Five Simple Ways to Research Your Competition
“Competition is always a good thing. It focuses us to do our best. A monopoly renders people complacent and satisfied with mediocrity.” — Nancy Pearcey
Keeping proper tabs on the competition is one of the hallmarks of a successful business. It not only helps to produce a superior product, but it also helps to raise the bar in your niche, and invariably creates happier and more satisfied customers. Uncovering your competitors’ weaknesses will enable you to beat them while acquiring a larger market share.
Here are a few steps on how to research your competition:
1. Check their website
Almost all companies maintain a website. Information about their products is usually placed on such websites. So what better place is there to find firsthand information about what your competitors are doing than where they are allowed to pitch themselves and blow their horns?
You will find valuable information, such as what they are offering as compared with your company, new features, discontinued features. Other subtle details, such as the feel of the site (is it haphazard or clean?), ease of use (how easy is it to find relevant information?) and convenience (is it easy to checkout?) should be noted.
The information found can give you an idea of the areas where your competition is performing well, allowing you to put a chink in their armor.
2. Use their products
Rachael Grady once said: “Always put yourself in others’ shoes. If you feel it hurts you, it probably hurts the other person, too”
This probably doesn’t describe the point perfectly, but for context, by using your competitor’s product, you are putting yourself in the shoes of their customers, so you can create an objective view of the product.
Companies that provide software products and services usually make free demos available for download. These demos usually contain the main features they are offering. You can decide to provide what is not on offer, or simply deliver the same offer more efficiently and distinctively.
UI/UX design can be experienced directly. Ask yourself questions such as: How easy is it to navigate features? Would you like to use it again? Is the product engaging? Will you recommend it? Does it enhance the brand?
Some of these techniques apply to physical products, as well. You can see the design, materials used and experience of usage, and you can make adjustments and improvements to your products based on your findings.
Using your competitor’s product will give you a consumer experience. You will be able to identify pain points from a consumer’s point of view. Capitalize on this experience by solving and optimizing these pain points in your products. Automatically, your product provides more value, and you are up an extra point on the scoreboard.
3. Check their advertising
Have you ever wondered why it seems your competition is making more sales and reaching more people, even though you have a better product? It could be that their advertising campaigns are more effective than yours.
The best way to start assessing this is by doing a simple keyword search on engines, such as Google, Bing and Yahoo, and see if they come up. A tool such as MixRank will show you where your competitors are advertising online. SpyFu will show you everywhere your competitors have been on Google for the past 11 years.
You can also track their online presence using Google Alerts. This is free and easy to use. All you need to do is input the names of your competitors, and you will get alerts any time they are mentioned online.
These tools will help you determine the keywords that have worked well for them and campaigns that have been profitable. This can help you make better decisions next time you want to advertise.
4. Check their social media pages
You can find a lot of businesses interacting with their customers on social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn and even YouTube. A lot of information can be obtained from competitors’ social-media pages.
What are they posting about? How often are they posting? What are customers complaining about? How well are they responding to their customers? How many followers do they have? What content do customers interact with most? These data points will help form an opinion of your competition, giving you an idea of what opportunities are open for you to use against them.
5. Check their user reviews
Reviews are very important, because they show the overall satisfaction of customers with your product. You can find customer reviews on platforms, such as Google Play, Forums, Google My Business, Yelp, Yellow Pages, Trip Advisor and Foursquare. The point of this exercise is to find complaints that expose the imperfections of your competitors to give you an advantage against them.
No competitor is perfect. There are always areas in a competitor’s business that are vulnerable. Therefore, doing proper competitor research cannot be overemphasized. It will give you a better understanding of your competitor’s position in the market, allowing you to develop a proper strategy for your product.
