Know Thy Enemy. How Competitive Analysis Can Help You

In the globalized world of today, just about anything is available at the click of a button. Our everyday lives are shaped by technology, the way we work, the way we shop and the way we go about our daily chores. The fiercest of all competition can be seen in the internet. If you wanted to buy an ordinary item, the chances are you can buy it cheaper from a chinese factory on Aliexpress than you could from your local shop. For smaller operations marketing on the net, having to compete with the big boys such as Amazon and Aliexpress is a near impossible task. There is no way you can compete with their resources. What can be done however, is sharp competitive analysis which can more often than not, give your business an edge against the strongest of competition.

Competitive analysis

 

An estimated nine out of 10 businesses in the US fail because 70% of them failed in marketing or to out market the competition. The biggest problem can be seen at the onset. Someone has an idea for a business and sets it up without truly  knowing who their competition is, or what the demand for their product or service is. With competitive analysis, it is possible to analyze the strengths and weaknesses  of your online competition ands can reveal opportunities for you that you may never have thought had existed.

Shape Your Direction

 

The correct competitive analysis will positively identify exactly who your competitors are and what they are doing both right and wrong. Only after identifying the competition can you learn how you can have an edge on your competitors. If you are a new company, successful competitive analysis should shape your direction. You’ll be able to know whether or not this a worthwhile business model and what systems will you need to develop. If you are an established company, competitive analysis can help you improve your ROI (Return on Investment) by learning from what others are doing. You can cherry pick the good and discard the bad from what your competitors are doing and use that information to improve your products or services.

For both new and established businesses, competitive analysis will present opportunities. It may be within the same industry or in something completely different, but by knowing exactly what others are doing and how they are doing it, will open your business to possible pastures new. As a business, sometimes it is hard to see the wood from the trees, but with competitive analysis, you can.

 

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