How to Conduct a Competitive Analysis (Quickly and Easily)

[shammis606]

Competition is work, and analysis is time wasted. The good news is that competitive analysis doesn't have to be complicated! And that's important because you need to do it fairly regularly if you want to stay afloat.

What is competitive analysis?
Competitive analysis is a process by which a business can be compared to its competitors in order to differentiate itself. There is no one-size-fits-all competitive analysis: it can be done for a business as a whole, for specific products and offerings, for specific marketing channels, and more. You can also use competitive analysis to improve your marketing, introduce new products, enter new markets, and more. Competitive analysis is the key to determining your market position.



How to Conduct a Competitive Analysis in 5 Steps
The five steps below provide the ideal basis what is 99 acres? for any type of competitive analysis.

1. Identify your competitors

It is important to remember that there are different types of competitors:

Direct competitors: offer the same product/service and satisfy the same need.
Indirect competitors: Offer a different product/service but satisfy the same need.
Perceived substitute competitors: offer another product/service that does not exactly meet the needs, but is similar enough to replace the product/service. The audience perceives them as satisfying the same needs.
How to identify competitors:

Search Google for products and services that are offered and see what appears in the search results, both local and general. Also search for the business name to see if any companies are offering to use the name in Google Ads.
Use competitive analysis tools. Tools for finding competitor keywords can also be useful here.
Browse industry-related review sites.
Ask customers. Find out who else they considered when choosing a supplier.
You should collect as many competitors as possible and distribute them into the above groups.

2. Identify competitors' products

It's not enough to just know that they offer something similar. It's worth spending time on their website and finding out exactly what they offer. Most companies may have several offers, including solid ones, but there is usually one main offer.

How to identify competitors' products/services:

Act like a consumer. Use their product pages, solutions, and pricing, ask questions in the chat, and even call and ask questions over the phone.
Read reviews. Determine which products or services are mentioned more often than others. Also pay attention to what is not mentioned.
Explore packages and pricing tiers. See how deals compare to others at the same price.
Look at the keywords they bid on. A quick look at your competitors' keywords can tell you a lot about their core offerings.
3. Determine the target audience of competitors

Every audience has its own nuances, so it's important to dig deeper. You can identify not only demographics, but also the personas your competitors are targeting.

How to identify your target audience and competitors' personas:

Read reviews and case studies on their websites. This can give you an idea of ​​who the end users of the product/service are. Pay particular attention to their occupation.
Check review sites to better understand customers’ key pain points and expectations, and the small details they pay attention to can reveal information about their lifestyle (B2C) or work style (B2B).
Look at their social media profiles. You can tell a lot about who they are targeting based on their images.
4. Determine their positioning and messaging

No matter how many companies there are offering the same thing, each company has its own positioning (the context in which they offer their product) and messaging (the unique value the product provides). Understanding this is important to developing your own positioning and messaging.

How to identify your competitors' positioning and messaging:

Review business descriptions. A good business description highlights key points about the business.
Review the “soft skills” content. If they have a clear mission statement, even better.
Read press releases. Press releases are essential pieces of content for communicating a company's position and messaging.
Subscribe to a newsletter or blog. You don't have to read every post or email in detail, but regularly reviewing the content and paying attention to what's repeated can help you identify key messages.
This information should be enough to give you a general idea of ​​their key features and benefits, as well as their unique selling proposition.

5. Summarize all this with a SWOT analysis

SWOT analysis is a great way to get an overview and visualize all the information that has been collected. SWOT stands for:

Strengths: What works well in business.
Weaknesses: where they need to be improved.
Opportunities: External factors that can provide a competitive advantage.
Threats: External factors that may create weaknesses.


Final Tips for Conducting Competitive Analysis
The five steps outlined above will help you conduct a competitive analysis for your business to stand out. Here are some final tips and tricks to keep in mind:

Don't use competitive marketing analysis to decide what products or services to offer. Instead, use it to understand how to best position your offerings and identify unique value in the marketplace.
Stay unique. It’s okay to adapt your competitors’ ideas, but don’t copy them outright. Learn from their strengths, fill in the gaps in their weaknesses, and stick to your brand story and what makes you unique.
Put your customers first. While it is important to pay attention to your competitors, don’t get caught up in playing at your customers’ expense. Make sure your business is focused on meeting your customers’ needs first. They may also be your most valuable source of information!