There is more than one brand that sells the same exact things that you do, no matter your field or industry. In this modern world, when there are millions of businesses, it is hard to be unique and it is almost impossible to be the only brand that offers one exact type of service. This means that the people you are targeting are going to have more options and that you may not be the business they choose to collaborate with.
However, there are also positive sides to having rivals, and one of the biggest ones is that you will be able to learn from their mistakes and implement new and better things that will lead you to more customers. Here, we are going to tell you why competitor analysis is important in digital marketing, and we will tell you how to make sure that you are better than the brands you are competing against.
Why is this important?
Source: genylabs.io
Let’s start by seeing why this type of analysis is important when you are promoting your products digitally, and why you need to know what your rivals are doing if you want to get better.
The main reason is knowing what the market is like, what the prices are like, and what the newest trends are. Sometimes it is difficult to follow all the new happenings in the world, and the easiest way to see what’s working and what’s not so popular is to check what your rivals are implementing and how it is working out for them.
Another point of why you should be doing this is to save yourself time and resources. There are many ways in which you can do the whole analysis where you don’t have to spend too much cash or time, and you will get all the needed information right away. You will be able to improve your strategy and learn from other brands’ mistakes. You won’t have to try anything and everything on your own, and you will see which things work, and which are the ones you should steer away from.
You can see what other businesses are doing, and you will know how to improve your strategy to be better than them and more attractive for your customers. When you don’t follow this practice, you won’t know why some of your potential clients are going to them instead of you, and you will make mistakes that could cost you a lot of profits.
As you can see on websites like cadenceseo.com, there are many different ways to perform this type of analysis, and some ways are more popular than others. Make sure you check out all the options you have and see which one would be the most beneficial for your brand.
How do find the different types of competitors?
Source: farinasmarketing.com
Next, we are going to talk about is the different types of competitors that you have and why they are important in the way you develop your business. There are three main types of rivals that you can find on the market and it is important to know which brand falls into which category.
The first type are the direct rivals and they are those brands that offer extremely similar or the same products on the market, they have the same target audience as you do, their means of distribution are really similar, and their final goal is the same one as yours. These are the brands and businesses that you need to closely follow and they will either help you develop even further, or they will take your clients.
The second type is the indirect rivals, and they are pretty similar to the first type, and these brands will offer similar products to yours, but the main difference is that their goal will be different from yours. What this means is that they are probably not aiming for the same number when it comes to profit as you are, and they may be using a different scale for market growth. Even though these brands are not harmless, you don’t have to keep up with everything that they are doing.
The last model is the substitute rivals, and these brands usually offer a lot of different products and services, and some of them are similar to some of the things that you are placing on the market. They may have some similar target markets, but they will not reach out to the same people you do, and their business plan will probably be different than the one you have.
What do you need to analyze?
Source: unsplash.com
Now let’s talk about the things that you need to analyze to make sure that you are on the right track and that you are doing the best you can. You have to start by seeing what are the things that you offer and that are similar or the same. Next, you will need to compare your product or service to theirs and if they are offering any unique features that you don’t. make sure you pay attention to the keywords they use and how they are building their digital platform.
You will also need to pay close attention to the business itself, check to see who their targeted audience is, and how are they making their strategy to reach the customers they need. Google them and see how easy it is to find them on the search engine, and how often their name is listed, especially on the first page.
Check to see what tools they are using to promote their products if they are using any special strategy, how user-friendly their site is, and if they are using any external links that would increase their reach. Don’t forget to see how the potential clients are taking to your rivals, if they have good customer support, and if they have a good engagement on social platforms.
All of these things will paint you a better picture of what your rivals are doing, and it will help you create a better campaign to get the needed customers interested in the things that you are offering. Choose the best type of analysis for you depending on what you need to achieve, and know that even though you may need to closely look at all the data you get, it will be extremely beneficial for you in the long run.
