How to conduct effective competitor analysis

Every company eyes itself on its competition and therefore, every brand can benefit from performing an ongoing competitor analysis. Products and services compete for customers and the companies behind them are always looking for a competitive advantage. Understanding a product's market position can help every company improve its performance and market share.

Customers' feedback also plays a key role in conducting competitor analysis. Understanding and analyzing what customers want and need greatly contributes to the future planning and success of every company.

What is competitors' analysis and how you can benefit from it

Competitor analysis, also known as competitive analysis, is a strategy that a company employs in which it identifies major competitors and researches their products, services, sales operations and marketing strategies. Conducting competitor analysis enables a company to explore business strategies and gain an advantage over its market competitors.

A comprehensive competitor analysis can point to what the competition is doing and may offer potential opportunities where a company can out-perform its rivals.

What are the benefits of competitor analysis?

1. Develop new market products and services

Conducting competitor research and analysis enables a company to better understand its competitive landscape and better strategize its products and services roadmap. A company may choose to employ a “Same product” strategy and develop similar products to what its competitors have or differentiate its new offerings to its customers. A competitor's product and the customers' feedback tracked about it may signal to the company what its competitor's strengths and weaknesses are, leading to making better market decisions in the planning and developing of its next innovation.

2. Market and sell more effectively

A good competitive analysis leads to better and more effective marketing and selling of a company's products and services. Knowing how your direct and indirect competitors are conducting their marketing and selling operations can determine what they are doing right and where they are lacking, or even failing. New marketing and selling opportunities may arise as a result of such competitive analysis.

3. Identify gaps in the market

Analysis of your competitors' products may lead the company to find important gaps in the market. Certain products sold by your competitors may lack some key features, and, when realizing this, will lead the company to offer a product's unique value proposition. A company can take advantage of such gaps and differentiate its products and services, resulting in capturing important market share and leading its market niche.

Some data based on the competitors' customers' feedback may also point out market gaps which the company can track and decide how and when to fill. Good competitor analysis will allow you to track when your rival’s customers complain about poor service or if they report product problems. Your company can use this information to its own marketing and product advantage.

4. Uncover market trends

Competitor analysis, including customer feedback collected and analyzed properly, will enable your company to discover industry market trends and business opportunities. Customer reviews sometimes show needs for new features and their conversations may point out desired product improvements while also pointing out where competitors are falling short. As a result, your company can uncover areas of opportunities in the marketplace and consider and test new strategies in order to advance their marketing efforts and position.

The steps required to conduct an effective competitors' analysis

1. Identify your competitors and their products

Your company should begin by reviewing the market to determine direct and indirect competitors. Direct competitors market and sell the same products as your company or similar items for that very same market niche. Indirect competitors usually offer products that are only halfway similar to yours or cover some features only partially. Identifying your competitors’ products enables you to focus on the actions you must take in order to improve its market position.

2. Analyze their online presence

Your competitor's online presence refers to all of their organic as well as paid efforts. Examining all of their marketing efforts enables the company to consider their statistics such as the number of likes and shares their posts receive but also track what customers are writing about their products and services. The company must track all of its competitors' activities on all channels and pay special attention to comments and complaints appearing on such platforms. As a result of all that, the competitors' digital strategy is revealed.

3. Identify their strengths and weaknesses to find new opportunities

The variety of data collected and analyzed about competitors must always include a consideration of their strong vs. weak characteristics. If their service is excellent and your products get warm reviews, the company may wish to emulate their actions. However, if the competitors' services and products are sub-par, there might be an opportunity for the company to out-perform them and lead the market.

4. Research their content, marketing and sales strategies

Other than the competitors' products performance, a good competitors' analysis must examine how they use their content, marketing and sales efforts and strategies. The competitors are always on the lookout for their target audience and it's important to consider how they employ their tactics in searching after their target market. Summarizing their efforts and strategies can lead the company to decide on its next content, marketing and sales moves.

How Affogata can help you conduct competitors' analysis

1. Our platform tracks and analyzes your competitors' customers' feedback

Affogata's customer intelligence platform collects millions of feedback data points from all over the open web. Utilizing Affogata's abilities to track and monitor real-time customers' feedback enables companies to let their customers' voice guide their roadmap. The AI platform delivery of analysis and reports gives companies a clear and accurate picture of how their products and services are perceived by their customers.

2. Check your competitors' brand sentiment vs. your company

Brand sentiment is the result of positive vs. negative mentions and comments about a company's products and services. Such a score gives the company an ongoing overview of its feedback picture and our platform then dip-dives into dissecting many data key points relating to customers' feedback. When compared with competitors' brand sentiment analysis, and as analyzed by the Affogata platform, the company receives a comprehensive insight into its market position and strategy.

3. Learn about your competitors' strengths and weaknesses

Just as data is being tracked and analyzed with regards to the company's customers' feedback status, so is Affogata’s ability to monitor and dissect the company's competitors' customer intelligence. From whatever the competitors' customers react, comment and complain about, an overview is created by the AI platform for an examination of where those competing with the company are strong and where are their soft product and market spots.

4. Identify new market trends and opportunities

Online conversations by customers and a good quantitative and qualitative analysis of their reactions enable a company to discover, plan and initiate market moves and take advantage of new opportunities. Customer experience is a valuable asset to the company and Affogata's abilities to track, monitor and analyze many key feedback points in real-time and from everywhere on the web, enable a company to identify new industry trends and sentiments.

5. Develop new products and services considering your competitors' position

Once the analysis of customers' feedback is finished, the company can start planning and developing its future products and services. Depending on its business decisions, the company may employ to copy, to a degree, the products of its rivals and jump on their success wagon. On the other hand, and as what happens in many other instances, the company may decide to go in another direction and develop completely different products and services.