How to Perform an Industrial Analysis and Competitor Analysis

How to Perform an Industrial Analysis and Competitor Analysis An industrial analysis is used to examine the past trends in an industry, the current demand and supply mechanics, and the future outlook of the industry. It also acts as a guide to investors on the viability of investing in a company.The analysis is useful in offering recommendations in case an unexpected  development happened in the industry. An industrial analysis takes time and it is very complicated. © Shutterstock.com | W.ChakkritFor that reason, take note of every step that I will highlight about the process and apply it. Otherwise, the process will be useless and a waste of time and resources. Let us go through the process involved in an industrial analysis.Lets begin.THE STEPS OF AN INDUSTRIAL ANALYSIS1. Review available reportsLook for reports that focus on the industry you are about to enter or are operating in. If you have not yet joined the industry, it will help you make a decision as to whether it is wise to invest in the industry.Understand that  the information that was deemed relevant yesterday might no longer be accurate today. A good example is government taxes which affect the operations of a business. The government may change the tax at any time and if it does, the accuracy of the industry report is affected.2. Approach the correct industryEvery industry has sub-industries and in some cases the sub-industries are further subdivided. Identifying the sub-industry that you intend to deal with will allow you to use the correct industry analysis report.3. Demand supply scenarioThe aim of entering into business is to earn profits. Profitability in an industry is determined by the forces of demand and supply. When conducting an industrial analysis, you ought to consider how the industry has performed in the past and what the future looks like.Future predictions on the viability of the industry will determine whether investors will invest in the industry or not.A really funny and great explanation of supply and demand. Must watch! ?? 4. Competitor analysisFor you to come up with a good strategy to deal with the competition in the industry, you must first understand the industry itself. After this, you can make informed choices on the best competitive strategy to use. By the time you develop a competitor analysis, you should be able to:Know your position in the industryIdentify opportunities and threats within the industryHighlight the strengths and weaknesses of your organizationPinpoint the areas where strategic changes will lead to high returnsCompetitor analysis is the process where you identify your greatest competitors and evaluate their strategies to find out what their strengths and weaknesses are and how they relate to your product or service. This analysis removes you from your comfort zone but also places you on the path to success if you do it well.The information that you receive from the analysis shapes your marketing plan. It will help you identify what makes your services or products unique and what aspects of your products needs to be upgraded to make them more competitive.Example: Let’s say you are in the honey business and you have noticed your honey takes long to move. As you carry out the analysis, you might realize that customers prefer one of your competitor’s brands because of its packaging. So what do you do with this information? You do not have to copy the exact packaging but you can carry out research to see what makes the packaging more attractive. Now you will be better placed to compete with the competitor and your honey will not stay long on the shelves before being bought.To know your exact position in the market for your goods and services, you need to make a competition grid. It is easy to make and it will give you detailed information about your products and those of your competitors. First of all, think about the top four or five products that compete with your products in the market. If you find it difficult to come up with the list, assume you are a buyer and then imagine what products you would prefer other than your products. Next, on the top of the page, write down the characteristics and features of each product and service. The features of a product may include price, target market, method of distribution, extent of customer service, and size.For a service, the price, location of the service, prospective buyers, website and the toll-free number can be us ed. This will give you an accurate position for your product.PERFORMING A COMPETITOR ANALYSISGoal of competitor analysisIdentify competitor strategies and actions plannedDetermine the competitor to compete withPredict a competitors reaction to your actionsHow to use the behavior of the competitor for your firm’s advantagePorters Five Forces: Things we look atCompetitor analysis is important in gathering information about competitors and then using this information to predict the behavior of competitors. It is not enough for you to have casual knowledge about your competitors; you need to have in-depth knowledge that can help you come up with a good strategy. Michael Porter came up with a strategy for analyzing competitors. It is based on four key aspects:Competitor objectivesCompetitor assumptionsCompetitor capabilitiesCompetitor strategy1. Competitors ObjectivesThe objectives of your competitor can be financial or non-financial. They are indicated by the organizational structure, backgrounds of executives, risk tolerance, legal or contractual restrictions, management incentives, the composition of the board of directors, and any corporate level goals that influence competition.The structure of your competitor’s organization can help you to identify their objectives. The unit or departments that report to the CEO are the core departments in the organization.The importance of having prior knowledge of your competitor’s objectives is so that you may predict how they will respond to any competitive move that you make.Example: For example, a company that focuses on being a market leader will not be afraid to lower its prices for some time to increase its customer base. This is because it has a strategy to cover short-term losses to gain long term profits. If your company’s objectives are focused towards short term goals, you might be very unsuccessful if you tried to lower your price as a competitive strategy. You will end up losing which might give your c ompetitor a competitive advantage over you.2. Competitors AssumptionsYour Competitor’s assumptions are based on regional factors, opinion on its competitive position, rules of thumbs, industry trends and past experiences in regards to a product. The assumptions determine the strategy that they apply in the competitive market. The assumptions are founded on facts and some on fear so they can be true or untrue.Example:  Let us assume that your competitor deals in leather shoes. At one time, they had a plan of starting to make leather bags; unfortunately, the plan did not go well for them. This can shape their assumptions on entering new markets; they might have to take a long time before introducing a new product in the market. If you did a good research on leather bags and realized that there is an opportunity for growth, you can be sure that they will not try to copy your strategy. Their assumptions will hinder them from entering the market thereby giving you an opportunity to tak e advantage of the market.3. Competitors Capabilities and ResourcesThe competitor’s objectives, current strategy and assumptions exemplify how your competitor wants to respond to competition but the competitor’s ability and resources determine how quickly and effectively he will respond to the competition.The SWOT analysis is used to examine the strength and weaknesses of your competitor in various functional areas. The ability to adapt to change is hindered by organizational structure, low cash reserve, and heavy investment in fixed assets.4. Competitor strategyFor you to learn what your competitor is planning, you need to listen to what he says and observe what he does. He talks about his strategy during interviews, statements to managers, annual shareholders reports, 10K reports, and press releases.In some case, what your competitor says and does are contrary to each other. Even though he talks about his plans, you cannot rely on that alone, look at the research and developme nt projects he is carrying out, hiring activity, mergers and acquisitions, promotional campaigns, strategic partnerships, and capital investments that he is involved in.That is his real strategic plan. What he says might be something that he plans to do in the future and a bit of what he is currently engaging in.Competitor Response ProfileThe analysis from the four key aspects used to analyze your competitors strength and weaknesses can be compiled into a response profile. By using the profile, you will be able to predict your competitors next move, whether defensive or offensive.In addition, you can predict the specific way he will respond. The aim of carrying out a competitor analysis is to be able to predict the behavior of your competitor then use the information to your advantage.Learn more about competitor analysis from Michael Porter. CONDUCTING AND PREPARING YOUR COMPETITOR ANALYSISConduct researchGather competitive informationAnalyze competitive informationDetermine your ow n competitive positionStep 1. Conduct ResearchConducting research during a competitor analysis sounds like a complicated process that should be carried out by professionals, but it is not true. Some professional commit to carrying out such research in case you want to use their services.The problem is, if your business is new or just in its initial stages, the services of the professional might be expensive at that stage. After your business has grown, then you can incorporate the services of the professional together with your personal research.But since you need to carry out the research, let me show you some things that can make the process easy and doable. To be able to do a thorough research, ask yourself the following questions;Who are my competitors?What makes them my competitors? Is it the products or services that they sell?Do I stand a chance to compete with them?What market share do they hold?Which strategies have they used in the past?What strategies are they using now?W hat are the threats that they face?In what ways do the customers see them positively and negatively? How can I take advantage of the negative customer reviews?How long have my competitors been in business?How do they advertise their products and services and what is the frequency of the adverts?Do they provide me with an opportunity that I can take advantage of?What is the strength or weaknesses of my competitors?How can you rate your competitors regarding;EmployeesPricing incentiveCustomer serviceResourcesQuality of service or productsHours of operation?Step 2. Gather Competitive InformationSecondary sources of information provide accurate information that can be used to prepare an industrial and competitor analysis. In case you may be wondering what secondary sources of information are, they are sources that were developed to meet another purpose apart from your current need, but they contain information that can help you prepare an excellent industrial and competitor analysis.The sources are available to the general public either for sale or free of charge. Secondary information is cost effective to access, and it can be retrieved after publication through electronic means. Some sources of information that you can use include: Sales brochure: A sales brochure will provide you with information about the strategy that your competitor is using. For example, you can learn how the company is positioning itself and its products in the market and the benefits and features they prefer when selling. Make sure you get hold of any new brochures that the company produces as it can tell you if the company has changed its strategies. Your sales team: As a company, you need a team that places you out there and gathers information on how to make sure you take dominance in your market or industry. Train your sales team to be your ears and eyes in the marketplace and gather as much helpful information as they can. The sales team is in direct contact with the customers so the y must learn how to gather firsthand information from them. It should be done in a clever way otherwise, the customers may find it to be in poor taste. Customers are the best marketing and sales people because they do not have anything to lose so they speak the truth, and they do it for free. For that reason treat them nicely when asking for information. A good strategy would be to ensure that you have established a relationship with the customer before asking for the information. That way, they will not feel used which is what you want to avoid. Other employees: Your employees interact and relate with employees from your competitors. Probably they meet when delivering goods to various destinations or when placing orders for supplies. Besides, since you and your competitor are in the same industry, your employees are likely to change employers amongst you. If you have employed employees who were previously employed by your competitor, try to get as much information about your compet itors as possible. Consider the customer service that you and your competitor provide if you both sell the same products at the same price. Call one of their customer care representative and notice how they respond to your complaint or query. Like a good spy, buy one of the products from your competitor. The aim is not to promote them in business, but to learn how you can catch up with them in business. Use the product to check out the technological innovations, mode of manufacturing, manufacturing costs, and any weakness or capability about your competitor that you can pick from the product. Advertising: A company uses an advertisement campaign to tell the potential customers the importance of their product and service and to entice them to buy it. So, as you look at your competitor’s advertisement, think like a customer for a moment. That means, look out for what the company wants you to see. Look at every effort that they have made to attract the customer. Some of the things to look at include the benefit of the product, any special discount, and product features. This information will help you understand why customers prefer your competitor’s products. You also need to view the advertisement from a business person’s perspective so that you can learn how to make your advertisements.   Be keen on how often the advert appears, the most preferred medium of advertising, the tone and design of the advertisement, and try and estimate the budget set for the advertisement. In case your competitor advertises on a medium that none of the other competitors use, you should know that the competitor is looking for a new market. Trade associations: People in the same industry join trade associations which help them in fighting for their rights, provide valuable information concerning the industry, and help sponsor meetings and trade fairs for the industry. In most cases, the trade associations gather and publish reports and statistics on industry news. They also hig hlight the companies that are doing well. As a business person, this gives you an opportunity to analyze information about your competitors. Just by looking at the information closely, you can even predict upcoming businesses that might soon compete with you. Annual Reports: If your competitor runs a private company, you can get the annual reports from friends, family members, and people who own stocks in the company. For publicly-owned companies, their reports can be found on websites or securities commissions. Annual reports have information about the revenues, sales volume, total market share, events like the acquisition of board members, financial information. Newspaper and magazine articles: If you are serious about beating your competitors, you cannot afford to ignore this source. The information contained in the source can move your business to the next level very fast. People go out of their way to deliver your competitors’ strategies without knowing it just by writing art icles, product reviews, and such. Companies uncover their next plan through newspapers and magazines in interviews. Articles give information on how your competitor’s organization is run and any innovation they are working on. Journalists use clever ways to extract this valuable information for you. By being keen on product descriptions, you can discover the strengths and weaknesses of your competitor’s products. Instead of using a lot of time looking for the exact articles, visit any library and request the librarian to help you find the specific articles. It will take them a short time to find, and you will also learn how to do it next time. Direct observation: By using this method, you gather the information for yourself first-hand. You need to use good strategies so that your actions do not backfire and garner your company a bad reputation. If your products are sold in a retail outlet, visit the outlet to find out:The stock available, for your competitor and your company,How the products are arranged or displayed on the shelves,Any additional sales strategy that your competitor is using like discounts or complimentary products. Your competitors: Yes, they can give you information about themselves. It is normal for people to talk about their achievements, success, future plans, and such. Your competitors are not any different; in fact, they might give you a lot of information hoping to intimidate you. Step 3. Analyze Competitive InformationThe reason why you were gathering the information is so that it can help you gain a competitive edge. You should analyze the information to get the market share, your competitor’s weaknesses and strengths, product information, and marketing strategies.We will go over the four areas that the information should help you in and how you can analyze the information to give you a detailed breakdown of each area.Market shareMarket share is the performance of your products when it comes to sales. The leader with the highest market share can:Set the standards of the service or good in the marketControl the perception of the service or good among the customersThe leader is therefore not afraid to spend their resources to maintain the largest market share in the industry.Product evaluationThe goods and services that you provide solely exist to meet the needs of your customers. Therefore, it is important for you to gather information about the features that your customers want and those that would entice future customers.Remember, there is general information about the features and benefits that customers prefer, but that does not mean that you cannot differentiate your service or product by adding more or different features. As long as the added features are beneficial, they will tip the customers to favor your products or services.To get a proper analysis of this information, come up with a list of the benefits and features that customers prefer. Your sales team and employees will provide this informati on. Make a table where you compare your products vis a vis your competitor’s products’ benefits and features. Tick against the feature if your competitor’s product has the same features.The features are easy to identify and quite obvious. A product either does or doesn’t have a feature; there is no gray area, and no explanations are required. The benefits, on the other hand, are tricky. Most businesses use the benefits as a sales strategy.It is only the customer who can give an accurate benefit as they are the end users. For example, your competitor might find it easy to use one of their products, but customers might find it cumbersome and difficult. So in such a case, whose opinion is correct?Since you have the information about how your competitors products compare with the customer’s expectation, the next step is to evaluate your product. Use the same procedure as that for your competitor’s.Now, compare how your product or service compares to your competitors products . Is your service or product unique in any way? How does it compare to your competitors’?The more unique your service or product is, the higher the chances of attracting more customers as compared to your competitor. The evaluation is important in highlighting features that you need to concentrate on and can lead to innovations in your business.Apart from the features, compare the price for your products. Is your price higher than that of your competitors? Is their price higher? What is contributing to the high prices? Are your production costs higher? How is your price affecting your sales? The price that you set should enable you to gain a profit and at the same time attract customers to your products.Even as you compare your prices, you should be aware that your competitor might lower his or her prices for various reasons. First, it may be a strategy to attract customers to his products. You will realize that the prices go up again after some time if your competitor just wanted to increase their market share. At other times, they are going through a hard time financially, and they need the money urgently. So they opt to sell at a lower price to attract more people to clear their stock. Cheeky but true, rumors come in handy in such cases. Though rumors are not always right, they have some grain of truth in them.After the analysis, you might realize that your competitors’ products as well as yours have the same features and even cost the same. You might, therefore, wonder why your competitors are ahead of you in the competition. Well, you need to have a look at their internal operations. They are probably saving some money there or doing things more efficiently.Let me show you how these five factors can greatly make a difference between you and your competitors:Company morale/ personnel motivation â€" How motivated are the employees? Are they committed to their work? How productive are they? The employees drive the vision of your organization. Therefore, if they are not committed to the organization, or they are not efficient; being a leader in your industry might just be a pipe dream.Financial resources How are your competitors regarding financial stability? Financial stability determines how your competitors will react when their market is threatened. If they are stable, they will counter the threat by quickly creating a way out but if they lack the financial capability, it will take them time to counter the threat.Operational efficiencies â€" How are your competitors saving time and reducing costs? In some companies, they offer free delivery for products beyond a particular amount. This strategy will encourage customers who buy in bulk.Strategic partnerships â€" If your competitor produces washing machines, they might collaborate with a detergent company in a promotional campaign. Such collaborations make your competitors better known. What strategies does your competitor apply and what kind of relationships does he keep?Product line breadth â€" This is the ease with which your competitor can increase their revenue just by selling products that relate to their current products. Remember your competition is not only in the number of clients but also amounting to earnings that you get. Your revenues determine your position in the industry just as the number of customers is also important.An interesting lecture with Michael Porter where he walks you through a competitive analysis of different industries. Competitive strategies and objectivesThe objectives set the pace for the strategy to be used. For example, if competitors want to increase their market share, they may decide to decrease the prices for their products for some time then increase it when the number of customers increases. What do your competitors want to achieve? Some objectives include:To create new markets for their productsTo work towards being the market leaders in the industryTo maximize their market share and to increase itYour competitor s might want to enjoy short or long term profitsTo introduce new products in the marketWhen the competition is stiff, your competitor might just want to protect their market shareWith every objective, your competitor has a strategy of achieving it. So, the sooner you identify the objective your competitors are acting on, the sooner you will devise a counter strategy.Remember, the type of strategy that your competitor uses does not harm their revenue otherwise; it will lead to losses. As you formulate a strategy, remember to use one that will not affect or will increase your earnings. Some of the strategies include:Engaging in innovation By doing this, your competitor improves the features and usability of his or her current product or service. If you are in the industry of manufacturing cooking oil, your competitor might change the packaging of the container. To be specific, he might calibrate the lid so the user can weigh how much cooking oil they use every time they cook.Reduce t he price This strategy increases the number of customers. The reduction in price does not result in losses, and if it works well, it does not affect the profits. This is because, if more people buy the product, the profit margins remain the same.Advertising You cannot be in business and fail to advertise. How else will people know that you exist? If your competitor deliberately focuses on advertising, then they want many people to know about their products. This increases the number of individuals who will be willing to try out their products and also increase their customer base. If many people who try the product like it, then many will want to adopt the product or service for use in their daily lives.Buying out or merging with a competitor This increases the number of customers and the market share.  The strategy that your competitor uses can help you establish the position of your business at any time. A competitor that focuses on the current customers without trying to attra ct new customers may as well not be thinking of introducing new products in the market.Step 4. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors / Determine your own competitive positionA good competitive strategy takes advantage of the weakness of your competitors but with the awareness of their strengths. Look at what your company does better than your competitors. Consider their areas of weaknesses as you look at their strengths.Additional factors to look at:New players â€" New businesses come with new ideas and innovative ways of doing things. Initially, their ideas might seem almost worthless, but you might be surprised at how much the customers might respond positively to them. Customers love changes and if the new players offer better solutions, then why won’t the customers follow them?Future competition â€" Your competitor analysis should predict how future competition will look like. Who will be your competitors then? What will make you relevant even in the future ? If you introduce new products, how long will it remain to be competitive in the industry? If the future looks bright for you, your investors will also be confident in investing in your businessShakeups â€" When companies change their management, they experience a shakeup. It can either be felt in the volume of sales, employee turnover, and changes in policies in the organization. When your competitors are going through such changes, make sure you are ahead of how things are taking place. It is an opportunity to overtake them in that moment of instability. Also, employees fear for their jobs, and they are normally ready to change jobs during that period. If you have vacancies, or you can create one, why not hire your competitor’s best employees?Barriers to entry â€" Form of barriers includes;Market saturation â€" When there are already enough people offering the same service in the market, new businesses will fear to enter as the competition is already too high.High investment re quirements  â€" Only businesses who can afford the high investments can penetrate the business. This locks out small companies from entering the market.Patents â€" Any new product or service that has patent rights cannot be duplicated by anyone. It, therefore, protects the company that originally came up with the idea.After the analysis, you should be able to know clearly if you are a follower, new entrant or a market leader. Your position will guide you to identify your key areas of competitive disadvantage or advantage.It should also point out to opportunities and problems that your firm is facing. Look at price revisions, market penetration, product line needs, and distribution coverage.Finally, to come up with and implement a marketing strategy that will secure and strengthen your position in the market, integrate the demographic analysis with your competitor analysis.COMPETITOR ANALYSIS USING PORTER’S FIVE FORCES MODELPorter’s five forces were formulated as a starting point for understanding the competitive landscape and coming up with strategies in which companies operate. So today, you can use it in your business to plan to come up with strategies that place you at a better position with your competitors. When you are faced with a lot of competition, the profit margins diminish as you cannot charge more than your competitors are charging but you need to make a profit.The five factor model by Porter was created to help businesses assess the nature of competition in the industry and to come up with strategies to deal with the competition. To have a complete understanding of the model, we will look at the five forces that determine competition, how the model can be used, the dos and don’ts of the model, and the criticism of the model. The five forces determine the profitability in the industry, the rate of competition, and how attractive the market will be to competitors.An attractive industry has high profitability while an unattractive industry has low profitability. However, even if the industry is attractive, not all businesses enjoy the same success; strategies, unique selling propositions and process place one company over the others. The company becomes the market leader. The competitive forces are used to determine the attractiveness of an industry. If one of the force changes, the company will have to realign its business strategies and practices and re-evaluate its environment.The five forces work in different ways for each industry. In the film market, for example, there are many substitutes and the suppliers have a higher power. This is not the same for the airplane manufacturing companies where the threat of new entry is low, and the buyers have a higher bargaining power.Five Forces in Competitor AnalysisThe threat of substitutes, competitive rivalry, and threat of new entrant are classified as horizontal forces. Vertical forces include the bargaining power of suppliers and that of buyers. We will now discuss the f ive forces identified by Porter.1. Competitive RivalryThis is the rate of rivalry among competing firms. If it is high, then the companies’ strategy, profits, and prices are affected altogether. The more the rivalry, the more the pressure the existing firms will experience. If the rivalry is not much, the companies will enjoy autonomy in setting the prices for their goods and products. The customers will not have a variety of choices to choose from so the sellers will dictate the prices as they wish. However as new companies enter the market, the prices are streamlined by the competition.Competitive rivalry is high when there is a low exit or high barriers of entry, when the products in the market have the same benefits and features, when the companies operating in the market area are of the same size, and when the industry is growing slowly. When companies have similar strategies, the rivalry is also high.2. Threat of new EntrantsCompetition is not only limited to existing compan ies; new companies planning to join the industry pose a threat to the existing businesses. Industries with high profits tend to attract many companies.To curb the high entrance, the industry places barriers of entry to limit the number of new entrants. Otherwise, many companies would join the industry and reduce the profits earned. Barriers to entry include:High initial capitalPatents and property rightsGovernment-driven obstaclesAccess to specialized infrastructure or technologyHigh switching costs for clientsDifficulty in accessing distribution channels and raw materials3. Threat of SubstitutesSubstitutes are products that can be used on behalf of others and still serve the same purpose. A good example is Coke and Pepsi which are both soft drinks.When setting prices, the two companies have to be aware of the substitute’s prices. If one sets the prices so high, they will lose customers as they will have an alternative product.In the marketplace, when there are many competing prod ucts and services, it becomes difficult to set the price of the service or good as you wish. You must, therefore, set the price in accordance with the way the other players in the market have set theirs. Trends and fads, relative prices, brand loyalty, and switching costs affect threat to substitutes.4. Bargaining Power of BuyersThe customer is always right and more so when they have the power to influence the prices in the market. In an industry where the buyers purchase goods in bulk or where there are similar products being produced, the buyers control the prices.If a business insists on a particular price, the buyer might as well buy from another company with the same kind of goods.5. Bargaining Power of SuppliersThe production service relies on raw materials from suppliers. The suppliers can influence the competitive edge of business by setting the prices for the materials, determine the availability of materials, and dictate terms of trade.For suppliers who supply goods to man y companies, they can decide to increase the cost of raw materials, and if the businesses do not have much choice, they will have to pay more for the materials. To avoid these inconveniences, maintain a steady and strong relationship with suppliers.You do not have much choice but to pay the high prices if the suppliers are limited in number. Some suppliers have proprietor knowledge or patent rights to supply the raw materials. You cannot also afford to complain about the price if you know that switching to another supplier will be expensive for you.Additional things to look at when using Porters Five Forces ModelFor success when using the model, as you use it;Consider the stage the industry is atWhen there are more than three competitors in the industryBe keen on the changing nature of markets and industriesConsider how the government impacts the industryRemember that it is an industrial analysis; use it to analyze an industry, not an individual company.In as much as the model has b een successfully used, critics, among them Stewart Neil critic the model in three ways. The first criticism was that buyers, suppliers, and competitors were separate entities who never influenced each other directly. The critics also cited the creation of barriers or structural advantage as a source of value. Thirdly, they critiqued the assumption that stated that in an industry, there will always be low uncertainty, and so participants in the market can plan ahead on how to counter the competition.Recent developmentsDevelopments on macro and micro level of the industry affect the industry. So, take a look at the sector valuations, industrial developments, global comparative valuation, and innovations in your industry.Focus on industry dynamicsAn industrial report focuses on a specific industry. Also, the analysis is helpful only if it produces important information about the industry. So, delve deep into the industry and make sure you have a complete understanding of every aspect o f the industry. Be it tax requirement, the demand and supply trends, and the market leaders in the industry. Have it all to come up with a powerful strategy to succeed in the industry.CONCLUSIONAn industrial analysis is not a one-time event; it should take place every once in a while. Just like you do an analysis for your inventory, you should make a point of carrying out the analysis after three months or so. This is because competition in the industry is constantly changing; new businesses are coming up, new technology, and innovations which can render you vulnerable to the competition in the industry. A student intern can carry out the industrial analysis with proper guidance and help.A good industrial analysis saves you from being found unawares by the technological or industrial change. As you cannot carry out an industrial analysis without a competitor analysis, it prepares you or all sorts of competition and keeps your head of your competitors.