Competitive analysis in digital marketing

“Competitive Analysis in Digital Marketing is a starting point to know where your product stands in the market.”

Doing business/startups can be hard for many. Too many uncertainties, and most of all we can be certain that there’s no new product in this world. There will most like other business/startups out there that are offering a similar product or service as you. Let alone, not to mention that we might be competing with a more prominent company that has already start producing their product or offer their service from the old ages. This article is specially made to answer the struggle/challenge most business/startups have to let them outshine their products/services in the harshness of competition in the digital marketing era.

Why Competitive Analysis?

Not producing your products or services by the fear of competition is only an excuse. Technology nowadays has advanced to more than ever. It is possible to know and do some research about the competition in the market by only sitting down using your gadget preference and the internet.

Competitive analysis is a crucial task for managers interested in scanning their competitive ability/strengths. They have to analyze to put up their defense against competitors, planning competitive competition and to create a response to what might come to them.

Competitive analysis is done by researching and analyzing information about competitors. Fundamental strategies are by knowing your competitor, SWOT’s (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats). Though there might be hundreds of procedures on competitive analysis out there that also might be blurry, this article will explain five simple steps that can you do as a small business or startups owner.

Find your Competitors

Before you find your competitors, you should at the very least know who you are as a business/startups; what do you offer (products/services), and at what industry are you running your products or services. After knowing who you are as a business/startups, the next thing you want to know is their SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats).

By knowing their SWOTs, it will enable you to answer these questions :

What markets or market segments your competitor serve?
What benefits your competitors offer?
Why do customers buy from them?

Compare your Products/Services

Using the data you’ve found by finding your competitor, you can get into a deeper level of competitive analysis, you can now compare your products/services that you have, and your competitor has to offer. Comparing your products/services with competitors will give you the ability to picture your strengths and weaknesses. Only after that, you can evaluate your products/startups and improve or even eliminate the things that are needed.

Market Positioning

Know your market, don’t compete in a place where you don’t belong. There’s no single company that can reach all people, and by that, there’s still a chance for you to outshine your competitor in your way. But of course, you have to bring value to the market by showing what “differentiate” you from other competitors. Be a solution to your market in a way that your competitors can’t.

Competitor Unique Marketing Methods and Content

Every single business (doesn’t matter at what stage are they currently), have their unique methods and content that they use as a marketing campaign. You can see this as an opportunity where there’s someone that has started first and show us what works and what don’t. Answer these questions to help you out :

What kind of promotion that your competitor is using?
How’s your social media content work?
What’s the gimmick and tone of voice that your competitor use?

A company’s social media presence is becoming essential these days. It helps the company to interacts and gains feedback with customers. Plus, they allow you to share your content quickly and widely. Anyways, social media can also backfire towards you; if you don't have any specific platforms or integration, your authority and reputation may be viewed poorly by customer. On to what social media fits best for you can only be answered by you depending on your target market.

SEO Structure is also an important consideration to use. The right keyword that you use may attract the right audience with the right questions. Try researching on what SEO your competitor is using, and adjust from that.

Conclusion

People nowadays are most likely to be busy and have no time to create a competitive analysis. Don't worry; you can always get your analysis template here. By doing these five simple steps for a competitive analysis will help you see the gap and leverage the opportunity by filling out the missing part from the competition. Excellent products/services will be a waste if you don’t know how to offer it to the market. Getting a competitor analysis template is a necessary thing to do to make you outshine them in the red ocean.

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References:

https://www.impactbnd.com/blog/5-ways-to-perform-a-competitive-analysis-establish-your-presence

https://nationalpublicresearch.com/survey-types/competitive-analysis-and-market-positioning/