Know Your Competition
Know your enemy and know thyself.
Admittedly, when it comes to business, people want to stay on the top of their industry, but most often, there could only be one winner, therefore resulting in a competitive business space.
In order to stand out, marketers need to make sure that they deliver in their executions as well as matter in their audience’s mind.
Why Knowing Your Competition Matters?
One misconception about competition is that people tend to avoid it. However, in reality, competition in business is good for customers and for companies. It benefits customers by keeping prices low and the quality of the products and services high. It also benefits businesses by promoting innovation and overall brand image.
While it’s true that in competition, not every single business is going to win, but it also means that every single business tries to put their best effort forward to win the audience and stay in business.
Hence, gaining competitive advantage highly depends on what your audience wants, what you can offer to meet their demands, and know what your competitors can offer that is different than yours. So, here’s my two cents on how to keeping tabs on your competitors.
1. Keep an eye on their social network
In today’s digital era, companies have been actively using social networks, from Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn, as one of their primary marketing channels. You might be able to pick up some interesting facts about your competitors by just scouring their social media posts.
From brand story, brand values, products or services, even brand culture, monitoring tweets, posts, or blogs, is an easy and cost-effective way to stay on track with public’s sentiment about your competitors. (Find out more about Social Listening here.)
Moreover, keeping a close watch on review sites such as Yelp could help you to expand your target audience. For instance, you could target a reviewer, who left a certain opinion about your competitor, and offer another deal that might interest them. Furthermore, you could also subscribe in your competitor’s newsletter to receive the latest news and updates on the company’s products and services.
2. Go beyond Google Search
Everyone knows that googling your competitors is one of the easiest methods to start your market research. However, for sure, they are not going to reveal all the information or internal plans they have on their sites. That’s why marketers need different tactics beyond Google Search.
There are a variety of tools that could help you to gain more insights on your competition. Tools such as Google Alerts, for example, can help you set a reminder to know what your competitors are up to.
You can also track certain keywords associated with your competitors with other marketing tools, i.e. SEMRush or Ontolo. These tools allow you to enter a list of keywords and will automatically produce a set of data related to your competitors to build your SEO strategy effectively.
3. Connect with your competitors
After you research your competitors, it’s always good to reach out to them to gain more insights about them and the industry in general. You can attend industry trade shows, conferences, or exhibitions to learn about your competitors and what they are offering. Make sure you observe the way they interact with their customers and check out the quality of their products or services.
Don’t close the possibility for collaboration just because they are your rivals in business. If something is going to impact your industry, you can join forces with them to take appropriate countermeasures. Moreover, your competitors could potentially become your backup resources. If you have excellent relationships with them, you might be able to outsource part of the work that is too large for you to them.
Keys Takeaway
Competition is a natural part of the business world. That’s why marketers need to always be on their toes to maintain their authority in the industry.
When it comes to competition in business, I often remind myself of a quote from one of the most famous Chinese strategists, Sun Tzu:
“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer”
Devoting time and energy to keep tabs on your competition will get you closer to understand their behavior and to anticipate what they will be likely to do next. This way, you can plan your own strategies and win the customers away from them.
I believe knowing your competitors is a great marketing strategy to grow your business. What about you?
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