Content uploaded by Heshan Maduranga
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Heshan Maduranga on Mar 04, 2024
Content may be subject to copyright.
Marketing Analysis – Competitive Analysis - Overview
Competitor analysis is an ongoing process of researching, reviewing, and evaluating our
competitors in the market. As analysts, we continuously study our competitors' behaviors from
multiple perspectives and assess the data gathered to comprehend their business objectives.
Through competitor analysis, we can achieve the following objectives:
1. Create and Maintain Competitive Advantage: By understanding our competitors'
strategies and market positioning, we can identify areas where we can differentiate
ourselves and maintain a competitive edge.
2. Strategize Business Plans: Competitor analysis enables us to develop informed
business strategies and tactics to outperform our competitors and seize market
opportunities.
3. Understand Market Problems and Design Solutions: By studying competitors'
weaknesses and challenges, we can identify market gaps and develop innovative
solutions to address customer needs effectively.
4. Identify Market Gaps and Launch Products: Through competitor analysis, we can
uncover underserved segments or unmet needs in the market, allowing us to introduce
products or services that fulfill those demands, thereby gaining a competitive
advantage.
Furthermore, market analysis is not a one-time research. When the market changes, the
businesses are changing too. So continuous research and targeted research are very important
to stay ahead of the market changes and make informed decisions.
In essence, competitor analysis empowers us to adapt to market dynamics, capitalize on
opportunities, and stay ahead of the competition in today's dynamic business environment.
What To Consider –
As part of business planning, competitive analysis ensures the business survives and thrives
competitively by understanding how competitors provide products and customer experience
and how we provide products and customer experience from our end.
To do a proper competitor’s analysis we need to consider the following aspects.
1. Consider a research strategy – The research strategy must outline the objectives,
methodology, and resources required to gather relevant information about competitors.
2. Create a competitor analysis plan - Create a structured competitor analysis plan that
defines the scope of the analysis, identifies key competitors, and outlines the criteria
for evaluating their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis).
3. What tools are going to use? - Determine the tools and resources needed to conduct the
analysis effectively. This may include industry reports, market research data, social
media monitoring tools, and competitive intelligence platforms.
For example, tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator can provide valuable insights into
competitors' sales strategies and customer interactions.
4. Start the competitive analysis on set – Plan and start the competitive analysis at the
beginning of the business or brand. So we can understand our competitors as part of our
business plan.
5. Find the right person or team – The right person or team is very important to conduct
the competitive analysis. They must capture the data, analyze the information, and make
assessments to guide sales and marketing.
How to do a competitive analysis
The competitive analysis strategy can be different from company to company or project to
project. But there are some primary steps we must follow as analysts.
1. Profile our top competitor in the market.
Profiling our competitors is one of the important steps. Through this, we can understand our
biggest competitors and how they behave in the market. There are mainly three types of
competitors.
I. Head-to-Head Competitor (Direct Competitors)- They sell a similar product to
ours and target the same market as ours.
II. First Tier Competitor (Indirect Competitors)– They sell similar products but
don’t have all the products like ours.
III. Second Tire Competitor (Potential Competitors)- They are competitors who
sell subsidiary products.
By identifying and profiling these types of competitors, we gain valuable insights on our
competitors and market landscape to gain a competitive edge.
2. Narrow the playing field.
Identify the companies that fit to be the top 3 three competitors by looking at their industry,
market, and their strategic approach. There are mainly three types of competitors.
1. Industry competitors – (The industries made with companies that sell similar
products/services.)
- Look for companies operating in the same industry or sector as ours.
- Identify competitors that offer similar products or services to ours.
- Consider factors such as market share, reputation, and product/service
offerings.
- Evaluate their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT
analysis) compared to ours.
2. Market competitors – (Companies in locations that could cut into your market share.)
- Identify companies that operate in the same geographic locations or target
similar customer segments as ours.
- Analyze their market share, distribution channels, and customer base within
these locations.
- Assess how their presence in these markets could potentially impact our
market share and competitive position.
3. Strategic group –
- Identify companies with a similar business model or strategic approach to
ours. They are not identical to your company, but their strategy can attract
our customers.
- Look for competitors that target the same customer needs or pursue similar
market opportunities.
- Assess their strategies, marketing tactics, and customer engagement
approaches.
- Consider how their strategic decisions and initiatives could influence our
customers' preferences and behaviors.
By considering these factors and conducting thorough research and analysis, we can identify
the top three competitors that pose the greatest threat or competition to our business.
3. Build the competitor profiles.
Building competitor profiles is essential for gaining deeper insights into their strengths,
weaknesses, and strategies. Here are some key elements to include in competitor profiles:
I. Financial Review Reports:
Analyze competitors' financial statements, including revenue, profit margins, and
growth trends. Assess their financial stability, liquidity, and investment priorities.
II. Pricing Information: Gather data on competitors' pricing strategies, including
pricing tiers, discounts, and promotions. Compare their pricing with ours to identify
competitive advantages or areas for improvement.
III. Sales Volume: Obtain information on competitors' sales volume and market
performance. Analyze sales trends over time and identify patterns or fluctuations.
IV. Market Share: Estimate competitors' market share within specific markets or
segments. Compare their market share with ours to understand relative positioning
and competitive intensity.
V. Market Strategy: Evaluate competitors' overall market strategy, including product
positioning, distribution channels, and marketing tactics. Identify key strengths and
weaknesses in their approach and potential areas of differentiation.
VI. Customer Satisfaction Scores: Gather data on customer satisfaction scores or ratings
for competitors. Analyze customer feedback and reviews to understand competitors'
strengths and weaknesses in customer service and experience.
By compiling and analyzing these key elements, we can develop comprehensive competitor
profiles that provide valuable insights for strategic decision-making and competitive profiling.
4. Determine competitor strengths and weaknesses.
After profiling the competitors, we must determine what are their strengths and weaknesses.
When determining competitor strengths and weaknesses, it's essential to consider various
factors that provide insights into their competitive advantages and vulnerabilities. Here's how
we can evaluate competitor strengths using different methods:
I. Product evaluation- When we are evaluating customer products we look into the,
- Range of products offered by competitors.
- Market Presence: Determine how long their products have been in the market
and their market penetration.
- Attributes: Identify the positive attributes of their products, such as quality,
features, and innovation.
- Reviews: Analyze both positive and negative reviews of competitor products
to understand customer perceptions and areas for improvement.
II. Product promotions.
- Investigate competitors' product promotions across various channels,
including marketing, public relations, advertising, digital marketing, and social
media.
- Assess the effectiveness of their promotional efforts in reaching and engaging
target audiences and driving sales.
III. Financial revenue. (Analysis of competitor financial revenue.)
- Analyze competitor financial data, including revenue, profit margins, and
growth trends, to gauge their financial health and performance.
- Understand the factors driving their revenue growth or decline and their
investment priorities and strategies.
IV. Customer experience.
- Investigate customer feedback and reviews to understand the customer’s point
of view and experience of the competitors’ products and services.
By evaluating these factors, we can gain an understanding of competitors’ strengths and
weaknesses, enabling us to identify opportunities for differentiation and competitive advantage
in the market.
5. Compare yourself with your competitor.
By effectively and honestly comparing our products with competitors’ products we can stay
competitive, identify weaknesses in our products and services, identify growth opportunities,
understand our position in the market, and gain many more advantages.
For this comparison, we can use the following approaches.
I. Collect honest opinions: Gather feedback from customers and stakeholders to gain
insights into how our products compare with those of our competitors. This
feedback can provide valuable perspectives on areas of strength and areas for
improvement.
II. Use external researchers: Engage outside researchers or consultants to conduct
evaluations of our products and compare them with those of our competitors. Their
unbiased assessments can offer valuable insights into areas such as quality, features,
and customer satisfaction.
III. Collaborate with marketing agencies: Build partnerships with marketing agencies
specializing in market research and product evaluations. These agencies can
provide comprehensive analyses by comparing our products with the competitors.
(When we are using external marketing agencies, we are reviling classified
information on our products, and this might be a disadvantage for us. So, it’s ideal
to sign a “non-disclosure agreement”.)
IV. Implement a mystery shopping strategy: Use mystery shoppers or undercover
buyers to evaluate the customer experience of our products compared to our
competitors. By doing this we can simulate real-world interactions evaluate service
quality and product presentation and measure overall customer satisfaction.
V. Conduct Surveys: Use surveys to gather feedback from customers and stakeholders,
allowing you to understand their perceptions of your products relative to those of
your competitors. Surveys can provide quantitative data and qualitative insights to
inform your comparative analysis.
Overall, comparing ourselves with our competitors' products is crucial for staying competitive,
identifying opportunities for growth, and ensuring that your products remain relevant and
compelling in the marketplace.
6. Research competitor interactions with the customers.
Researching how much customers interact with our competitor's products and how they react
to them can provide valuable insights into customer preferences and market trends. Here are
three methods/techniques to accomplish this:
I. Search engine optimization – Utilizing SEO techniques allows us to understand
customer search behavior related to our product categories. By analyzing keyword
search data using tools like "WordStream," we can identify common search
queries and topics of interest to customers. This information helps us address
specific customer issues and preferences, ensuring our products meet their needs
effectively.
For example: If we are in the electronic business, we can use SEO techniques or
keyword search tools to collect data on what customers search in this category.
What they search for will tell us about their mind.
If they are searching for a specific product issue on the Internet, that means we have
to identify that particular problem and addrees that particular issue on our products.
II. Social media intelligence: MI tools such as "Talkwalker" and "Brandwatch" enable
us to monitor social media conversations about our competitors' products. By
tracking mentions, sentiment, and engagement levels on platforms like Twitter,
Facebook, and Instagram, we gain insights into customer perceptions and brand
reputation. This information helps us understand how customers interact with
competitor products and identify opportunities to improve our offerings.
III. Rating sites: Use the product rating sites to know customer experience.
Product rating sites like Yelp, Consumer Reports, and Google Business Profiles
allow us to access firsthand customer feedback and reviews. By analyzing ratings,
reviews, and comments, we can gain insights into customer experiences,
satisfaction levels, and areas for improvement.
Additionally, we can gather information on pricing, benefits, and features that drive
customers to choose competitor products over ours, helping us refine our product
strategy and marketing approach.
By using these methods, we can gather valuable insights into customer behavior, preferences,
and perceptions regarding competitor products. This information enables us to make
informed decisions, enhance our products, and stay competitive in the market.
Identify competitor strategies through analysis.
Analyzing competitor strategies is essential for understanding the competitive market and
identifying areas of opportunity or threat for our own business. Here's a structured approach to
analyzing competitor strategies,
1. Identifying the competitor’s goals.
We are not the only ones who do the competitor analysis. Our competitors do the same. That’s
why we need to identify our competitor’s goals and what they are trying to achieve and how
will they do it.
- If we know the competitor’s goals, we can design counter strategies for it.
- This counter strategy uses different tactics to stop your competitor’s strategy from
working as planned.
For example:
- If our competitor is trying to hire professionals with technical backgrounds and subject
matter specialists, this signals our competitor is trying to improve products through
innovation.
- If the competitor is trying to invest heavily in public relations and marketing this means
they are trying to increase their brand awareness and credibility.
After analyzing the competitor’s goals, we can counter the strategy.
- If the customer is trying to reduce the prices. We can provide short-term discount
coupons to the customers.
- We can find new tech items or innovations that could enhance our current products and
outsmart the competitor.
- We can also run a PR campaign and community service or other activities for brand
promotion.
2. How to analyze the competitor research data.
Analyzing competitor research data requires a systematic approach to derive meaningful
insights and inform strategic decision-making.
1. Organize the Data: Gather all the competitor research data obtained from various
sources, such as market reports, websites, social media, and industry publications.
Organize the data into categories such as products/services, pricing, marketing
strategies, customer feedback, etc.
2. Identify Key Metrics: Identify the key metrics and variables that are relevant to your
analysis. These could include market share, pricing trends, customer satisfaction
ratings, website traffic, social media engagement, etc.
3. Compare and Contrast: Compare our business performance with that of your
competitors across various metrics/features. Identify areas where your competitors
excel or lag compared to your own business.
To do this I usually follow the following simple “Product feature comparison
table/matrix.”
Product Features
Priority
Competitor 1
Competitor 2
Competitor 3
Competitor 4
Product feature 1
High
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Product feature 2
High
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Product feature 3
Medium
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Product feature 4
Low
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
How to: The above analysis table is very simple, after we have identified the key matrix and
features, we list it down in each row of the above table. We also list the identified top 4
competitors (you can name as many as competitors) names in each column and compare who
has the most key features by providing Yes or No signs. (Instead of Yes or No signs we can
use 1 – 10 number scales, to get more accurate results.)
Product feature priority is a key column, and we are grading the product features based on
what features customers are mostly considering when buying a product.
The competitor who has the most features will be the one with the significant advantage.
How to use this analysis: If we are launching a new product, we can use this table as
competitor product evaluation and we can understand what features have high priority and what
features need to be in our product.
And if we are an existing product owner, we can identify which areas we are lacking and what
areas we need product improvements.
After analyzing these data our product needs to provide all the necessary features and some
extra features, if possible, for a competitive price.
Using the above steps, we can systematically analyze the competitor’s research data to derive
meaningful insights that will guide our product development efforts and help us maintain a
competitive edge in the market.
3. Observe competitor marketing and selling process.
After researching and analyzing the competitor’s goals and product features, it's essential to
delve into their marketing and selling strategies. There are primarily two observation
techniques and those are,
I. Direct Observation – In this method, the competitor analyst or market researcher
physically observes and evaluates how employees engage with customers and
promote products. Through firsthand observation, the researcher can assess
customer interactions, sales techniques, and the overall customer experience.
II. Indirect observation – Alternatively, the observer relies on third-party reports or
data sources to gain insights into the competitor's marketing and selling processes.
Direct Observation.
In direct observation, the researcher examines how employees interact with customers,
including their approach, product knowledge, and sales techniques.
By observing these interactions firsthand, the researcher can gain valuable insights into the
competitor's customer engagement strategies and identify areas for improvement.
• In-store interaction: This is the most widely used direct observation technique and
during this, the researcher visits competitors’ stores to evaluate various aspects of
customer interaction and sales techniques. This evaluation will be processed under
different categories and those are,
- Facility check: Evaluate the facility environment such as how clean the facility
is, the layout design, and how many amenities and other services have been
arranged in-store environment will be evaluated.
- Customer engagement: The researcher needs to evaluate how employees
approach and engage with customers including how they greet, offer their
assistance, and how they initiate conversations and understand customer needs
and preferences.
- Product knowledge: During the interaction with the customer sales personnel
must show above-average product knowledge including knowledge of product
features, benefits, and recommendations knowledge.
- Sales techniques: The researcher needs to evaluate the different sales techniques
of sales personnel. This needs to include observing upselling and cross-selling
techniques, product demonstrations, promotional offers, and other sales
techniques.
- Customer Assistance: Throughout the observation, the researcher monitors how
employees provide assistance and support to customers throughout their
shopping journey. This involves observing the responsiveness of employees to
customer inquiries, their willingness to provide guidance and recommendations,
and their ability to resolve any issues or concerns that may arise.
- Overall Customer Experience: apart from the store environment, the researcher
evaluates the overall customer experience and after-sale service.
Through direct observation of in-store interactions, the researcher can gain valuable insights
into the competitor's customer engagement strategies, sales techniques, and overall customer
experience. These insights can inform strategic decisions and help identify opportunities for
improvement to enhance competitiveness in the market.
To make this analysis more accurate researchers are using the scorecard technique.
The scorecard technique: When analyzing the different in-store observations as a
researcher we can use a number rating system in the following score-card template.
Competitor 1
Competitor 2
Competitor 3
Comptitor 4
Facility check
4
5
4
5
Customer engamement
3
5
4
5
Product knowlage
1
2
4
4
Sales techniques
2
5
4
5
Average Score
2.5
4.25
4
4.75
• When considering all the average scores of 4.75 competitor 4 has the significant
advantage of becoming the market leader.
Indirect Observation
In-direct observation involves gathering insights on competitor's marketing and selling
processes through third-party reports, data sources, or observations made by others. This
approach relies on existing information and observations rather than firsthand experiences.
Here's how indirect observation can be applied:
1. Market Research Reports: Analyzing the market research reports published by industry
analysts, consulting firms, or market research agencies. These reports often provide
comprehensive analyses of market trends, competitor strategies, and consumer
behavior, offering valuable insights into the competitor's marketing and selling tactics.
2. Customer Reviews and Feedback: Analyze customer reviews, feedback, and ratings
posted on online platforms, social media channels, or review websites. By aggregating
and analyzing customer experiences and opinions, you can gain insights into the
competitor's product performance, customer satisfaction levels, and areas for
improvement in their marketing and selling processes.
3. Industry Publications and News: Monitor industry publications, trade magazines, and
news articles for information about the competitor's marketing initiatives, product
launches, promotional campaigns, or strategic partnerships. These sources often
provide valuable insights into the competitor's marketing strategies and key
developments within their industry.
4. Online Analytics Tools: Use online analytics tools and platforms to gather data on the
competitor's digital marketing efforts, website traffic, social media engagement, and
online advertising campaigns. By analyzing metrics such as website traffic sources,
keyword rankings, and social media interactions, you can gain insights into the
effectiveness of the competitor's online marketing and selling strategies.
5. Supplier and Distributor Insights: Gather insights from suppliers, distributors, or
industry contacts who may know the competitor's marketing and selling processes.
These stakeholders may provide valuable information about the competitor's product
offerings, pricing strategies, distribution channels, and promotional activities.
6. Customer Surveys and Interviews: Conduct surveys or interviews with customers who
have interacted with the competitor's products or services. By gathering firsthand
feedback and insights from customers, you can uncover valuable information about
their perceptions, preferences, and experiences with the competitor's marketing and
selling processes.
By using indirect observation techniques, we can gather valuable insights into the competitor's
marketing and selling process analysis through existing data sources, reports, observations, and
stakeholder interactions. These insights complement direct observation efforts and help paint
a comprehensive picture of the competitor's strategies, and strengths, and enlighten the areas
we can improve ourselves.
Evaluate the outcome of your competitive analysis.
The data we have gathered from various sources need to be critically evaluated before making
a business decision that can have a significant impact. To do this every organization must create
or select an evaluation framework.
Organizations can build their framework by creating data storing and analyzing methods and
by planning their own way of evaluating to make decisions. But we can also use the existing
evaluation framework to analyze competitors’ data.
We can analyze competitors' data under several categories.
1. By identifying the strengths and weaknesses.
The best way to do this analysis is using the SWOT analysis. We can do a SWOT analysis on
our products to understand our capabilities and we can do a SWOT analysis on competitors
data to understand what are the strengths and weaknesses on our competitors.
SWOT Analysis on competitors.
I. Strengths: Analyze data to identify areas where your competitors excel and have a
competitive advantage. This could include factors such as strong brand recognition,
high customer satisfaction ratings, innovative product features, efficient supply
chain management, or extensive market reach.
II. Weaknesses: Examine data to uncover areas where your competitors are lacking or
underperforming. This includes factors such as poor customer reviews, low product
quality, limited product offerings, high pricing relative to value, slow response to
market trends, or outdated technology infrastructure.
III. Opportunities: Use data to identify external factors in the market environment that
present opportunities for your competitors. This could include trends such as
growing consumer demand for specific products or services, emerging market
segments, changes in regulations favoring certain industries, advancements in
technology enabling new business models, or gaps in the competition that your
competitors could exploit.
IV. Threats: Evaluate data to pinpoint external factors that pose threats to your
competitors' success. This might include factors such as intensifying competition
from new market competitors or existing competitors, economic downturns
affecting consumer spending, shifts in consumer preferences, disruptions to the
supply chain, or negative publicity damaging the brand reputation.
To conduct a SWOT analysis on competitors' data effectively, it's essential to gather
comprehensive and accurate information from various sources, including market research
reports, industry publications, financial statements, customer reviews, social media mentions,
and news articles. Analyzing this data can provide valuable insights into your competitors'
strategic positioning, performance, and vulnerabilities, helping you identify areas where you
can gain a competitive advantage and develop effective strategies to compete in the market.
SOAR Analysis,
This is also similar to the SWOT analysis, but this framework focuses more on positive factors
than threats and weaknesses.
- Strengths and opportunities are similar to the SWOT analysis. But in SOAR analysis
we are also focused on Aspirations and Results.
I. Aspirations: This represents the organization's vision, goals, and desired future
state. This involves defining what the competitor aims to achieve and the outcomes
they want. Aspirations provide direction and motivation for the organization's
strategic initiatives and guide decision-making toward desired outcomes.
II. Results: Results are the outcomes or achievements that the organization/competitor
aims to accomplish based on its strengths, opportunities, and aspirations. Evaluate
the results or outcomes that our competitors have achieved based on their strengths,
opportunities, and aspirations. This could include key metrics such as market share,
revenue growth, profitability, customer satisfaction ratings, product innovation, or
brand recognition.
Analyze how effectively your competitors are executing their strategies and
whether they are achieving their desired results in the market.
By conducting a SOAR analysis on market competitors, you can gain valuable insights into
their competitive positioning, strategic priorities, and performance in the market. These
insights can inform your strategic planning efforts, helping you to identify areas where you can
differentiate yourself, capitalize on available opportunities, and strengthen your competitive
advantage in the market.
2. By doing a benchmark and position analysis.
Another way of analyzing the competitor’s data we gathered through the benchmark and
positioning analysis. We can compare our competitor’s business performance, capabilities, and
benchmark to identify market position. The best and ideal evaluation framework is to do this
by using Perception Mapping.
Perception mapping is a competitor or brand analysis technique. We are comparing all the
brands or market competitors against two attributes in a quadrant graph. These attributes
generally include price, quality, customer service, or other measurable variables.
For example:
Conclusion: After analyzing the above graph, we can identify that “new balanced” products
are in the low-quality section with a somewhat high price. “Nike” provides top-of-the-quality
products for the highest price rate in the market. However, the “Puma” brand provides high-
quality products for a reasonable price range.
- Through this analysis, we can use any measurable attributes to compare on the graph.
The goal of perception mapping is to visually represent the relationships between
various brands or products based on consumers' perceptions and preferences. So we can
understand where our competitors have positioned themselves in the market.
- By visualizing these perceptions, marketers can develop more effective positioning
strategies, target specific consumer segments, identify opportunities for differentiation,
and make informed decisions to strengthen their brand's competitive position in the
market.
Overall, evaluating the outcome of a competitive analysis involves synthesizing the insights
gained from the research process, assessing their strategic significance, and identifying
actionable insights to drive business success in a competitive market environment. By
understanding the findings of the competitive analysis, businesses can make informed
decisions, optimize their strategies, and position themselves for success in the marketplace.
Continue with competitive intelligence.
Collecting data on our competitors is a continuous process. As analysts, we have to continue
gathering and researching our competitors. Because the marketing demands, trends change all
the time, and we have to adapt to those changes.
After completing all the processes on competitor analysis, we can follow the following steps
to continue the competitive intelligence analysis.
I. Keep tabs on the competitors through customers or internal sources.
- Have a process to track customers’ thoughts and feelings.
- Document customer’s ideas, suggestions, and needs.
- Use CRM software to track the customer’s behaviors.
- Review customer intelligence.
II. Use external sources to collect competitors’ data.
- Social media communities like Reddit forms show us customers’ experiences
with our and our competitor’s products. By analyzing these data, we can
understand how to produce a product that fulfills customer’s needs.
III. Use the market analysis/competitor analysis software platforms.
- Software platforms like Hoot Suite, Sprout Social, Quintly allow us to
track/compare competitors’ social media engagement with ours.
- We can also monitor customers’ comments, shares, and reviews, on social media
platforms to track what they say about the competitors.
IV. Review Industry news.
- As a market researcher or analyst, you must be aware of relevant industry news.
You need to have a general knowledge of what’s happening in your
environment.
- We can use Ad-Week, marketing tech news, and media posts to learn about
marketing news.
- Analyst reports like E-Marketers daily news provide us with knowledge on
different market technologies and other industry news.
V. Summarize your opportunities and issues.
- As an analyst, it is a good habit to write and provide analytical reports on
findings.
- Always create market details, findings, and competitor details in Data-visualize
reports.
- Create detailed reports for future use.
VI. Share your competitor’s findings with other departments.
- All the data we have gathered through research, we must share with other
departments such as marketing, public relations, brand team, sales team,
customer service team, etc.
- This needs to include SWOT, SOAR, or other analysis reports and provide
recommendations.
- Create reports in a professional manner.
Conclusion
In conclusion, conducting a competitor analysis is essential for businesses to gain valuable
insights into the market landscape and to know about our competitors. This also helps us in our
strategic decision-making process and allows us to build counter-strategies against our
competitors.
This article provides detailed information on how to perform competitor analysis, how to
interpret market and competitor data, and how to identify competitors’ strategies through
analysis techniques such as SWOT analysis or SOAR analysis and benchmarking. And also,
this article guides its readers on how to build a simple but effective competitor framework
using benchmarking and perception mapping techniques.
Importantly, as an analyst you need to understand competitor analysis is not a one-time activity
but a continuous process that requires ongoing monitoring and analysis of competitors and the
competitive environment. This article also suggests what techniques we can use to continue
with competitive intelligence and stay up to date on new market trends and demands.
Date: 01/03/2024
References
1. Adom.Y.A., el al, 2016. Competitor management in strategic management:
Introduction. (Accessed date: 25/02/2024). Available at: <
https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/234696346.pdf >
2. Jafar.M., 2020. The impact of competitive intelligence: management on the competitive
and performance of retail companies in Indonesia. Accessed date: 28/02/2024.
Available at: < https://myjms.mohe.gov.my/index.php/jossar/article/view/11782/5731
>
3. Jafar.M., 2020. The impact of competitive intelligence: The Impact of Market
Intelligence Toward Company Competitiveness
Accessed date: 28/02/2024. Available at: <
https://myjms.mohe.gov.my/index.php/jossar/article/view/11782/5731 >
4. Craid.S.F., Babette.E., 2015. Business and competitive analysis: Effective application
of new and classic methods (Second edition), Poul bloger publications. Available at: <
https://books.google.ae/books?hl=en&lr=&id=BRIoBgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR10
&dq=Competitive+analysis+framework&ots=8p94ltA7Te&sig=HkrPn5n2YbHv8nBv
ezPhVMf_-
4U&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Competitive%20analysis%20framework&f=false >
