How To Conduct A Competitor Analysis
A sports team will conduct research and compile a scouting-report on the opposition before a big match. Competitive intelligence can be a similar exercise in your business.
It helps you understand your audience, identify your competitors, and analyze your marketing strategies.
Identifying your competitors
The analysis of competitors is an important step in any marketing plan. It helps you identify your strengths and weaknesses, as well as the opportunities and threats that come with your industry landscape. It also helps you craft a plan to surpass your competitors.
Understanding what your competitors have to offer and the ways they differentiate themselves from other players in the market is key to identifying them. You can do a thorough competitor analysis with free tools such as Ahrefs or Meltwater, which allow you to search for and analyze the backlinks and other content of your competitors. You should also review their product offerings, pricing, and customer service and support strategies.
You should also consider what new entrants are entering your market, and how they compare with existing players. This is a great opportunity to expand your business by finding untapped markets.
This will help you create more effective digital marketing campaigns. This can help you craft your own digital marketing campaigns that are more effective. Remember that your competitor analysis is a living document, which should be updated regularly to reflect changing market dynamics and trends.
Identifying your target audience
Identifying competitors is the first step of a comprehensive competitive analysis. You can either use a Google search or do in-depth research to compile your list of competitors. It’s important to include both direct and indirect competition, such as startups that are disrupting industries with innovative business models or seasoned brands who are repositioning for new markets.
After you’ve created a list, review their key metrics and data to understand their market position. This will help you to understand their overall strengths and weaknesses, as well as opportunities and threats. This will give you a better understanding of their brand perception and unique value propositions. It will also help you understand any specific market niches they occupy.
Analyzing their online presence will also help you to understand how they market. This will give you an idea of how they reach their target audience and may inspire you to create your own marketing campaign.
Identifying your strengths
During the process of competitor analysis, you should identify your own strengths. This will help you to better understand your target audience, and develop a more effective marketing strategy. Start by taking some time for self-reflection and doing a series of online personality and strength tests. These can help you identify your personal qualities and traits that make you unique, such as your creativity, interpersonal skills, confidence, or leadership abilities. You can also seek the advice of trusted colleagues and mentors that have worked with your in the past.
Once you’ve identified the competitors, take a look at their pricing pages to see what they offer. Also, note how their products and services differ from yours. In your research, don’t forget to include their marketing practices and customer service practices.
You should also use this opportunity to evaluate any replacement competitors. These brands are not directly competing with your product, yet they fill a need similar in the market. If you sell healthy fast food, for example, a competitor’s analysis could include assessing frozen meals as an alternative option.
Once you’ve completed your competitor analysis, prepare a report that summarizes the information and includes recommendations and implications. This report will help you make future business decisions. For example, if you discover that your competitors are offering more competitive features than you are, you may want to consider making some changes to your own products or services to improve their appeal. If you notice that your competitors focus more on digital marketing, you may want to add some of these tactics into your own marketing strategy.
Identifying weaknesses
Competitor analysis is incomplete without identifying the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors. You can then leverage that information to improve your own marketing strategies and gain a competitive edge in the marketplace.
You can, for example, look at their results and see if they’re keeping their promises. You can also compare the quality of their services and products to see if you can match or surpass them.
Customer feedback and reviews are another useful way to identify weaknesses in your competitors. This can help you identify unmet needs or areas of product development. You can fill in the gaps left by your competitors and gain a market share.
It is important to analyze your competitors, no matter what size or industry you are in. It is important for companies that are launching a brand new venture or making strategic adjustments. Idealistically, you should regularly analyze your competitors before making any major marketing decisions. However, depending on your industry and the complexity of your market, you may need to adjust your frequency accordingly.
Identifying opportunities
Competitor analysis can help you identify new opportunities for your business. For example, if you notice that one of your competitors isn’t meeting customer needs with their current product offerings, you may be able to develop a similar product that fills the gap. It’s important to run regular competitor analyses so you can stay on top of changes in your market.
During the competitor analysis process, you should also consider which competitors are indirect and which are direct. Direct competitors are businesses that sell the same products or services as you. Indirect competitors are companies that sell different products but target the same audience or address the same problem.
Once you have identified your main competitors, analyze their position on the market. This step should include SWOT analysis, which highlights the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities of each competitor. It should also include key performance indicators and metrics for each competitor.
You should also take into account any recent strategic decisions made by your competitors. This could include new product launches, partnerships, or changes in pricing strategies. You should also highlight any potential risks that may arise from these changes and discuss how they might impact your own business.
Finally, you should review your competitors’ digital marketing strategies. This includes their websites, social media, or other online presences. This will give an idea of their messaging and how it compares with yours. This information can be used to create a digital marketing strategy that is more effective and competitive for your business.
