How to: Conduct a Competitive Analysis
Conducting a Competitive Analysis establishes situational awareness about who the company is competing against. Specifically, understanding the competitive environment of the segments, the company’s products and services the competitor competes against, the strength of the competitor and whether the products and services are superior, equivalent or inferior. In addition, appreciating the competitor’s discriminators and price points will assist in developing a strategic plan in future steps.
There are multiple sources of competitor intelligence:
- Competitor’s website, social media and, if public, disclosure statements
- Researchers:
Determine how your key competitors stack up against your company. Do you see any patterns? Concerns there are more dominant competitors than equivalent or weaker? The outcome of this step will drive your strategy, business goals and risk and opportunities.
