7 Easy Steps on How to Perform a Competitor Analysis

Summary

In this informative video, digital marketing professional Morgan from Life Marketing guides viewers through the crucial process of competitor analysis. Morgan explains the importance of understanding what competitors are doing right and wrong, identifying market gaps, and establishing a unique value proposition. She recommends performing an in-depth analysis at least annually, with a walkthrough using a fictitious 'Morgan's Cafe' to demonstrate practical application. The video covers finding competitors, evaluating their offerings, sales processes, pricing strategies, and digital marketing tactics, culminating in a SWOT analysis to inform business strategy.

Takeaways

• 😀 Regular competitor analysis is essential for staying ahead in the market and not just reacting to changes.
• 🔎 Competitor analysis involves examining everything visible about your competitors to understand how your business compares.
• 💡 The purpose of competitor analysis is to gain insights into what competitors are doing right, wrong, and how your business can fill gaps or differentiate itself.
• 📅 It's recommended to perform an in-depth competitor analysis at least once a year, or even better, every six months.
• 🔍 Start by identifying direct competitors who offer similar products or services in your area or digital space.
• 🏢 Outline what competitors offer by browsing their websites, social media, and other online presence to understand their products, services, policies, and offers.
• 🛒 Analyze the sales process by walking through it as a customer, observing product pages, checkout processes, and customer interactions.
• 💰 Investigate competitor pricing and product structuring, noting how they present their offerings and compare to others in the market.
• 📊 Examine their digital marketing strategies, both paid and organic, to understand their social media presence, content types, posting frequency, and engagement.
• 📚 Read customer reviews, comments, and complaints to gain insights into customer experiences and expectations that can inform your own business strategies.
• 📈 Conclude with a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) to synthesize the information and plan marketing strategies or product development.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of a competitor analysis?

The main purpose of a competitor analysis is to understand what your competitors are doing, both correctly and incorrectly, to identify gaps in the market, establish your unique value proposition, and stay ahead of market changes and customer needs.

Why is it important to perform a competitor analysis regularly?

Regular competitor analysis is important to stay ahead of the curve in the market, adapt to changes, and avoid reacting to shifts in customer needs or market conditions. It helps in continuous improvement and strategic planning.

How often should an in-depth competitor analysis be conducted?

An in-depth competitor analysis should be conducted at least once a year, but it's recommended to do it every six months to keep the information relevant and up-to-date.

What are the key aspects to consider when performing a competitor analysis?

Key aspects to consider include identifying what competitors are doing right for inspiration, spotting their mistakes to find market gaps, understanding your unique value proposition, assessing customer feedback, and analyzing their sales process and digital marketing strategy.

How can you identify your direct competitors?

Direct competitors can be identified by searching online using business types or keywords that customers would use to find your product or service. This includes looking at search engines, social media, and considering businesses within your digital space.

What information should you gather about your competitors' products or services?

You should gather information about the competitors' products or services, including their offerings, shipping policy, return policy, and any freebies or offers they provide.

How can you analyze your competitors' sales process?

Analyze the sales process by walking through the steps as a customer would, from browsing products to the checkout process, and observe the packaging and shipping times. Also, consider subscribing to their newsletter and looking at customer reviews and feedback.

What is the significance of looking at competitors' pricing and product structure?

Analyzing competitors' pricing and product structure helps you understand how they position their offerings in the market, which can inform your own pricing strategy and product offerings to stand out.

How can you assess a competitor's digital marketing strategy?

Assess a competitor's digital marketing strategy by examining their social media presence, the type of content they post, their engagement levels, the time of day they post, and their response to comments. Also, look at their search engine presence and any paid advertising efforts.

What is the role of customer reviews and feedback in competitor analysis?

Customer reviews and feedback provide insights into the competitors' customer experience, common complaints, and areas of satisfaction. This information can be invaluable for identifying opportunities to improve your own offerings and customer service.

What is a SWOT analysis and how does it fit into the competitor analysis process?

A SWOT analysis stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It is conducted at the end of the competitor analysis process to synthesize the collected information, identify strategic directions, and develop new marketing strategies or product offerings based on the analysis.

Outlines

00:00

📊 Introduction to Competitor Analysis

The video script begins with an introduction to the importance of staying ahead of the competition through regular competitor analysis. Morgan, a digital marketing professional, offers to guide viewers through the process of competitor analysis, which involves examining a competitor's visible business strategies to understand their strengths and weaknesses. The purpose of this analysis is to gain insights for one's own business, identify market gaps, and establish a unique value proposition. The video promises a step-by-step walkthrough, including a case study of a hypothetical business called 'Morgan's Cafe', to illustrate the practical application of competitor analysis.

05:02

🔎 Conducting Competitor Analysis: Steps and Strategies

The second paragraph delves into the specifics of conducting a competitor analysis. It emphasizes the need to identify direct competitors, understand their offerings, sales processes, and pricing strategies. The script outlines steps such as searching online for competitors, browsing their websites and social media, observing their customer engagement, and analyzing their digital marketing efforts. It also suggests monitoring customer reviews and feedback to identify common complaints and areas for improvement. The paragraph concludes with the recommendation to perform a SWOT analysis to synthesize the gathered information and develop new marketing strategies or product offerings, ensuring that the business remains relevant and competitive.

Keywords

💡Competitor Analysis

Competitor Analysis is the process of examining the strategies, strengths, and weaknesses of your competitors to understand the market better and identify areas for improvement in your own business. In the video, it is the central theme, with the speaker explaining its importance and steps to perform it effectively. For example, the script mentions 'you're looking at everything that your competitor is doing' to highlight the comprehensive nature of this analysis.

💡Digital Marketing

Digital Marketing refers to the use of digital channels to promote products or services. It is the professional field of the speaker, Morgan, who is offering insights into competitor analysis as part of a broader digital marketing strategy. The script includes 'hi i'm morgan a digital marketing professional', showcasing the speaker's expertise in this area.

💡Value Proposition

A Value Proposition is a statement that communicates the unique value a product or service offers to customers. In the video, it is discussed as one of the key outcomes of competitor analysis, helping to differentiate a business from its competitors. The script states 'establish your value proposition', emphasizing its role in setting a business apart.

💡Market Gaps

Market Gaps refer to areas in the market that are not being adequately served by existing products or services. The video script mentions identifying 'things your competitor is doing wrong or incorrectly' to find these gaps, which can then be opportunities for a business to fill.

💡SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis is a strategic planning tool used to identify Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats related to business competition or project planning. The video script discusses performing a SWOT Analysis at the end of the competitor analysis process, as a way to synthesize the gathered information into actionable strategies.

💡Customer Feedback

Customer Feedback is the direct input from customers about their experiences, satisfaction, or dissatisfaction with a product or service. In the video, the speaker advises looking at reviews and comments to understand what customers are saying about competitors, as in 'read customer reviews comments questions and complaints', which can inform business strategy.

💡Social Media Strategy

Social Media Strategy involves planning and executing actions on social media platforms to reach marketing goals. The video script discusses analyzing a competitor's social media presence, including how often they post and the type of content they share, as part of the competitor analysis process.

💡Sales Process

Sales Process refers to the stages a customer goes through when purchasing a product or service. The video script mentions walking through the steps of a competitor's sales process to understand their approach, such as 'browse products look at the product page add a product to your cart'.

💡Pricing Strategy

Pricing Strategy is the method used to set the price of a product or service. The video script advises analyzing how competitors structure their pricing, as in 'analyze your competitor pricing and how they structure the product', to gain insights into market pricing trends and positioning.

💡Product Differentiation

Product Differentiation is the process of making a product unique to stand out from competitors. The video script discusses identifying how a company's product or service is different from competitors to establish a unique value proposition, as in 'identify the ways that your company product or service is different'.

💡Marketing Strategy

Marketing Strategy is a comprehensive plan for promoting a brand, product, or service. The video script emphasizes the importance of competitor analysis in creating or refining a marketing strategy, as it provides insights into market positioning and customer needs.

Highlights

Introduction to competitor analysis and its importance in business strategy.

Competitor analysis is not about corporate espionage but understanding what competitors are doing visibly.

The purpose of competitor analysis is clarified, emphasizing its role in business and marketing strategy development.

Identifying what competitors are doing correctly provides inspiration for your own business.

Understanding competitors' mistakes helps identify market gaps and needs.

Establishing a value proposition by differentiating your company, product, or service from competitors.

Gaining insights from customer feedback about competitors to inform your growth strategy.

Recommendation to perform an in-depth competitor analysis at least once a year, preferably every six months.

The process of finding direct competitors, focusing on those offering similar products or services in your area or digital space.

Outlining what competitors offer by browsing their websites, social media, and other public information.

Analyzing the sales process of competitors by simulating a customer journey from browsing to purchase.

Examining customer engagement, reviews, and common complaints on competitors' social media and review platforms.

Analyzing competitor pricing and product structure to understand market positioning.

Scrutinizing digital marketing strategies of competitors, including paid and organic tactics.

Reading customer reviews and comments to gain insights into competitors' customer service and product offerings.

Conducting a SWOT analysis to synthesize findings and plan new marketing strategies or products.

The importance of not focusing solely on your own business but also keeping an eye on competitors to stay relevant.

Encouragement to sign up for a social ads training program to learn from successful business strategies.

Transcripts

do you want to stay ahead of your

competition are you tired of reacting to

changes in the market or customer needs

instead of being ahead of the curve you

can avoid all of that frustration by

doing regular competitor analysis let me

show you how

[Applause]

hi i'm morgan a digital marketing

professional with life marketing if you

haven't completed a competitor analysis

before you're in for a treat i'm going

to walk you through the process

including what i ask myself and use a

fake business so that you can see how it

would apply in a real situation let's

get started first off what is a

competitor analysis it's exactly what it

sounds like which you're probably not

surprised by you're looking at

everything that your competitor is doing

at least the stuff that you can see this

isn't really a corporate espionage

situation and you're considering how

your business compares now why should

you bother doing a competitor analysis

there are a lot of good reasons to

perform an analysis of your competitors

and it's a common step in creating a new

business or starting a marketing

strategy but i feel there's a bit of

confusion around what the purpose of a

competitor analysis is and how to

complete one you can look into any

aspect of the business that you want and

you can use a competitor analysis for a

lot of planning purposes but some of the

most important reasons to perform a

competitor analysis are as follows you

can identify the things that your

competitor is doing correctly this will

give you an idea of what you should be

doing too we're not talking copying

we're talking inspiration you can also

identify the things your competitor is

doing wrong or incorrectly this will

give you an idea of gaps in the market

and needs that you can fulfill you'll be

able to identify the ways that your

company product or service is different

from your competitors and establish your

value proposition that's what you bring

to the table that's unique from what

anyone else does it also gives you an

idea of what to expect for growth it

allows you to see what customers are

saying about them your competitors i

mean or what questions they're asking

the problems they have or solutions that

they want let's look at how often you

should perform a competitor analysis i'd

recommend doing an in-depth analysis at

least once a year but i like to put this

on my calendar to do every six months or

so that way i don't spend too much time

doing something that's outdated or

falling short of what my clients

competitors are doing so let's get into

how to perform an analysis and what i

ask myself and look for i'll show you

how to do this using a made up brand

we'll call it morgan's cafe very

creative i know i'm including

information on each step questions to

ask and examples when they apply and

some ideas so the first step will be to

find your competitors you need to know

who else is offering something that

could replace your product or your

service and these people should be in

your area and sometimes in your area

means in your digital space we call

these your direct competitors and they

should be your main focus if you don't

know where to start do what your

customers would do search online you can

search for your business type or search

keywords that you think your customers

would search when they're trying to find

you you can do this on social media or

on search engines and you'll see lots of

options pop up here's a search for

coffee shops near me showing all of the

competition that morgan's cafe has next

you'll outline what your competitors do

or provide now that you've found your

competitors take your time to browse

their website read their social media

watch your youtube videos and scour

their blog to find out what your

competitors provide you want to know

basic things like what their product or

services are what their shipping policy

is what their return policy is etc you

also want to look through any freebies

or offers that they have available to

get an idea of what's going on next

describe how your competitors sell and

doesn't work it's time to look at the

sales process i recommend walking

through the steps here like you're a

customer browse products look at the

product page add a product to your cart

and start the checkout process or buy an

item to see the process through from

start to finish including packaging and

shipping times look at their social

media feeds subscribe to their

newsletter and read through emails that

you receive abandon your cart to see if

you get a reminder search keywords

online and review any ads that show up

look at reviews and read comments for

customer feedback i'll go into each of

these a little bit more later basically

are people engaging with the posts are

customers leaving good reviews are there

common complaints that you see often can

you tell how many sales they've made

notice that i said to describe this

process i actually write it out full

sentences full paragraphs make it feel

fancy if you feel like it but actually

be able to describe this process as well

as you would be able to describe your

own hey we just helped a small business

make over 1.5 million dollars through

facebook advertising and after managing

millions of dollars in ad spend for

thousands of different small businesses

we have decided to give away everything

we learn to you in a special program if

you want to learn the blueprint to

success the best practices from some of

the fastest growing companies in the

world and all the different tools you

will need then sign up for our social

ads training program today next you'll

analyze your competitor pricing and how

they structure the product you browse

through product pages and shopping

during the last step but now we get to

go for a deeper dive start with the

product page and pay attention to

pricing while you explore here's what i

look for specifically how many images or

videos they're using and the style of

those is it moody is it on a white

background how does it feel what is the

layout of the page generally where is

everything located what is the copy like

is it long short descriptive bullet

points do they use very romantic

language what product or service

information is included what other

elements are on the page like email

lists or links to blogs or other

articles are there suggested products

are there reviews how do i add the

product to the cart what is the price of

the product how does it compare to other

products or services that their

competitors are offering how much is

shipping next scour your competitor's

digital marketing strategy from paid to

organic here's a note you'll notice that

some of these steps are overlapping with

others you're completing a number of

these steps at the same time so don't

worry about keeping them strictly in the

order that i'm presenting them now a lot

of them happen all at once but you'll

spend some time on your competitor's

social media channels most businesses

will list their social profiles on their

website but you can also manually search

the most popular platforms for your

competitors here's what i would list out

i would list all of my competitors and

then the platforms that the company is

using i also mark down how often they're

posting and what type of content they're

posting for example carousels videos

reels or stories i'll find them on

search engines like google youtube and

pinterest to see what comes up and i'm

looking for paid and unpaid things here

i also like to pay attention to the time

of day that they post i'll note the

average number of comments and likes

i'll also make note if they respond to

comments and what the tone of those

responses are next i'll read customer

reviews comments questions and

complaints this is the time to read

through reviews and comments to see what

your competitors customers are saying

about them not only will you get to hear

accounts of their experience but you'll

have a front row seat to any customer

complaints or questions which can help

you when you're developing your strategy

or offerings for example let's say that

morgan's cafe competitors close at 3 pm

on weekends and customers have been

leaving comments asking them to stay

open later morgan's cafe can adjust

their hours and run an ad campaign

advertising longer weekend hours to pick

up some of those customers who may be

looking for an afternoon caffeine fix

next you'll perform a swot analysis the

swot analysis is what you do at the end

of all this legwork so that you can put

all the information that you've

collected combine it with specifics for

your business and make a plan for

developing new marketing strategies or

new products swat s-w-o-t stands for

strengths weaknesses opportunities and

threats and i did a full video on

performing a swot analysis that you

should check out after this links will

be in the description box it's easy to

focus on all the tasks that you need to

complete for your business or all the

ideas that you have for products or

creating content but you don't want to

get so focused on your own business that

you're not keeping an eye on your

competitors and adapting your plan so

that you can stay relevant and top of

mind i hope this walkthrough helped

thank you so much for watching leave any

questions that you have in the comments

and i'll see you next time happy

marketing

[Music]