How to conduct a competitor analysis

Do you remember the last time you made huge sales in your store as a business owner? Did many customers show up for your products and services, or was the turnout low? Well, that is where competitive analysis comes in. To give you insights on how your business is performing and what needs improvement and whatnot.

This article discusses what competitive analysis is all about and how you can develop likable trends and marketing strategies that will bring you more purchasing customers. Let's get right into it as follows;

What is a competitor analysis?

Also known as competitive analysis, it is an evaluation of your competitor's strengths and weaknesses points. Creating a competitor analysis report will help you learn what competitors in the same industry as you are doing differently for their businesses. 

You will know what trends they are following and strategies they use, among other tricks they put in their businesses. This will help you come up with marketing strategies that can beat these competitors as you aim to emerge at the top of your competition.

Why should you consider performing a competitor analysis?

Performing a competitor analysis will help shed light on your business and give you a better understanding of competitors you are competing with in the same industry. 

It will give you ideas on how well you can strategize your business for success by emerging the best. The analysis will teach you about your competitor's strengths and weaknesses to position your business for greatness and achieve a higher goal.

What to include in a competitor analysis

Knowing what to put in your competitor analysis report is what will determine how well you have done your research on your competitors. This will help you to make sane strategies based on your findings. Your competitive analysis should include the following;

1. Market Overview

A marketing overview will clearly explain your industry's current trends. The analysis will help you know vital features you might want to consider including in your marketing plans. This will bring you growth in your business, considering you have done your research correctly and put it into execution.

2. Competitors analysis

It would be ideal for you to know and analyze your competition, and this can be done by digging into their businesses and knowing every detail of them. Some of the information you should check out includes their pricing lists, strategies, and other factors that would prove helpful in your competitor analysis report.

3. SWOT analysis

Know and analyze your competitors' Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) for you to make proper decisions to beat their plans. With this in your competitor analysis report, you will have a guide leading you to a game changer successful outcome.

4. Competitors' strategies

Understanding your competitor's strategies would also be essential to add to your report. Know what campaigns they run, how they advertise their content, whether through sponsored ads or influencers and how they get their customers. Find out any different things they are doing and how they are carrying them out. 

5. Recommendations

The recommendation part mainly gives insights on what you will want to do for your business to catch up and be productive. You can provide your ideas based on the research you will have done or even create better ones.

How to conduct a competitive analysis

The primary purpose of conducting an analysis is to help you develop an effective marketing plan that will outline ways you can go around to achieve your business goals. With us are ways you can do that, as stated down below;

1. Create a competitor overview

The first step to consider always is to get an overview of your competition. Try to know who they are by researching both directly and indirectly. This decision should be made by going for competitors in the same industry as you that are selling the same products and services.

2. Research competitors' websites

By researching competitors' websites, you will be digging deeper into getting to know the kind of products they are selling, prices, how they are marketing their products, and more. This will give you a clear look into what they are all about and what they are doing so that you can do them differently.

3. Check out your competitor's targeted customers

Investigate who your competitor's customers are. Who exactly are they going for with their products and services being released in the market? This will help you know whether your customers are right for your products or whether you need to target more in a different way for them to consume what you are offering them.

4. Analyze their strategies

It will be good for you to go in further and analyze your competitor's strengths and weaknesses. After all that, you are going for ways to beat them and to do that, you need to have an idea of their strength and weaknesses and beyond. Get to know every detail of what is happening in their company and use that to build your strategies uniquely.

5. Track their progress

Monitor your competitor's performance in terms of their website, know whether they are gaining more traffic and how their customers are giving out their reviews on their sites, and even more. This will help you create your KPIs for competitor analysis that will shift your focus on achieving the goals set.

Why a competitor analysis is important

Carrying out a regular competitor analysis can positively impact your business's growth. These are the reasons why competitive analysis is important for your business;

1. Evaluate your pricing strategy

You might be wondering why your products are not selling and have seen your competitors make a huge sale. Then you should know it would be high time you analyze competitors side and check to understand factors that led them to make sales. If their price lists are too low, or in any aspect, you can try to adjust yours in order to bring back your customers.

2. Identify strengths and weaknesses

Through performing a competitor analysis, you can use it to identify your competitor's strengths and weaknesses and come up with unique ideas that will help you challenge them.

3. Monitor trends in your industry

If you are looking forward to staying ahead of the game, performing a competitive analysis will help you. You will be able to know what's new in your industry and put it among your plans so that you stay relevant to what you are offering customers.

4. Improve your business

Conducting a competitive analysis will help you improve your business drastically for a change. Think about how you will know what's working, what needs improvement, and how. This will help you make rational decisions that will boost your business.

5. Guide strategic plan

A competitive analysis will help you set your business up for success by helping you know threats and opportunities that can change your business. With this knowledge, you can make informed decisions to improve your brand and prepare it for successful outcomes.

Conclusion

In a world where market trends keep changing and customers wants the best, conducting a competitor analysis is vital. Always have the urge of staying ahead of the game by including these strategies in your analysis and experience a change today. Use the competitive analysis and know what's trending in your current market industry and use it to the information to the fullest. Competitor analysis in marketing is what your business needs in order to beat competition and retain customers.

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