Enhancing Your Brand through Regular Competitive Analysis

Few marketing teams would skip a competitive analysis when launching a new brand, but how often should you perform the research for your established brand? 

A competitive analysis provides valuable insights to guide the creation of strategic marketing messages, especially in industries experiencing rapid changes, shifts in technology and new competitors. So that pretty much means ALL of us. If your aim is to differentiate your product or service from your competition, make it a priority to update your research periodically and stay informed on how your rivals position themselves. 

A simple competitive analysis will provide fundamental insights into competitors’ positioning and messaging, while a complex analysis delves much deeper. The scope of the work is based on your specific objectives and the research available to you. For example, if you engage a marketing partner, they often have access to ad spending reports that could reveal exactly where your competitors are investing their ad budgets. 

Here’s a streamlined approach to creating a simple Competitive Analysis:

1. Compile a Competitor List and Data Spreadsheet: Begin by compiling a list of your competitors and create a spreadsheet to house the data you collect.
2. Examine Competitors’ Online Presence: Scour your competitors’ websites, social media profiles, advertisements, and any available marketing materials to identify features, benefits, pricing and unique selling points. Add these to your spreadsheet in separate columns. Include call-to-action and incentives if applicable.
3. Identify Gaps and Leverage Opportunities: Integrate your brand to the spreadsheet and identify gaps in the competitors’ messaging that you can capitalize on.
4. Craft an Executive Summary: Based on your findings, prepare an Executive Summary featuring key insights and recommended next steps.

Consider this analysis a living document that’s updated regularly. Your goal is to identify trends, assess changes in your competitors’ strategies, and adapt your own messaging or offerings accordingly. Performing a touch-up up semi-annually or annually will keep you and your team informed and your brand at the forefront of the market.

 Pro Tip: Use the same process to create a Customer Analysis and align your value proposition with both general and product-specific branding. 

Contact us at BroadBased if you’d like to learn more about executing a competitive research analysis.