Knowing your competition is a key element of knowing how to
market and position your company. Before you begin your analysis you will need
to create a competitor list of no more than 5 companies. To cull a large list
consider geography, offerings and overlap in customer base. Once you have your list, answer the following
questions for each competitor.
You can learn about the companies
positioning by looking at their website, reviewing social media, signing up for
email updates or newsletters and if you are in a retail space by visiting the
store front, looking at signage and seeing how employees interact with
customers.
Why is
this important? You need to identify
where your positioning overlaps with theirs and identify gaps that you can
exploit.
2. How does the company promote themselves?
What channels does the company uses to promote themselves, their products and services. Are they on social media? Do they have a website? Do they run radio or TV ads? Do they post flyers or use other forms of advertising?
What channels does the company uses to promote themselves, their products and services. Are they on social media? Do they have a website? Do they run radio or TV ads? Do they post flyers or use other forms of advertising?
Why
is this important? You need to identify how the company is promoting
themselves to identify gaps in your competitor’s promotional strategies.
3. How does the competitor’s size compare to
yours?
If you are a coffee shop, one of your main competitors may be Starbucks. It is important to evaluate them, but also to recognize their size in comparison to yours. Is your competitor the same size as you? Bigger? Smaller? You probably already have a sense of this, but additional ways to evaluate this is number of employees, number of locations and if public, company revenues.
If you are a coffee shop, one of your main competitors may be Starbucks. It is important to evaluate them, but also to recognize their size in comparison to yours. Is your competitor the same size as you? Bigger? Smaller? You probably already have a sense of this, but additional ways to evaluate this is number of employees, number of locations and if public, company revenues.
Why
is this important? Having this information can help you to determine the
budget you will need and also your promotion strategy.
4. Are their customers loyal?
This is going to vary dramatically depending on the type of industry you are in. However customer loyalty, like everything, falls on a scale. You have customers who are exclusively loyal and will not change no matter what. You have customers who are somewhat loyal but open to change and customers who are not loyal at all. Based on your knowledge of your industry and the company you will need to deduce what percentage of their customers fall into each category.
Why is this important? You will be targeting customers who are somewhat loyal or not at all loyal, while also seeking to hold onto those customers who are exclusively loyal to you.
This is going to vary dramatically depending on the type of industry you are in. However customer loyalty, like everything, falls on a scale. You have customers who are exclusively loyal and will not change no matter what. You have customers who are somewhat loyal but open to change and customers who are not loyal at all. Based on your knowledge of your industry and the company you will need to deduce what percentage of their customers fall into each category.
Why is this important? You will be targeting customers who are somewhat loyal or not at all loyal, while also seeking to hold onto those customers who are exclusively loyal to you.
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