How Do You Stack up Against Your Competitors?
How Do You Stack up Against Your Competitors?
Competitor analyses are used to understand how you should position your company and your products to maximize growth. Here is a simple process to follow to glean critical competitive insights.
Competitor analysis is a general term for the evaluation of your competitors. Companies will regularly assess their competitive position in the form of a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) of themselves and their competition.
However, in the context of developing your marketing strategy, the analysis of your competitors is used to understand how you should position your company and your products. Freshwater is always here to help you develop a strong positioning strategy, so don't hesitate to reach out.
Download the competitive analysis guide and template here.
Define your target market first
Before you can evaluate your products and services vs. those of your competitors, you need to define your target market and create useful segments, because you need to understand who you’re competing with for market share.
Because you’re going to address each market segment differently (which is what makes them different segments), each segment will have its own set of competing products or services.
Next, define your competitors
Start by listing your primary and secondary competition for each market segment:
Primary competitors: these are your direct competitors, which means they’re offering a similar product to meet the same need to the same market segment as you
Secondary competitors: these competitors offer a different product or service than you, but meet the same need for the same market segment as yours
Research your competitors as your customers would
Next, visit each competitor’s website, download any marketing materials they have, read any articles or press releases on them, and check out their social media accounts to determine:
Company: What does their brand “feel” like? What is their reputation? How long have they been in business? Who are their biggest customers? How much market share do they have for this product?
Pricing strategy: Even if you cannot find current product pricing, you might know if they are a low-cost or higher-end supplier
Product attributes: Which features or benefits do they highlight? How do they prove their claims?
Service attributes: Do they offer 24/7 customer service? Is their website easy to order from? Do they offer any service warranties or guarantees?
Evaluate your competitors offerings vs. yours
Finally, list 3-5 of the most important benefits you offer each segment and rate your competitors’ relative strength on these benefits. Look for those benefits where you have the greatest advantage over your competitors, as those will be the foundation of your marketing messages to that segment.
If you'd like help analyzing your competitors, schedule a free 30-minute consultation.