The scope of the study can be very broad and touch upon many sectors of running a business. From the business model, target group and offer to marketing activities, a list of strengths and weaknesses. Of course, this is just an example of elements that can be analyzed. In reality, there are many more, and their selection often depends on access to information about the competition.
You've probably heard the saying , "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer" - it also applies to business.
Remember! Competitive analysis is the foundation for building an effective marketing strategy for any company.
Why is it worth analyzing the competition and their marketing activities on the Internet?
There are plenty of reasons. Below are a few of them.
Without analysis, it is impossible to conquer the market and build a successful business (especially on the Internet, where competition is growing every year).
A well-conducted competitive analysis will allow you to identify areas where your business has gaps and requires improvement.
Competitive research allows you to better understand your customers and your competitors.
Better knowledge of your competitors will allow you to make more informed and accurate decisions.
The analysis allows for the identification of potential threats (e.g. resulting from the emergence of a large player on a given market).
Competitor analysis helps companies identify market trends (e.g. increased demand for certain products).
You will get a point of reference of where you currently are.
Thanks to competition analysis, you will learn what tools and channels your rivals use to reach a wider group of customers.
You will check whether, at a given stage of your company's development, you can compete with the largest companies in your industry.
You will estimate the costs associated with marketing activities that you must incur.
You will estimate the time needed to become one of the top players in your niche.
What is the purpose of analyzing competitors?
Goal 1 - Learn as much as possible about current and potential future competitors. Learn their plan, decipher their strategies, review their past actions, identify strengths and weaknesses, see opportunities twitter database and threats, compare their current position in the market, and recognize their online marketing activities.
Objective 2 - Find the answers to the questions:
Why does a competitor's site appear higher in Google?
How is it possible that the competition sells more despite having a worse offer?
Is our offer competitive? By analyzing, for example, the number of products, the range of services or their price.
What do other companies do to make their brand more recognizable?
What marketing channels do they use to reach customers?
How do you retain customers longer?
How do they increase order value and customer retention?
E.t.c.
Goal 3 - Draw conclusions and incorporate them into the strategy for building competitive advantage.
I think now you know what the purpose of competitive analysis is. So let's move on to the next point.
Who should perform competitive analysis and when?
Every company should systematically analyze the market and its competition, regardless of size, scale of operations or the industry it operates in. The analysis should also be performed regardless of whether the company is just starting its adventure, is already operating on the market, or is considering broadening its horizons and expanding into other markets.
Remember not to ignore potential competitors - it's worth taking a closer look at them from time to time, as their actions can cause confusion.
The analysis can be done independently or outsourced to an external company. In the case of independent analysis , you need to allocate an appropriate amount of time, define the scope of the analysis and goals, appoint a competent person with the appropriate experience and skills. You can't forget about access to tools and data (often paid) that will enable more accurate and faster analysis.
In turn, when deciding to outsource the analysis to an external company , we must spend time searching for a competent company that will undertake the order. It is necessary to establish the details, deadlines, scope of the analysis and goals.
As for the scope of the analysis itself. It may turn out that some elements of the analysis are better done in-house. You most likely have more knowledge of the industry and market than the external companies you would outsource it to. Such elements include:
target group
scope of the offer and the technology used
price of unusual products / services
strengths / weaknesses - SWOT analysis
market trends
revenues / profit / number of employees
sales tactics/business model
value proposition - unique features, unusual services/products, conveyed values, method of presentation
all other elements that require knowledge of the specifics of a given industry that may not be taken into account by people outside the industry
in turn, elements such as:
movement
Marketing channels
backlinks
keywords
blog
opinions
Trends
product/service features
Brand communication methods - what terms do they use?
e.t.c.
You can do it yourself or outsource it to an external company.
The frequency of competition research should be individually adjusted for each business, taking into account, among others, the company size, industry, sales market, dynamics of change and development.
Before I tell you how to screen your competitors, I will mention the most common mistakes so that you do not make them when analyzing them yourself.
