What is Competitor Analysis ?

No concept is clear about “Competitor Analysis”. Please shortly brief in this regard with an example. An other general question,sir, what is difference between organization, company, firm and corporate.It is true that all the organization, company, firm and corporate same function. Such as some organization attached to manufacturing business, some companies attached to trading business, and some firms attached with service business.

Competitor analysis can be done using Porter’s five forces model. Porter views competition as a struggle for profits marked by 5 discrete forces.

The 5 forces as discussed in Porter’s 5 forces model are as follows:

The threat of new entrants:  New entrants bring new technology and a yearning for a greater market share. This ultimately puts pressure on prices, costs, etc. If barriers to entry are high like a patent or an expensive import or export license, the barriers to entry are low.

The bargaining power of suppliers: If there are limited numbers of suppliers for a large customer base, then the bargaining power of suppliers is great. This way the suppliers can capture a huge market share and may charge high prices.

The bargaining power of buyers: The bargaining power of buyers is the other side of the coin of bargaining power of suppliers. Customers can exert power by forcing down prices and demanding better quality and thereby causing industry suppliers to compete more aggressively against each other.

The threat of substitutes: a substitute product is a similar offering that often serves a similar function. E.g. water is a substitute for coke. When threat of substitution is high, industry profitability suffers as ceiling prices get created in the industry. The industry has to improve its product performance, pricing, marketing or availability in order to retain their valuable customers.

Industry Rivalry: It exists among different competitors within the same industry. They may compete on the basis of prices, product modifications, advertising campaigns, attractive prices and other promotional offers.

As far as your other question is concerned corporate, firm, organization and company are all used synonymously. All these words can be used for any such business concern which may be involved in a manufacturing business, trading business or service business.