Are you worried or worried because you already realized that there are other companies that offer the same products as you? Today we are going to share some recommendations on how to do a competitor research and make it better for you than others.
Without a doubt, customer satisfaction is the best investment of time and money. But that does not mean that you should ignore the competition and not do an investigation of them, in any way.
How to start doing competitor research
When I started doing competitive intelligence , it was a knee-jerk reaction to seeing sales and profits decline. “Where has the money gone?” “Why don’t you order the same number of pieces as last year?” “Who has taken my business?” And, ultimately, the most important questions were: “Why were our customers leaving us?” and “What are we going to do about it?”
This was a good starting point for doing some competitor research. The first step is knowing that you have competitors, we all do, and then understanding exactly what was important to our clients that we weren’t complying and our competitors were.
- Do you see that a competitor gets more clients than you?
- Do customers spend more buying elsewhere that sell the same as you?
When doing competitor research, be as specific as you can about exactly what you want to know and why. It is important that you understand exactly what is happening in your competitive landscape.
So, the clearer you have the decisions you are going to make and the information you need to make them, the faster and more effective the process will be.
Think about the following:
- Are you trying to launch a new product and are not sure if the customers who are with the competition would prefer you?
- Are you thinking of entering a new market and wondering how to position yourself against a competitor that has the public’s preference?
- How many clients would you need to be successful?
- Imagine that the competition was NOT a problem, what would you need to know to be successful? This will help you identify and focus on very specific questions that will advance your story and strategy.
Types of competition
I bet you think your competition is the store down the street or across the country that makes the exact same thing as you or provides the same service. I’m wrong?
Your competition is any other alternative that your client has to achieve the result that you do not offer. offers. (That is my definition). There are three types of competition:
Direct competitors . They are the people who do exactly the same as you. A popular example of direct competitors could be McDonald’s and Burger King.
But there are two other levels of competition that you may not have considered.
Secondary competitors : They are people who offer the same as you but in a different context. Let’s say Shake Shack, which also serves burgers but in a very different way than McDonald’s or Burger King. They focus on other specialties.
Indirect competitors . This is the category of competitors that everyone forgets about. These are companies that are alternatives to the problem faced by the customer. In this case, hunger. Alternatives could be pizza, tacos, Chinese food, or even cooking at home.
If you are going to do a competitor research you should take the time to list some of your direct, secondary and indirect competitors. This will help you contextualize your research on the competition.
Conduct a competitor research!
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