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How to do Competitor Research Analysis by Octopus Competitive Intelligence In this article called how to do Competitor Research Analysis by Octopus Competitive Intelligence, we will help see why finding out what competitors are doing is an important exercise. And what sort of threat they present to your success is really important to know. Competitor Research isn’t the be-all and end-all to your success. But if you had to make a list of the top ten how to make your company a success, it is right up there in the top three. What I am trying to say is that Competitor Research is essential but don’t obsess with it. Never react to a competitor move without sleeping on it and asking why they have done what they did. But you’ll be in a better position than 60% of your industry by actually knowing about it. Get a Competitor Research agency like ourselves to obsess for you. That way, you could be in a position to know what they are going to do next before they do it. Just knowing what they do is not enough Whatever you do, there are companies out there offering something similar to you. And in an increasingly crowded marketplace, you need as much foresight to gain an edge. But just knowing what they do is not enough. With new technology platforms, there’s the ability to know more about your competition. Software So, find your Competitive Intelligence software provider. Give them a couple of thousand of your hard-earned pounds or dollars. Sit back. And watch all the Competitor Research Intelligence come rolling onto your desktop. If only life is so simple. As we stand now and for the foreseeable, all you get is a lot of data. Sorted data sometimes but rarely Intelligence. Unless you need to know your Competitor has changed a colour on its website, you need human input. You need the “so what’s” and the “why’s that”. Consistency is key To stay ahead, it’s imperative to conduct Competitor Research consistently. (Or whatever you call it. From Competitor Analysis, Competitor Intelligence or Competitive Intelligence). Marketers and business owners can know more about their competition than ever before. It is imperative to regularly conduct Competitive Analysis to stay one step ahead. Is it essential to research competitors? Competitor research (or Competitive Intelligence) is collecting information about competitors, then collating analysing the results. It’s just collecting public information and collating data from various accessible databases. Databases like Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, Mnintell, Gartner, PR Newswire and industry magazines. The more budget, the more access you have to databases. But beware the more data available could make you lazy. And think you have the answer right away without any digging. However, the more in-depth Analysis you go, the more insight—all from desk research. Find your top eight Do you know who your eight key competitors are? If you sell online, you are competing with dozens, even thousands of companies. Companies all over the world are looking for your prospects and customer. You are likely to be able to list your competitors pretty quickly and list why they are rubbish. But what’s your list based on? And what’s your opinion on them from? Facts with evidence or rumour and opinion? Third-party opinions? And you really need to ask if they are the right competitors. Start with a Google search of the types of products and serviced you provide. You will find not all you thought were your competitors will show up. A few may even surprise you. You can also use SEO tools like SEMRush or Ubersuggest. They let you search by keyword and phrases. And they allow you to check their ranking compared to you. They will show you other competitors and perhaps how they are beating you online. Compare competitor content Once you’ve decided who your competitors are, you can start your Competitor Research. To dig a little deeper to find out what they are telling the world about their offerings and themselves. What content are they publishing? How are they describing themselves through tone of voice? Looking at what they are writing will create opportunities to outperform them. Determine what they are offing in terms of content. Is it just a blog and a few pictures, or is it case studies, special reports, white papers etc.? What do they give away? Are they open about their product specification? Do you have to enter your email to view content? Do they have a newsletter to sign up for? Are they fans of video presentation or podcasting? Do they post new content frequently? Do they update what they already have? It’s wise to understand what topics are important to them and their customers. What is the quality of your content, and does how it compares to your offering? Is there anything they are doing they are not?? You also need to determine if the leads they generate are a result of their content. Look at their blog and see how often a competitor publishes. If they write an article every other day and generate interest, you must write more than them. Making your topics even more relevant to potential customers. And most importantly, better than theirs. Next, look at their blog. Analyse their SEO If you have a blog, you need to understand how important SEO is. Competitive Analysis must include your competitors SEO strategy. It’s not the case of stuffing unrelated to the content keywords into your article CI. Like us with Competitive intelligence, Market Analysis, Competitor Analysis, Corporate Investigations, Commercial Intelligence, Market Intelligence, Competitor Research, competitors analysis, Analysis of competitors etc. ?? You have to beat them at their own game. If they outrank you for some articles, find out what they are talking about and write better articles on that subject. Are they using featured snippets? Are their page titles tight and well-controlled SEO? Do they link well to their pages? Do they have any broken pages? Where are the holes in their SEO strategy? There will be some. You just have to find them. We know it takes a lot of time to keep up with SEO. Look at their social media engagement. Your Social media presence is significant. Social media is good to increase your network. To talk to customers and share some of that SEO content. To grab some google juice (other juices are available) Look at your competitors’ use of social media and answer these questions: How do they integrate social media into their marketing strategy? How effective are they on social media? What are they posting, and how many times a day are they posting? What do the photos and style tell you? Does social media reveal any flaws in the product or service offerings? Something You can exploit? How do they react to certain situations? Do they reveal patterns or habits? To allow you to predict their future actions? How up to date is their social media management? Do their social media post gain any clicks from their followers? Are their posts popular and liked? Does their social media reveal anything else about them? Such as the company culture, locations. New products, appointments etc. What can you do better? Identify areas for improvement The purpose of the exercise is to make sure you have an understanding of your competitors. A pretty report will not cut it if it is not offering what options you have to take to beat them. Options to improve your own performance and offering You will definitely find something useful that you can use against a competitor. The hardest bit of Competitive Analysis is always starting the exercise. How to do Competitor Research Analysis is something you need to know. This article called how to do Competitor Research Analysis by Octopus Competitive Intelligence helped you see why finding out what competitors are doing is essential. And what sort of threat they present to your success is really important to know. It’s not the be-all and end-all to your success. But if you had to make a list of the top ten how to make your company a success, it is right up there in the top three.
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