competitor types

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Competitor types

ClarkeRicks

SchoolofBusiness,LibertyUniversity

BUSI690:PolicyandStrategyinGlobalCompetition

Dr.Hicks

April6,2021

Competitor types

Startingwithyourlistofcompetitors,beginyourspreadsheetbycategorizingeachone

asaprimaryorsecondarycompetitor.Thiswillhelpyoubetterdeterminehowthey’llrelate

toyourbusiness.

1. Direct competitors, orprimarycompetitors,toyourbusinessthatsellasimilar

producttoasimilaraudience.Example:NikeandAdidasareprimarycompetitors.

2. Indirect competitors aresecondarycompetitionsthatofferahigh-endorlow-end

versionofyourproducttoadifferentaudience.Example:Victoria’sSecretandWalmartare

secondarycompetitors.

3. Tertiary competitorsarerelatedbrandsthatmaymarkettothesameaudiencebut

don’tsellthesameproductsasyouordirectlycompetewithyouinanyway.Theymaybe

potentialpartnersorfuturecompetitorsiftheychoosetoexpandtheirbusiness.Example:

GatoradeandUnderArmour.

Positioningisthemostpersuasivemarketingtoolforabusiness.Goodpositioninghelps

youconnectwithatargetaudienceandkeepsthemaroundlonger.Italsodeterminesyour

messaging,values,andoverallbusinessstrategy.

Thisisexactlywhyunderstandingyourcompetitorspositioningissoimportant.Youcan

learnhowtoseparateyourselfandbuildafavorablereputationinyourcustomers’eyes.

Differentiationalsohelpsincreasebrandawarenessandjustifyyourprices,whichimpacts

yourbottomline.

Analyzethesekeychannelstodeterminepositioningandmessaging:

Socialmedia;

Pressreleases;

Websitecopy;

Events;

Interviews;

Productcopy.

Whenidentifyingyourcompetitors’positioning,askyourselfthefollowingquestions:

Whatstorydotheyexpresstocustomers?

Howdotheypositiontheirproducts?

What’stheircompanydescription?

Howdotheydescribetheiruniquevalueproposition?

Understandhowcompetitorsinteractwiththeirfollowers,customers,employees,

partners,andshareholders.Ifyoucanpinpointtheircommunicationframework,you’llbe

abletopositionyourselfdifferentlyandsetyourselfapartfromcompetitors.

Determinecompetitiveadvantageandofferings

Onceyouunderstandyourcompetitors’messaging,takealookattheircompetitive

advantageandproductorserviceoffer.Thevastmajorityofsuccesfulcompanieshavea

clear"secretsauce"comparedtotheircompetition.

Forexample,afashionretailer’scompetitiveadvantagemaybehigh-quality,reasonably

pricedproductsandexpeditedshippingservices.Anonlineeducatormayhave20yearsof

experienceteachingandworkingintheirspecificindustry.Uniquesellingpropositionslike

thesearenoteasytoreplicateandcandrivebrandnamerecognitionforabusiness.

Taketimetolookatyourcompetitors’goodsandservicesandcomparethemtoyour

own.Readonlinereviewsofyourtargetaudiencetoseewhycustomerschoosetheir

company.Itcouldbethattheyoffersimilarproductsatalowerpriceorhaveafocuson

sustainability.Eitherway,you’llwanttolearntheiradvantageandfigureouthowyoucan

offersomethingbetter.

Understand how your competitors market their products

Marketingisthesecrettothemostsuccessfulecommercestores.Agoodofferingisthe

costofentry,butmarketingtakesyoutothetop.Unfortunately,mostbusinessesfailto

undertakeareviewoftheircompetitors’marketing.Theyassumethateveryoneison

Instagram,runningFacebookads,andoptimizingtheirsiteforsearch.

Andalotofthemare.Butunderstandinghowyourcompetitorsmarkettheirproducts

takesadifferentperspective.Youwanttofindoutwhatofferstheyarepromoting,how

theyarebuildingandmanagingtheircontactlists,andhowtheyaredistributingcontent

online.

Alongwiththeresearchyou’redoingthroughsoftwareandtools,it’sagoodideatoget

hands-onwithyourcompetitiveresearch,too.Assumetheroleofapotentialcustomerand

checkoutwhatyourcompetitorsaredoinginthemarketingdepartment.

Youcandothisby:

Signingupfortheirnewsletters;

Subscribingtotheirblogs;

Followingthemonsocialmedia;

Abandoningaproductintheshoppingcart;

Purchasingaproduct.

Asyouexecutetheseactivities,besuretodocumentyourfindingswithnotesoneach

tacticyousee.Bystudyingtheirapproachestocartabandonmentandlookingathowthey

deliversupportviasocialmedia(andbeyond),youcanspotinterestingapproachesyour

competitionisusingtoattractmorecustomersandtodrivesales.Theinsightsyougather

duringthisstagecanbeincrediblyhelpfulforyoursalesteamspecifically.

Conduct a SWOT analysis

ConsiderconductingaSWOTanalysistoaccompanythedatayoucollect.It’sa

competitiveanalysisframeworkthatlistsyourcompany’sstrengths,weaknesses,

opportunities,andthreatsandishelpfulinshapingyouroverallmarketingstrategyaswell.

SWOTleansintoyourcompetitors’strengthsandcomparesthemtoyourbusinesstodefine

areasofimprovement.

Strengthsandweaknessesfocusonthepresent.Theyareelementsyoucontrolandcan

changeovertime,including:

Reputation;

Productoffering;

Partnerships;

Intellectualproperty;

Numberofemployees;

Marketshare;

Assets.

Opportunitiesandthreatsareoutsideyourcontrol.Youcanplanforchangesbutcan’t

influencetheseelements.Theyinclude:

Competitors’products;

Theeconomy;

Consumertrends;

Regulation;

Marketsize;

Marketdemand.

AimtorunaSWOTanalysisannually.Ithelpsinformyourbreak-evenanalysisand

keepstabsonthecompetitivelandscape.Youcananticipateproblemsandmakecontinuous

improvementstoyourbusiness.Shouldyouseekfunding,you’llwanttoincludeanupdated

SWOTanalysisinyourproposedbusinessplan.

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