The competitive analysis is a process that consists of relating the company to his environment. The competitive analysis helps to identify the fortitude and weaknesses of the company, as well as the opportunities and threats that affect him inside his target market. This analysis is the base on which the strategy will be designed, for it we will have to know or know by intuition as soon as possible:

• The nature and the success of the probable changes that the competitor could adopt.
  
• The probable answer of the competitor to the possible strategic movements that other companies could initiate.
  
• The reaction and adaptation to the possible changes of the environment that could happen of the diverse competitors.
  

The competition is integrated by the companies that act on the same market and realize the same function inside the same group of clients with independence of the technology used for it. It is not, therefore, our that competitor who makes a generic product like ours, but that one that satisfies the same needs that we with regard to the same public objective or consuming, for example, the movies can be a competition the thematic parks, since both are nailed inside the free time.

To give an exact idea of the importance of the competitive analysis, we must refer to the process of planning of the commercial strategy, which answers to three key questions:

• Where are we? Answering to this question we turn out to be poured out to do an analysis of the situation that answers us the position that we occupy.
• Adónde do we want to go? He supposes a definition of the targets that let's want to reach and to which we need to move.
• How will we come there? In this point it is where we must indicate the development of actions or strategies that we will carry out to reach the targets and if we will be able to bear the rhythm.

With regard to the analysis of the situation, from which we depart for the achievement of the process of strategic planning, and of which we will be able to determine the opportunities and threats, weaknesses and fortitude of the organization, we must center, in turn, on two types of analysis:

• External analysis. He supposes the analysis of the environment, of the competition, of the market, of the intermediaries and of the suppliers.
• Internal analysis. He supposes analyzing the organizational structure of the proper company, and of the resources and capacities with which it is provided.

5.1. Analysis of the competitive forces

Any competition depends on five competitive forces that are interdriven in the managerial world:

• It threatens of new inlets.
• Rivalry between competitors.
• Bargaining power with the providers.
• Bargaining power with the clients.
• It threatens of products or substitute services.

The joint action of these five competitive forces is the one that is going to determine the existing rivalry in the sector. The benefits obtained by the different companies are going to depend straight on the intensity of the rivalry between the companies, to major rivalry, minor benefit. The key consists in defending itself from these competitive forces and in inclining them in our favor.

The crucial factors in the competition of a company can be represented, according to Porter, of the following way:

GRAPH 1. ANALYSIS OF THE COMPETITIVE FORCES

5.2. Barriers of entry and of exit

The threat of the new inlets depends on the existing barriers of entry in the sector. These barriers suppose a difficulty grade for the company that wants to gain access to a certain sector. The higher are the entry barriers, the major difficulty has the access to the sector.

5.2.1. Entry barriers

There are six fundamental sources of barriers of entry:

• Economies of scale. They refer to the decrease in unitary costs of a product when the buy volume increases.
• Product differentiation. It means that the established companies have identification of mark and client's allegiance, this believe a strong entry barrier since one forces to the possible inlets to spend strong sums in constituting a mark image.
• Capital requisites. Need to invest high financial resources, not only for the constitution of the company or facilities but also to grant credits to the clients, to have stocks, to cover initial investments, etc.
• I access to the distribution channels. Need to obtain distribution for his product. The company must persuade to the channels so that they accept his product by means of price decrease, promotions... reducing benefits.
• Curve of learning or experience. The know how or to be able to do of any company marks an important limitation to the possible competitors who have to come of piece of news to this concrete market.
• Politics of the government. It can limit or even close the products entry with control panel, regulations, legislations, etc.

5.2.2. Exit barriers

The exit barriers are strategic and emotional economic factors that do that the companies continue in a certain industrial sector, even obtaining low benefits and even giving losses.

There are six Home sources of barriers of exit:

• Labor regulations. They suppose a high cost for the company.
• Slightly realizable assets or of difficult restructuring. Highly specializing assets with small value of liquidation.
• Long-term contractual commitments with the clients. For which we must remain more time in the sector, supporting the capacity for the manufacture, the costs of production, etc.
• Emotional barriers. They suppose an emotional resistance on the part of the direction to an exit that is economically well-taken and that does not want to be carried out by allegiance to the personnel, by fear of the loss of prestige, by pride, etc.
• Strategic interrelations. The interrelations between business units and others in the company in terms of image, commercial capacity, access to financial markets... are the cause of that the company grants a big strategic importance to be in a concrete activity.
• Social and governmental restrictions. The denial of the government to decisions of exit, due to the loss of jobs, regional economic effects, etc.

5.3. Substitute products

The substitute products limit the potential of a company. The politics of substitute products consists of looking for others that could realize the same function as the one that the company makes of question. This concept is the one that does that between in direct competition with the product to which it appears before him like substitute, since it fulfills the same function inside the market and satisfies the same need in the consumer. The substitute products that enter major competition are those who improve the relation price - profitability with regard to the product of the company in question. We have a key example with the generic products that the sector drugstore commercializes with the approval of the government.

5.4. Performance strategy opposite to the competition

As we adopt a position or other one opposite to the competition, we can differentiate four types different from strategies:

• Leader's strategy. The leader is that that occupies a domineering position on the market recognized by the rest of the companies. A leader faces three challenges: the development of the generic demand, developing the totality of the market receiving new consumers or users of the product, developing new uses of the same one or increasing his consumption; to protect the participation of the market, with regard to which he can adopt diverse strategies like the innovation, the intensive distribution, the confrontation opened with regard to the prices...; and to extend the participation of the market, increasing the profitability of his operations without incurring monopolistic positions.
• Challenger's strategy. Consistent in wanting to replace the leader, since the market does not control itself. With it it tries to increase his market participation by means of aggressive strategies. These can consist:

– Frontal attack: using the same weapon as the leader.

– Side attacks: taking the weakest points of the competitor as a target, being able to adopt several forms like the overflowing, the approach, the guerrillas, etc.

• Follower's strategy. The follower is that competitor who has a market share more limited than the leader. His strategy consists of aligning his decisions with regard to those of the leader. It does not attack, coexists with him the market is distributed. It tries to develop the generic demand concentrating on segments of the market in which it possesses a major competitive advantage, with a proper strategy.
• Specialist's strategy. The specialist is that that looks for a hollow on the market in which it could have a domineering position without being attacked by the competition. It concentrates on a segment of the market, dominating it and serving it with a big specialization and obtaining enough benefit potential.