Competitive analysis example
Clarke Ricks
School of Business, Liberty University
BUSI 690: Policy and Strategy in Global Competition
Dr. Hicks
April 6, 2021
Competitive analysis example
The competitive analysis can vary widely depending on what it is you’re trying to learn
about your competitors. You might do a competitive analysis around a specific aspect like a
competitor’s website approach, for example or you might do a high-level look at their
marketing approach as a whole. Ultimately the goal is to help you understand your
strengths and reach new potential customers. There are a lot of different ways you can
structure a competitive analysis, so let’s look at the different types of information that are
frequently seen within this type of research. If you’re doing a high-level competitive
analysis, there are a few major elements you’ll want to be sure to include around around
competitors’ market positioning, such as:
Who their target customers are;
What their main differentiator/unique value add is for their business and products;
Key features/benefits they highlight in sales materials;
Price points for products across a variety of marketplaces ;
How they approach shipping;
Whether they’ve received any funding or venture capital.
These sections will help you get a zoomed out look at what separates your competitors
from each other and how they’re working to differentiate themselves from competition
within your niche. If you’re wanting to look at more specific elements of your competitors’
approaches, you might consider adding sections like these to your competitor analysis:
Website features ( search tools, product images, design/layout, etc.)
Customer experience elements ( checkout workflows, customer support, mobile UX,
etc.)
Copywriting tactics (product descriptions, calls to action, etc.)
Social media approach (channels used, frequency of posting, engagement, etc.)
Content marketing tactics (blog topics, content types, etc.)
Marketing tactics (types of promotions, frequency of discounts, etc.)
Email marketing approach (Newsletter, abandoned cart emails, promos, etc.)
Customer reviews (language used around products, recurring complaints, etc.)
Generally, competitive analysis can take on many shapes and forms depending on what
a company wants to evaluate about its competitors—but this gives you a rough idea of
what could be included within the different sections
Why competitor analysis matters for ecommerce
Maybe at this point you’re thinking, “OK, but why does competitor analysis matter for
me as a business owner or marketer?” The main reason this activity is important is because
you can’t effectively compete without knowing your competitors—and you can’t
differentiate yourself if you don’t know what actually makes you different.
If you’re starting an ecommerce business, an analysis of competitors helps you to:
Make more informed marketing decisions;
Identify industry trends;
Benchmark against competitors;
Solidify a unique value proposition ;
Determine pricing (upmarket, down, or mid);
Unearth new ways of speaking to customers, or even new customers to speak to;
Find a gap in the marketing and also ensure there’s a market in the gap.
This type of analysis is not just for first-time ecommerce retailers either. A competitor
analysis can, and should, be a living document that’s constantly evolving as a company
grows and matures over time. Maintaining a resource like this is a powerful way to stay on
top of how your brand stacks up against the competition right now—but it also can help
provide clear direction on how you’ll continue to excel in the future.
How to do a competitor analysis
Once you’re ready to dive into a competitive analysis of your own, follow the steps
outlined here to keep your research structured and organized appropriately.
1. Select 7–10 competitors
To identify relevant competitors to include in your analysis, start with searches on
Google, Amazon, and Alexa around your product and business idea. You want a mix of
competitors that:
Sell similar types of products;
Have a similar business premise;
Market to similar and slightly different audience demographics;
Are both new to the marketplace and more experienced.
To put together a list of diverse competitors that will give you a good look at the
competitive landscape that’s not too small and not too large, it’s a good idea to stick with a
group of seven to 10 relevant competitors.
2. Create a spreadsheet
As you collect data on this group of competitors, keep it organized within a table or
spreadsheet that can easily be shared and updated over time. Within this document, you’ll
compare and contrast competitors based on different criteria such as:
Price range;
Product offerings;
Social media engagement;
Content used for lead generation;
First-time visitor offers;
Other traits that are worth comparing.
