To stay ahead of the competition, it is important to know where you stand. This will help you make smart decisions and develop a better strategy going forward.
A competitive analysis can be conducted in order for you to see how your brand stands up against your industry’s standards. This analysis will not only show you what areas need improvement but also give insight into how other brands are doing. It’s an essential tool for any business.
Contents
- What is a competitive analysis
- Why do a competitive analysis
- How to conduct a competitive analysis
- The benefits of doing a competitive analysis
- The process
- Top tips for conducting an effective competition analysis
What is a competitive analysis?
A competitive analysis compares your brand with other brands in your industry for key strengths and weaknesses. This analysis will show how your brand stands up against competitors brands and thus, identify specific areas that need improvement. It is a great way of gaining insight into other brands’ strategies and successes.
The goal of this analysis is to make sure that you’re staying ahead of your competition. This will help you to make smart decisions, develop a better strategy going forward, and meet or exceed brand expectations.
Why do a competitive analysis?
As mentioned, one of the main reasons to undertake a competitive analysis is to stay ahead of your competition. The findings from your competitive analysis will show you what areas of your own brand need improvement but also show you how your competition is doing. It’s an extremely useful tool to help you grow your brand.
How to conduct a competitive analysis
Start by making a list of your brands competitors. Choose local ones and national ones (or even global depending on your market). You should also include a mixture of direct competitors and indirect competitors. Direct competitors are brands that offer the same thing as your brand whereas indirect competitors are businesses whose products or services are different from yours but satisfy the same customer need. Once you’ve done this, make note of who is your brand’s most popular competition.
The next step is to create a table with brand names on one axis and attributes they have on the other axis. Assign points for each brand attribute based on what you think that attribute is worth.
Then, combine all ratings into a composite score reflecting brand performance in each category. You can then compare this composite score with those of competing brands to identify strengths and weaknesses.
When analysing your data, it is important to identify brand drivers, such as brand awareness and quality perceptions. This will allow you to understand how your brand stacks up against the competition and where your own brand’s strengths and weaknesses lie.
The benefits of doing a competitive analysis
Other than the primary aim to keep up with or get ahead of the competition, there are many benefits that come from conducting an effective and efficient competitive analysis.
One such benefit is the insight into your brand’s strengths and weaknesses. This will allow you to evaluate how your company compares against the competition and where its opportunities for growth and limitations are. Understanding this data might help you make smarter decisions, develop a more effective plan, or exceed customer expectations.
The process of conducting a competitive analysis
In order to conduct a successful and efficient competitive analysis, you will need to follow the following steps.
- Make a list of your brand’s competition and rank yourself against them.
- Create a table with brand names on one axis and brand attributes on the other axis.
- Assign point values for each brand attribute based on what you think that attribute is worth.
- Combine all ratings into a composite score reflecting brand performance in each category.
- Compare this composite score with those of competing brands to identify strengths and weaknesses.
- Analyse your data and findings, making note of key brand drivers such as brand awareness and quality perceptions
When you start a competitive analysis you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Use these templates that have worked for others. You may learn a lot from looking at what other brands are doing and how they’re improving their businesses.
Tips for conducting an effective and efficient competition analysis
- It’s essential to research your own brand’s drivers to better understand how your brand stands up against the competition.
- Identify your brand’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities for growth and threats to growth
- Then, make a list of your brand’s main competitors on a local scale and on a national scale, rank yourself against them
Conclusion
We’ve established that a competitive analysis can be a great way to stay ahead of the competition. But also, your brand’s strengths and weaknesses may only become clear after you complete a competitive analysis. This is exactly why you should always do one.
So, if you haven’t already, get in touch with one of our specialists. We will produce the research that will allow you to create perfect campaigns for your brand.