Let’s face it. We all have competition, even if we don’t want to admit it.
We’re not one to say that you need to FOCUS on your competition because you can only control what you control. What we are saying, though, is that you can learn a lot about your business by looking at your competition.
By looking at your competitor, you can find out your brand’s position in the marketplace, how your website and visual identity stands up to (or is worse than) everyone else, what kind of content is working for them (that could work for you), and so much more!
In other words, you can gain the competitive advantage in your market and start to gain some market share!
This can be a tedious process full of information overload, but it’s well worth your time to see what they’re doing. After all, you’re trying to build a company that’s better than them!
In this guide, you're going to learn:
And heeeeeere we go!
WHAT IS A COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS?
A competitor audit is taking a look at your competition and auditing how they are trying to build their business perception. By taking a look at items like their look and feel, copywriting, images, etc, you can get a glimpse into what may or may not be working for them.
WHY DO YOU NEED A COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS?
By looking at what they’re doing, you can get idea of your brand position. You’ll be able to see what services they’re concentrating on, how they’re trying to build relationships with their audience, what they’re doing to acquire email addresses, the look and feel they’re doing for, and so much more!
WHEN SHOULD YOU DO A COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS?
If you’ve never conducted one, then you should do one immediately!
Otherwise, any time you’re looking to rebrand, redesign your visual identity, or looking for gaps/opportunities in the market, a competitor audit should be in the cards!
HOW DO YOU CONDUCT A COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS?
STEP 1: Download the FREE competitive analysis template below!
STEP 2: Fill out the boxes within the template. Here’s an explanation for each area.
COMPANY NAME – Identify your competitors. Your competition should start out as your local competition, but you can also audit the companies you hope to compete with one day, even if they're on the national or international level.
PURPOSE – write in your competition’s purpose if they have one.
MISSION – write in your competition’s mission statement if they have one.
VISION - write in your competition’s vision statement if they have one.
VALUES - write in your competition’s company values if they have any.
BRAND LOOK AND FEEL – What colors are they using? Is there a bunch of text, or is it simple to understand? Do you feel at ease when you peruse, or does it give you agita? (fancy Italian phrase for being annoyed).
TAGLINE – Do they have a tagline? Does it make any sense? How does it connect back to who they are or what they do? Does it sound like a bunch of fluff, or does it have meaning within the context of their overall messaging?
VALUE PROPOSITION – How are they claiming to stand out in the industry? What are they saying is the main reason their audience should buy from them?
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES – What products and services are they leading with? What are they saying is their specialty?
BRAND PERSONALITY – Take a careful look at the words they use, the photos they’re utilizing, and the colors and shapes on their website or brochures. If you took those thoughts and turned them into a person, what would the person’s personality be?
BRAND VOICE – What kind of attitude do they have in their copy? Are they helpful? Educational? How are they talking to their audience?
BRAND TONE – Think of “tone” as a flavor to the voice. Are they personal? Boring? Direct? What’s the vibe of their brand? “Tone” is the way they speak.
PRIMARY ARCHRTYPE – if you’re not familiar with brand archetypes, Read about them here. Which archetype is your competitor mainly showing?
SECONDARY ARCHETYPE – Are they showing a second archetype? If so, write it in the grid.
MARKETING CHANNELS USED – When we talk about “marketing”, we’re talking specifically about brand building and not direct sales. Where are they utilizing more brand content?
ADVERTISING CHANNELS USED – Are they using Facebook ads? LinkedIn ads? Are they in a local magazine or newspaper? Are they on the radio or TV?
STRENGTHS – Where is your competitor strong? Is there an area of their business that they’re known for?
WEAKNESSES – Where is your competitor weak? Is there an area where you may be able to outshine them?
SIMILARITIES – Are your businesses similar? What areas are you similar?
DIFFERENCES – Are there any differences? Do they offer services that you don’t (and don’t plan on ever having)? Are there areas that you WANT to have services that they currently deliver?
IMAGERY – What type of images are they using? Is it more technical? Are they showing people more than the services? What type of environment is shown in the photos?
VIDEO – Are they utilizing video? Is it more sales-oriented than brand oriented? Are they delivering value content? What are they doing with video?
DO THEY BLOG? – Do they currently have a blog? What type of content are they writing about? Is there video embedded within the blog? Are they being pointed towards YouTube or some other distribution channel?
OUR OPPORTUNITIES – THIS IS WHY YOU’RE DOING THE AUDIT! This is where you look at each competitor as a whole and ask yourself, “where is OUR opportunity? Is there a service gap? Where should we focus our efforts? What audience is under-served?”
STEP 3: Check to see if your competitors are running any ads on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn by following the steps below.
(This is not on the template. You'll need to open a word doc or write your answers down.)
Answering these questions will help you find your market position. This can give you a window in which you can start to formulate some of your content strategy as well.
You could go even further in your competitor audit by utilizing Facebook Ads Library to see what kind of ads your competitors are executing on Facebook and LinkedIn.
For Facebook and Instagram:
- Go to www.facebook.com/ads/library
- Look for the “search ads” section and choose your ads category.
- Right next to that option where it says “search by keyword or advertiser”, type in your competitor’s name. If it comes up, (4) click on the name, and you’ll be able to see any active ads they currently have running. If the company doesn’t show up on the pre-populated list, go to their Facebook page and copy the name after www.facebook.com. Paste it into the “search by keyword or advertiser” area, and click on the business.
Any ads that are currently running will be displayed.
You can also do the same spy-work on LinkedIn!
- Go to your competition's LinkedIn page.
- Click on “posts”
- Click on “Ads”
- Listed, you will see any ads that they’re currently running
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT AFTER THE COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS?
Now that you have a solid idea of where you sit in the competitive landscape, it’s time to start to craft your BRAND STRATEGY! This is where you're going to craft exactly what you want your audience to think about your brand.
If you need help in this area, don’t hesitate to reach out to us! That's what we're here for!
Comentarios