Identifying and researching your competitors is an important step in building your marketing strategy. You can see what customers of your industry expect, and determine in what areas you are unique, or can become unique.
Below are some questions to keep in mind when doing your research. The list is by no means comprehensive, and some may not pertain to your business.
*Are your competitors using social media? If so, how are they using it? And which sites are they on? Twitter? Facebook? Both?
*What is the focus of their website? What’s on their “about us” page? Are they selling online? If so, do they offer free shipping or other benefits? If they don’t have a website, that says a lot about them, and you can definitely beat them in that area. (Yes, there are companies with no online presence - unbelievable!)
*What are their price points? Their sales pitch? Their inventory/service selection?
*Do they switch up their inventory a lot? Do you see a lot of items featured on the sale rack/page?
*Do any press reviews come up when you Google the names of your competition?
*What are their customers saying about them? What are they complaining about? What are they raving about?
*What equipment or processes do they use? Is it better than what you use? How important is it to the customer’s overall experience?
*Are your competitors considered experts in the industry? Can you get up to speed and compete with this expertise?
When going through these questions, evaluate the information honestly. If they offer a great product or service, give them the credit they deserve. And then figure out if you need to improve your product, or excel in another area (price? efficiency?) in order to stand out.
The more information you gather, the better your marketing plan will be. Embrace your competition. The fact that they exist is proof that people want what you’re selling. You just have to make them want your product more.
