How well do you really know your competitors?
No doubt, you are probably aware of your main business rivals but do you have some level of intelligence at your fingertips?
How much do you know about what they do, what your customers think about them and how your business matches up?
Understanding your competition can give you a new perspective on your own business and is an important step when planning your marketing strategy.
If it has been a while since you took a look around at your competitors, you may benefit from undertaking a competitive analysis.
Here are some of the ways a competitive analysis can help your business:
– Allows you to identify your real competition and determine if any are an immediate threat
– Helps you understand the market structure and who the main players are (and where your business fits into the overall picture);
– Helps you to better identify the motivations, needs and drivers of your target audience and how they discriminate between competitors;
– Allows you to determine any unmet needs and niches that your business can fill.
A good competitive analysis can help you see where your business is now, and ideally may shine the light on where you want to be. It could be that golden nugget that you have been looking for.
Once you have identified how you are going to position your business above that of your competitors, you can then prepare a marketing strategy and link it to your business plan, to act as the roadmap for your business.
When was the last time you checked out a competitor? The results could be extremely worthwhile!
Jo Macdermott is the chief Marketing Consultant from Next Marketing in Melbourne. Next Marketing is a full serviced Marketing Agency working with small and medium sized businesses.
