Whether you’re a marketing manager or a business owner, you’re going to be thinking about your competitors in terms of their strengths and weaknesses.
Identifying their advantages allows you to decide if you want to compete or concede to their superiority in certain areas, and discovering their weaknesses can help you exploit their vulnerabilities.
It’s tough out there, and the strengths and weaknesses of the competition are never-ending.
Organizations routinely look to out-do and out-class one another on things like:
- Products
- Processes
- People
- Promotions
- Pricing
Take this, for example. Recent research found that 73% of companies spend money on design in order to outdo their rivals. Basically, anything they offer in order to secure a sale or influence.
The Art of War tells us, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.”
So, if your organization intends to be around for the long haul, you need some good intel on your competitors. You don’t have to consider them enemies–but we thought the quote was fitting.
The benefits of conducting competitor research will give you that intel, so you can better your business strategies.
At Drive Research, we conduct competitor research for clients across a variety of industries and categories, and are here to share some of our strategies and tactics to help answer the question: What are the strengths and weaknesses of my competitors?
Read on to discover some of our top competitor analysis methods.
Start With Observational Research
Doing an audit of your competitors will help lay the groundwork for areas you may want to look into further, while also allowing you to view comparisons between competitors and your own organization.
Don’t overthink this type of research. Make a simple table, list your rivals, and start recording those competitors' strengths and weaknesses.
Look at publicly available assets like websites, social media channels, and digital advertising campaigns using sites like MOAT.com.
Websites and social media will give you a sense of how competitors talk about themselves and what they offer, what they claim their position in the market is, what they communicate as features and benefits, and perhaps a story around why they exist.
By looking at your competitor’s digital ad campaigns, you're essentially identifying where they have chosen to “put their money where their mouth is.” With this, you’ll be able to get a sense of what they feel strongly about in terms of a growth strategy, or where they feel they are most likely to be able to deliver value.
One of the most important parts of learning the strengths and weaknesses of competitors in business is putting yourself in their position.
As you start to compile information about your competitors, you’ll naturally start to identify trends in where they all sound alike, and the areas where they appear to be unique will begin to stand out.
You can consider how your own organization compares, and develop plans on how to address the gaps.
We conduct many competitive audits and peer assessments for clients early on in their research process.
Clients find these types of projects to be useful during rebranding initiatives, marketing campaign planning, restructuring activities, and phases of innovation or exploration.
💡 The Key Takeaway: Keep an eye out for your business rivals--literally. Measuring the strengths and weaknesses of the competition through observation gives you the base knowledge you'll need to be successful.
Recommended Reading: The Ultimate Guide to Conducting a Competitor Analysis
Continue Digging With Primary Research
Primary research is the next approach you’ll want to consider when assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the competition. This will give you the chance to measure some of what was identified in the initial competitive observations.
Qualitative research and quantitative research can each come into play here.
In-depth interviews (IDIs) among your competitive customers may lead you to discover certain aspects of service that they are performing well on or special pricing that you aren’t able to see advertised.
Focus groups among prospective customers may uncover where you and your competitors are all failing to deliver. This can lead to white space opportunities for your organization to develop ideas and concepts against your rivals.
Survey research among your own customers can allow you to pinpoint the attributes of your own organization that are leading to key performance indicators (KPIs). This is especially helpful when measuring competitor strengths and weaknesses.
These KPIs include:
- Brand loyalty
- Repeat purchases
- Further recommendations to other potential customers
Full-service research projects are central to what our teams at Drive Research consult with clients on. We design, execute, report, and present studies to clients across the country, and work with distributed and global teams.
💡 The Key Takeaway: The strengths and weaknesses of competitors can also be gleaned from customer research. When targeting your customers, consider factors that play into brand loyalty and repeat purchasing.
Recommended Reading: Difference Between Qualitative and Quantitative Market Research
Track Your Position, Monitor Your Competition
Keeping up with your competition should be considered an ongoing effort.
Yes, while the types of competitive assessments you choose to run are key, the most important aspect of the entire process is how often you run them.
Many organizations make the mistake of formally tracking what their competitors are doing periodically, or measuring how they compare against competitors at only one point in time.
This can often be triggered by a rebrand, restructuring, or challenges and problems the organization currently faces.
Strategic planning occurs every year for many organizations and can serve as a good guide to the frequency at which the strengths and weaknesses of the competition should be measured against your own.
However, truly being able to compete or stay ahead of the competition involves being able to predict their moves, identify their potential shortcomings, and adjust based on historic and current competitive knowledge.
Establishing continued measurement of your organization's strengths and weaknesses as well as measuring your competitors will allow you to identify critical changes or trends in the market.
With continued measurement in place, reporting can be considered in quarterly or monthly increments, or even on an ongoing basis using a live dashboard or scheduled scorecard.
Partnering with an experienced professional research firm can provide you with comprehensive competitive intelligence, while also allowing for a measured, unbiased, or “outsiders” view of your own organization and how it compares to others.
Reach out to our competitive assessment company to learn more about our services and our experience in partnering with clients to find the strengths and weaknesses of the competition.
💡 The Key Takeaway: It’s essential to monitor your competition on a regular basis–this is not a one-and-done deal.
Recommended Reading: What is the Cost of Competitor Analysis With a Third Party?
Contact Our Competitive Research Company
When measuring the strengths and weaknesses of the competition, it’s easy to get in over your head. With the right goals, however, these attributes can be easily tracked.
Drive Research is a market research company located in Syracuse, NY. Our team of researchers has years of combined industry experience. We’ll get to work helping you discover the key strengths and weaknesses of your business rivals, so you can be on top of the game.
There’s plenty more where that came from. If you’re curious about our other market research services, reach out to us through any of the ways listed below.
- Message us on our website
- Email us at [email protected]
- Call us at 888-725-DATA
- Text us at 315-303-2040
Zach Adams
Zach is the Vice President of Strategy at Drive Research. He leverages his background to advise clients on topics including customer insight, competitive intelligence, branding, positioning, messaging, creative strategy, and organizational leadership.
Learn more about Zach, here.
