If you’re trying to build a loyal customer base, launch a new product, or are simply looking to grow your business, it’s important to do some competitor research. Doing competitor research can help you stay current with the trends in your industry and adjust your business strategies accordingly. It can also help you assess how well your marketing strategies are working, and help you avoid the mistakes other companies in your industry are making. Furthermore, doing competitor research can help you improve your products and services and fill unmet consumer needs. Convinced that it’s time to start doing competitor research? We’ll teach you everything you need to know about keeping an eye on your competition.
First, Figure Out Who Your Competitors Are
If you don’t know who your competitors are, it’s hard to research them. First, it’s important to know the difference between direct competitors and indirect competitors. Direct competitors are other businesses that offer identical or very similar products and services. For example, Docomo and Softbank are direct competitors because they both offer cell phone service. Indirect competitors are other businesses that can satisfy your customers’ needs in a different way. For instance, Mos Burger and KFC are indirect competitors because while they sell different types of food, they can both satisfy a customer’s desire for fast food. It’s important to include both direct and indirect competitors in your research. While you might think that direct competitors pose the biggest threat to your success, research shows that indirect competitors are actually more likely to steal your customers.
Take a Look at Your Competitor’s Website
Once you know who your competitors are, it’s time to start looking into them. A quick visit to a competitor’s website can give you information about how they’re doing. Look around their site to see what sorts of services they’re offering. Think about what you have in common with them and what sets you apart. If they have a blog, look at what topics they write about and how often they post. It’s also a good idea to pay attention to how user-friendly their site is. If it’s more visually attractive and easier to navigate than yours, it may be time to revamp your site.
Check Out Your Competition on Social Media
Take a few minutes to scope out your competition on social media. Pay attention to how much engagement they seem to be getting. How many followers do they have? Do their posts get a lot of likes and comments? Another thing to look out for is how often they seem to be posting. Additionally, it’s a good idea to check if they only create organic posts or pay for sponsored ones. After observing your competitor’s social media behavior, think about how you can improve your social media marketing strategy. Check out our other articles if you want tips on using Instagram to engage with customers or marketing a small business on social media.
Use Social Media Reporting Tools
Social media reporting tools are a great way of keeping track of what your competitors are up to. They can give you insights that simply scrolling through your competitor’s social media pages can’t. Social media reporting tools like Socialinsider don’t just give you insights on your own profiles. You can also see how your social media engagement compares to your competitors’. You’ll also be able to see how your social media ranks in your industry. We highly suggest subscribing to a social media reporting tool if you have a hard time managing your own brand’s social media, let alone keep up with your competitors posts.
Read Reviews Left By Your Competitor’s Customers
Take a look at the reviews your competitor’s customers have left. You can learn a lot about what their customers think of them. If your competitors have terrible reviews, you can take some comfort in the fact that your business seems more appealing to customers and will rank higher in Google search results. If your competitor’s reviews are just as stellar as yours, think about ways you can make your Google business profile look better than theirs. While you can learn a lot simply by seeing whether your competitors have positive or negative reviews, there’s further insights to be gleaned from them. Even if a customer is fairly satisfied, they might have some suggestions about how a business they’re reviewing can improve. Use the feedback left by your competitor’s customers to reevaluate the products, services, and customer experiences you offer.
Check Up On Your Competition’s SEO and PPC Strategy
You can use tools like SpyFu and Moz Link Explorer to gain deeper insights about your competitors’ online activity. SpyFu is a particular powerful analytics tool. If you search for any domain on SpyFu, you can see how they rank in Google search results, every single keyword they’ve bought on Google Ads, and every ad variation they’ve produced in the past 14 years. You can also explore various leads to your competitor’s domain, including social media, email, and phone. Moz Link Explorer is a bit less robust and focused mainly on SEO, but can still provide you with plenty of insights on any domain. In addition to keeping track of your competitors, you can also use these tools to see how your site ranks in comparison to theirs. If you already use an SEO tool like Ahrefs, you might not have to pay for additional software. You may be able to get all of the information you need about your competitor’s domain from it. That being said, if PPC ads are a key part of your competition’s marketing strategy, we suggest using SpyFu.
Conduct Competitor Research Regularly
The business world changes and evolves rapidly. You can’t expect to only do competitor research once if you want your business to thrive. Set a regular schedule for doing competitor research and stick to it. While you can’t learn everything about your competitors just by looking at their online presence, make sure to look at their websites, Google profile, and social media every few months. You can automate social media reporting tools and SEO and PPC analysis tools, so it’s easy to check your competitor’s stats when you check your own.
