Researching Rivals Before the Mongolia Conference
Strong conference preparation begins well before the first keynote or breakout session. For participants in the 2019 BYU Management Society Asia Pacific Conference in Mongolia, competitor research can turn casual networking into purposeful business development. It helps entrepreneurs understand the market, sharpen their pitch, and recognize where their ideas can create meaningful value.
This matters especially for teams entering the “Believe & Achieve” business plan competition. Research can reveal customer expectations, pricing patterns, distribution gaps, and weaknesses in existing solutions. It also gives presenters evidence to support their claims instead of relying on broad statements about growth or innovation.
How to Research Your Competition Before the Conference depends on the type of venture, the target market, and the stage of the business. A startup seeking investment needs different intelligence from an established company looking for partners. The process should be focused, ethical, and connected to the questions likely to arise during the event.
Set A Clear Research Goal
Start by defining what you need to learn. Your objective might be to identify direct competitors, compare product positioning, test your pricing assumptions, or discover potential partners in the Asia-Pacific region. A specific goal prevents research from becoming a collection of random website links and unverified opinions.
Create a short research brief before collecting information. Include your target customer, geographic market, main product, and the decision you want the research to support. For example, a Mongolian technology venture may want to know whether similar services compete primarily on affordability, convenience, trust, or technical performance.
Separate facts from assumptions as you work. Facts may include a published price, a listed feature, or a named distribution partner. Assumptions include beliefs about customer loyalty, service quality, or future expansion. Marking the difference will help you present your analysis with confidence while remaining open to correction.
Map The Competitive Landscape
Build a competitor map with three groups: direct rivals offering a similar solution, indirect rivals solving the same customer problem differently, and emerging alternatives that may become important later. This broader view is useful when researching markets across several countries, where customers may adopt different business models to achieve the same result.
Look beyond familiar international brands. Local companies, community organizations, informal providers, and regional platforms may have stronger relationships with customers than a larger competitor. Review company websites, social media pages, customer reviews, trade publications, app listings, and public business directories. Note the date of each source because prices, products, and leadership teams can change quickly.
Pay attention to how each organization describes itself. A company that claims to be a low-cost provider is competing differently from one that emphasizes reliability, customization, or social impact. Insights from the digital transformation session can also help you consider how smaller businesses use technology to defend their position and improve operations.
Examine Offers And Evidence
Compare competitors using the same criteria. Review their customer segment, core offer, pricing structure, sales channel, geographic reach, brand promise, and visible proof of performance. Evidence may include testimonials, case studies, repeat customers, partnerships, published results, or the scale of their online community.
Do not copy a rival’s language into your own business plan. Instead, identify patterns and gaps. If every competitor emphasizes features but none explains implementation, service support may be an opportunity. If many companies offer similar products at similar prices, differentiation may depend on distribution, trust, speed, or customer education.
| Area to Compare | Evidence To Collect | Strategic Question |
|---|---|---|
| Customer segment | Audience descriptions, reviews, use cases | Who receives the greatest value? |
| Product or service | Features, packages, delivery method | What problem is solved most effectively? |
| Pricing | Published prices, subscriptions, discounts | Is the market price-sensitive or value-driven? |
| Market reach | Locations, channels, partnerships | Where are customers currently underserved? |
| Credibility | Testimonials, awards, results | What proof persuades buyers? |
Use the comparison to identify two or three defensible advantages. These should be specific enough to demonstrate, such as shorter delivery times, lower onboarding costs, local-language support, or a partnership model that competitors do not appear to offer. A vague claim of being “better” will not help judges, investors, or potential collaborators evaluate the opportunity.
Convert Findings Into Questions
Competitor research becomes more valuable when it informs conversations. Prepare questions for speakers, mentors, exhibitors, and other participants based on the gaps you have identified. Ask about customer acquisition, regional expansion, operational risk, or the technology required to scale rather than asking for general business advice.
For instance, if your research shows that similar startups struggle to expand beyond one city, ask experienced operators how they built repeatable systems. The startup scaling highlights may also provide useful context for examining growth barriers across Asian markets.
Bring a concise competitor summary to every important conversation. You do not need to disclose confidential information or criticize another company. Explain the market pattern you observed, then invite the other person to test your interpretation. This approach encourages informed discussion and can uncover knowledge that public research cannot provide.
Research With Professional Discipline
Use only information that is publicly available or willingly shared. Avoid impersonating customers, requesting confidential documents, or making claims based on rumors. Ethical research protects your reputation and makes your business plan more credible.
Keep a source log with the website, publication date, key finding, and confidence level. Recheck important details before placing them in a presentation. A competitor may have changed its pricing, discontinued a service, or expanded into a market since you first reviewed it.
Your analysis should also acknowledge uncertainty. If reliable market-share data is unavailable, say so. Explain what you know, what you estimate, and what you plan to validate through customer interviews or pilot projects. Transparent reasoning often makes a stronger impression than unsupported precision.
Build A Focused Conference Plan
Turn your findings into a one-page preparation document. Include your strongest market insight, three competitor comparisons, several questions, and the evidence that supports your business opportunity. Keep it accessible on paper or offline so it remains useful during travel and busy conference sessions.
Use this checklist before leaving for Mongolia:
- Identify three direct competitors and three indirect alternatives.
- Record current pricing, customer segments, channels, and public evidence.
- Write one clear differentiation statement supported by research.
- Prepare questions for speakers, mentors, and potential partners.
- Review the competition requirements and connect your evidence to the judging criteria.
After the conference, update your competitor map with insights from conversations and breakout sessions. Mark which assumptions were confirmed, challenged, or left unresolved. This turns the event into an ongoing learning process rather than a single presentation deadline.
Arrive prepared to discuss the market with accuracy, curiosity, and respect. Review the BYU Management Society Asia Pacific Conference materials, refine your “Believe & Achieve” business plan, and use your research to begin conversations that can lead to stronger partnerships and better decisions.