Any business owner will tell you that keeping an eye on the competition isn’t optional if you want to succeed it’s mandatory. Keeping tabs on your competitors can give you valuable insight into what works and what doesn’t, allowing you to adjust accordingly as you plan your marketing strategies and development plans. The best way to do this? The simplest way to do this is through market research, which can be done both online and offline to gather information about everything from consumer demographics to sales numbers and profitability ratios. Here are some ways to keep tabs on your competitors through market research.
Table of Contents
The best time to find out who you are up against
1. The best time to find out who you are up against is before you start your business. This way, you can be prepared for what they may do and how they may react to your presence in the market.
2. The internet is a great resource for this type of research. A simple Google search can reveal a lot about a company and its competition.
3. Another way to get information on your competitors is to attend industry events and trade shows. This is a great way to network and learn about what other businesses in your field are doing.
4. You can also talk to customers of your potential competitors. This can give you insight into why they chose one business over another, and what you can do to stand out from the competition. Finally, some key questions will help you better understand your competitors:
- What does their product or service offer?
- Who are their main target markets?
- What are their prices?
- What benefits do they offer customers that make them more desirable than others? -Are they weaknesses, such as poor customer service or slow delivery times?
- Is there anything special about their marketing approach that makes them different from others in the market?
The point of these questions is not to copy your competitor’s strategy. Instead, it’s important to know where you could improve so that you can set yourself apart from the rest of the pack. Market research helps small businesses avoid making fatal mistakes with their marketing strategy, like going head-to-head with an established competitor when they should focus on different niches.
Ways how to get as much information about your competitors
1. Keep tabs on their social media accounts
2. Set up Google Alerts
3. Check out their website and blog
4. Sign up for their email newsletter
5. Attend industry events
6. Conduct customer surveys
7. Analyze their marketing campaigns
8. Read the reviews about them
9. Hire an investigative company that specializes in researching competitors’ trade secrets
10. Look for any press coverage that may mention them
The importance of keeping a check on the changing trends
Competitive intelligence (CI) is the gathering and analysis of information about a company’s competitors. The goal of CI is to give businesses the insights they need to make informed decisions and stay one step ahead of the competition. The benefits of CI go beyond just providing strategic data, such as their competitor’s pricing strategy or launch dates for new products. It also allows companies to evaluate their marketing strategies and refine them to better reach consumers. Businesses should be aware that the importance of staying updated on changes in consumer preferences is an ongoing process, not something that can be done once or twice a year, as these trends are always changing. Market research tools help business owners determine where their strengths lie, which allows them to strategically allocate resources to compete more effectively while capitalising on their strengths and minimizing potential weaknesses.
Actionable steps that you can take right now
1. Google your industry and take note of who shows up on the first page of results. These are your direct competitors.
2. Check out their websites and social media accounts. Note what they’re doing well and where they could improve.
3. This will help you stay up-to-date on news and developments in your field.
4. This is a great way to network with potential customers and learn about new products or services that might be entering the market.
5. Ask your target audience what they like and don’t like about your products or services, as well as what they would change or add.
What is competitive intelligence?
Competitive intelligence (CI) is the process of gathering, analyzing, and disseminating information about a company’s competitors. The goal of CI is to give a company an edge over its competitors by providing insights that can be used to make strategic decisions. Some competitive intelligence firms offer services for companies ranging from competitive benchmarking, competitor tracking and monitoring, competitive profiling, competitive product reviews and analysis, and competitive risk assessments.
How do you start with CI? : The first step in starting a CI program is to conduct some initial analysis on which areas are of most concern to the company. One method for this analysis is SWOT Analysis: Strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats assessment. It evaluates what factors could create opportunities or threats for the company to assess whether they are worth investing time in research on these areas or not.
Tools you can use to find relevant information about the competition
You can use a variety of tools to find relevant information about your competition. Google Alerts is a great way to stay up-to-date on what’s being said about your competitors online. You can also use social media monitoring tools like Hootsuite Insights or Mention to track what’s being said about your competitors on social media. Finally, don’t forget good old-fashioned like Google and Pinterest searches and competitive analysis reports from companies like Forrester or Gartner.
Keep in mind that not all the information you get will be accurate so you need to verify it before taking any action. It might take some time but if you’re smart with how you spend your time, then this should help build a more detailed picture of what’s going on in the industry. And that’ll help give you an edge over your competitors. An example of using market research to better understand a competitor: A simple example is by searching for customer reviews on Yelp for each restaurant location in City, you can get an idea of what people are saying about their experience at those restaurants.