List and briefly describe the information required to assess the strengths and weaknesses of a competitor

What will be an ideal response?

a. The ability of the competitor to conceive and design new products – this dimension of the analysis evaluates the new product introduction record of each competitor as well as their resources devoted to this effort.
b. The ability of each competitor to produce the product or deliver the service – a firm operating at capacity to produce a product is not as much of a threat to increase sales or share in the short run as is a firm that has slack capacity, assuming a substantial amount of time is required to bring new capacity in-line.
c. The ability to market – how aggressive and inventive are the firms in marketing their products? Do they have access to distribution channels? A competitor could have strong product development capabilities and slack capacity but be ineffective at marketing.
d. The ability to finance – limited financial resources hamper effective competition. Companies with highly publicized financial problems become vulnerable to competitors.
e. The ability to manage – understand competitor moves by studying the backgrounds of the competitor's managers.