It is impossible to conduct business effectively without analyzing competitors. Competitors are improving and offering consumers more and more attractive offers. To react to these changes in time, you need to know the strengths and weaknesses of not only your company but also other players.


Features of comparative analysis:

Based on the analysis, the market capacity, strengths, and weaknesses of the company and its competitors are determined. This information is the starting point for setting priorities in the organization's marketing policy. It helps you identify the main benefits that are important to your target audience (time savings, ease of use, productivity, etc.). Accordingly, the key competitive advantages of the product are formulated, based on which the company's marketing strategy will be built.


When analyzing competitors, it is common to find:

To do this, we analyze the catchiness of a brand (spontaneous and with a hint).

The competitor's positioning and advertising communications are analyzed. The actual consumer opinion about the competitor is also studied.

Analysis of the offer for the consumer, the list of products and services.

Analysis of price offers, considering possible promotions and discounts.

The main ideas in advertising communications and their compliance with the stated positioning.

The ratio of competitor sales to total sales in this market.

Frequency and volume of competitors' communications in general market communications.

This data can be obtained by various methods. It all depends on the purpose of the study. Research of competitors can be either large-scale and multi-stage, or small, designed to solve tactical issues. The information obtained can be used to build your own communication strategy with consumers and more effectively detach from competitors.

To solve long-term strategic tasks in marketing, the model of Porter's five forces is used. It is convenient for analyzing existing threats to the company's growth and conducting a detailed analysis of the market and its key players.

The model is based on an estimate of:

• buyers' power;
• suppliers power;
• threats of new entrants into the industry;
• risk of substitute products;
• the level of competition.

It is enough to use the method once every 3 years. It includes five key stages:

1. Potential opportunity. Identifying competitors' strengths and weaknesses.
2. Future goal. Determining the key motivation of competitors.
3. Current strategy. Determining the current actions of competitors, predicting their opportunities to increase profits.
4. Competitor's vision of the market. Identifying how a competitor sees its position in the market and in the industry as a whole.
5. Prediction of action. Developing hypotheses about the competitor's actions.

The comparison is made for all competitors individually. Sources of information are consumers, sales managers and market experts surveys, monitoring of sales locations and studying industry reviews, searching the Internet and participating in thematic exhibitions and other events.

If you don't look too far, then the company can conduct more extensive monitoring every year. Its main blocks are:

1. Assessment of the level of competition within the industry.
2. Drawing up a competitive map.
3. Comparative analysis of the portfolio.
4. Compare prices and pricing conditions.
5. A comparative analysis of product distribution.
6. Comparison of brand positioning and image strategies.
7. Evaluation of methods and channels of promotion and advertising costs.
8. Comparative description of the target audience.
9. Evaluating the technological level of competitors.
10. Preparation of a comparative SWOT analysis of competitive advantages.

Based on the analysis, the company's competitive advantage is evaluated in comparison with other players in the market.

You can analyze your competitors from different angles. it is important to determine what information you need, and then select the tools to get it.

It is equally important to correctly determine who your competitor is. The selection of competitors directly affects the results you get. When choosing a competitor, you must take into account which market segment it is focused on (b2b, b2c), what price niche it occupies, and what target audience it appeals to. The more intersections, the more important it is to analyze this company.