Analysis of competitors. Methods.
Keeping up with the competition is essential when running a business, but understanding and tracking your competitors can be tricky.
Knowing what they’re doing and how they’re faring in the market can help you stay ahead of them, but it involves more than just occasional monitoring – proper analysis is needed.
In this blog post, we will explore some of the approaches used for competitor analysis – discussing which techniques are most effective, what resources should be considered, and uncovering valuable insights about your rivals that you might have not known before.
Investing time into researching and analyzing your competitors will give you a competitive edge – so buckle up and get ready to dive into our exploration of competitor analysis!
What is Competitor Analysis?
Competitor analysis is the process of identifying and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors in order to develop strategies that can give your business a competitive advantage. This involves gathering and analyzing information about your competitors' products or services, marketing tactics, target markets, pricing strategies, distribution channels, and other key factors that impact their performance in the marketplace.
The purpose of competitor analysis is to gain insights into how your competitors are positioning themselves in the market, what they are doing well, and where they are falling short. By understanding your competitors, you can identify opportunities and threats in the market, develop a more effective marketing strategy, and make better-informed business decisions.
There are various methods of conducting a competitor analysis, including analyzing publicly available information, conducting surveys and interviews, and using tools such as SWOT analysis or Porter's Five Forces model.
Ultimately, the goal of a competitor analysis is to use the information gathered to make informed decisions about how to position your business in the marketplace and achieve your business objectives.
How to do competitor analysis?
1. Identify your competitors: Start by identifying who your competitors are. This could include direct competitors who offer the same products or services, as well as indirect competitors who offer similar solutions to a different market segment.
2. Gather information: Once you have identified your competitors, gather information about them. This can include their products or services, marketing strategies, pricing, distribution channels, target market, and any other relevant information.
3. Analyze strengths and weaknesses: Analyze your competitors' strengths and weaknesses. This can give you insights into what they are doing well and where there are opportunities for improvement.
4. Conduct a SWOT analysis: Use the information gathered to conduct a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) for each competitor. This can help you identify where your business has a competitive advantage and where there are opportunities to improve.
5. Identify opportunities and threats: Identify any opportunities or threats that your competitors present to your business. This could include changes in the market, emerging technologies, or new entrants into the market.
6. Develop a strategy: Use the information gathered to develop a strategy that can help you compete effectively in the marketplace. This could include pricing strategies, marketing tactics, product improvements, or targeting new market segments.
7. Monitor and update: Monitor your competitors regularly and update your analysis as needed. This will help you stay competitive in the market and adjust your strategy as needed.
Overall, conducting a thorough competitor analysis can provide valuable insights into your competitors and help you develop effective strategies to compete in the marketplace.
Competitor SWOT analysis. How to do it?
A SWOT analysis of competitors is a strategic tool used to analyze the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your competitors in the market. It helps you gain a deeper understanding of how your competitors operate and identify areas where you can gain a competitive advantage.
SWOT stands for Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat.
- Strength - internal factors that can help in competition (high quality of goods, favorable prices, better level of service - in comparison with competitors);
- Weakness - factors that make your brand weak about competitors: a limited advertising budget, the small size of the organization, narrow assortment;
- Opportunity - factors that help realize the strengths of a product or company: a favorable exchange rate, tax incentives, problems faced by competitors.
- Threat - elements of the external environment that can jeopardize the integrity and profitability of the business.
Competitor SWOT analysis should provide answers to the following questions:
✅ What are the main strengths of your competitors? This includes analyzing their products or services, brand recognition, financial resources, distribution channels, customer base, and other factors that give them an advantage in the market.
✅ What are the main weaknesses of your competitors? This includes identifying areas where they are struggling or have room for improvement, such as product quality, customer service, pricing, or marketing tactics.
✅ What opportunities do your competitors have in the market? This includes analyzing market trends, new product or service offerings, potential new customer segments, or changes in regulations or technology that could benefit your competitors.
✅ What threats do your competitors face in the market? This includes external factors such as economic downturns, changes in consumer preferences, new competitors entering the market, or regulatory changes that could impact your competitors' performance.
By answering these questions through a competitor SWOT analysis, you can gain a better understanding of your competitors' strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and develop strategies to gain a competitive advantage in the market.
Сompetitor Analysis Questions
Here are some key questions to consider when conducting a competitor analysis:
1. Who are my main competitors in the market?
2. What products or services do my competitors offer?
3. What are the strengths and weaknesses of my competitors?
4. What is the pricing strategy of my competitors?
5. What is the marketing strategy of my competitors?
6. What is the target market of my competitors?
7. What are the distribution channels used by my competitors?
8. What is the reputation of my competitors in the market?
9. What is the financial position of my competitors?
10. What is the customer experience like for my competitors?
11. How do my products or services compare to those of my competitors?
12. Are there any emerging trends in the market that could impact my competitors?
Let's take a closer look at a few more types of competitor analysis
Competitor Pricing Analysis
Competitor pricing analysis is the process of examining the pricing strategies of your competitors to gain insights into how they are positioning their products or services in the market. Let's take a closer look steps to follow when conducting a competitor pricing analysis:
✔ Gather pricing information: Collect pricing information from your competitors. This includes the price of their products or services, any discounts or promotions they offer, and any price changes over time.
✔ Analyze pricing strategies: Analyze the pricing strategies of your competitors. This includes examining their pricing structure (e.g. flat rate, tiered pricing, etc.), pricing methods (e.g. cost-plus pricing, value-based pricing, etc.), and any special pricing tactics (e.g. bundling, volume discounts, etc.) they use.
✔ Compare pricing: Compare your own pricing to that of your competitors. Identify any price differences and determine how your pricing compares to your competitors' pricing in terms of value for the customer.
✔ Determine pricing advantages and disadvantages: Determine the advantages and disadvantages of your pricing compared to your competitors. This includes examining how your pricing impacts your profit margins, market share, and customer acquisition.
✔ Develop a pricing strategy: Based on your analysis, develop a pricing strategy that allows you to remain competitive while also maximizing profits. This may include adjusting your pricing, changing your pricing structure or tactics, or developing new pricing models.
Unleash the power of competitor pricing analysis to unlock valuable insights into rival pricing tactics, paving the way for crafting ingenious strategies to thrive in the market.
Competitor Content Analysis
Competitor content analysis is the process of examining the content marketing strategies of your competitors to gain insights into the types of content they create, how they distribute it, and how it resonates with their target audience. Follow these steps when conducting a competitor content analysis:
✔ Gather content information: Collect information about the types of content your competitors create, such as blog posts, videos, social media posts, case studies, and whitepapers.
✔ Analyze content quality: Evaluate the quality of your competitors' content. Consider factors such as writing style, design, formatting, and how well the content is optimized for search engines.
✔ Analyze content topics and themes: Analyze the topics and themes of your competitors' content. Consider which topics are most popular and how they align with your own content marketing strategy.
✔ Analyze content distribution channels: Analyze how your competitors distribute their content, such as through social media, email marketing, or other channels.
✔ Analyze engagement: Analyze how well your competitors' content performs in terms of engagement, such as likes, comments, shares, or backlinks.
✔ Compare and contrast: Compare and contrast your competitors' content marketing strategies against your own. Identify any gaps or areas where you can improve your own content strategy.
✔ Develop a content strategy: Based on your analysis, develop a content strategy that allows you to remain competitive while also differentiating yourself from your competitors. This may include creating different types of content, targeting different topics or themes, or using different distribution channels.
By conducting a competitor content analysis, you can gain insights into how your competitors are using content marketing to engage with their target audience, and develop effective content marketing strategies to compete in the market.
Competitor Analysis Services
Competitor analysis services can be a great way for businesses to gain an edge in their market. By understanding their competitors' strategies, businesses can develop targeted marketing plans and actionable tactics that put them ahead of the competition. Competitor analysis services focus on gathering and analyzing data about potential competitor offerings, pricing models, customer demographics, and more, to arm businesses with valuable insights that they can use to their advantage.
These services are typically provided by professional firms with expertise in market research and analytics. With their help, businesses can identify areas of opportunity where they may have an advantage over the competition; they can also determine which products or services will be most popular among certain customers based on their target demographics and preferences. Additionally, these firms often provide strategic advice on how best to target each segment in order to maximize profits.
Finally, competitor analysis services are invaluable tools for businesses looking to stay ahead of the curve in today's ever-evolving digital landscape. By equipping themselves with the necessary data and resources gained through these services, companies can ensure that they stay ahead of their competitors while continually growing their business.
Most Popular Competitor Analysis Services in 2023
✔ SimilarWeb: A market intelligence platform that provides data and insights on web traffic, audience engagement, and online behavior.
✔ SEMrush: A tool for competitive research and analysis that focuses on SEO and online advertising.
✔ Ahrefs: A platform that provides data and insights on backlinks, organic search traffic, and keywords.
✔ SpyFu: A competitive research tool that provides data on search marketing campaigns and competitors' keywords.
✔ Kompyte: A platform that monitors competitors' websites and marketing strategies and provides real-time alerts on changes.
✔ Crayon: A platform that provides competitive intelligence and market insights through web data analysis and AI-powered alerts.
✔ Owler: A platform that provides real-time news, alerts, and insights on competitors and industries.
These are just a few of the top competitor analysis services that are currently available. The popularity of these services can vary depending on the industry, company size, and specific needs of the user.
🔹 In conclusion, analysis of competitors can be an invaluable tool for any company looking to gain or maintain a competitive edge.
It allows a business to stay abreast of what their competitors are doing, and in some cases anticipate them before they take action. By understanding how other companies approach the market and the products they offer, one can use this information to develop methods which will allow them to better prepare themselves in order to remain competitive.
Ultimately, it's not just important to understand what your competitors are doing but also how you can differentiate yourself in order to create an advantage in the marketplace. This is where having an accurate analysis of your competition comes into play and will ultimately determine the success of your business moving forward.
You may be interested - Retention Marketing: What It Is & Why You Should Care
