies, sales agents, marketing firms serving a competitor, engineering, sales and management personnel of a competitor's enterprise, special analytical services.

Secondary information about a competitor includes data that has undergone preliminary analytical processing.The main sources of secondary information include: reports on production and economic activities, articles on the activities of a competitor in periodicals, reference publications on market conditions, trends and problems of its development, including data on the competitor , published interviews of management personnel and company management, consumer opinions on the characteristics of a competitor's products.

Problems associated with collecting the necessary information

It should be noted that often, the above information is clearly not enough to draw up a picture of competition. For an in-depth study, secondary information is also needed, which begins with an analysis of financial indicators (balance sheet data) - here you can already trace the dynamics of a competitor's development and its relative strength.

All secondary information on the degree of accessibility can be divided into three groups: 1. Open information (nomenclature, prices, quality characteristics of products, promotion system, market presence). 2. Conventionally open information (balance sheet of the company, profit and loss statement, rating of the company). 3. Closed information (production volumes broken down by product lines, production schedule, shipping base, technologies used).

But the first group is characterized by the incompleteness of information in the study of the market situation,

The second group is often characterized by inaccuracy - domestic enterprises tend to falsify balance sheet data in order to avoid taxes, i.e. an inaccurate assessment of the competitor's strength is possible, and, finally, the third group is characterized by closed access or extremely high cost.

There are two methods for analyzing the competitive position of an enterprise in the industry. The first group is parametric (mainly based on primary information, the advantage of these techniques is speed and relative cheapness, but at the same time there is a danger of subjectivity and inaccuracy of opinions. It is rather difficult to trace the strength or weakness of a competitor, especially since it is impossible to predict its development.

The second group is rating scores (this uses information obtained through interviews of managers and consolidated financial statements of competitors, then a clear mathematical model is built, on the basis of which all data on competitors are combined into coefficient indicators). Based on the indicators, a rating of enterprises is built. The obvious advantage of these methods is sufficient accuracy and the ability to identify the exact position of your own enterprise in the industry. But in Russia it is necessary to add one more group of methods - in-depth analysis of competitors and making forecasts for the development of the industry. Here you need information that reveals the internal mechanisms of the competitor's work. Such information may include data on the volume of production of products broken down into individual nomenclature items, detailed data on exports and shipment, production plans, etc. On the basis of these data, it is possible to construct a competitor's behavior model, his future state. These techniques will allow you to get a huge advantage over competitors and, possibly, win the competition, if used correctly.

It is impossible not to note the specificity of the third group of methods - there is a fairly thin line between these methods and industrial espionage, special care is needed here.

A situational approach to the analysis of competition in the market (problems of choosing alternatives)

Depending on the situation at the enterprise, marketers are advised to select the information necessary to analyze the competitive position based on the following model (Fig. 1.).

Fig. 1.

The presented model assumes the choice of one or another information for the analysis of competitors under the following conditions:

Block 3- this block is questionable, as it is probably not possible to conduct an in-depth analysis of the industry cheaply and quickly.

Block 4, here, most likely, the company is in a crisis situation and the management sees the way out in a quick change in the company's behavior on the market. In this case, in order to quickly navigate the capabilities of your enterprise and its neighbors in the industry, it is best to purchase a ready-made industry analysis report from a well-established marketing or consulting company. In this case, the result is guaranteed, but there are also disadvantages - firstly, you will have to trust other people's results, and secondly, you will have to pay a lot.

Block 8- this block, most likely, does not show a specific situation, but constant monitoring of the situation in the industry. This is the most effective block that allows you to keep control over all your competitors and most effectively respond to market changes.

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