Now Reading: Your First Steps with a Competitive Analysis Tool
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Your First Steps with a Competitive Analysis Tool
Your First Steps with a Competitive Analysis Tool
Diving into competitive analysis can feel like navigating a vast ocean without a map. Where do you even begin? The good news is that a powerful competitive analysis tool like ours provides the compass and the map. The journey starts with two simple, yet foundational, steps: setting your goals and identifying your rivals.
Step 1: Define Your Objectives (Set Your Destination)
Before you start analyzing competitors, you need to know why you’re doing it. A clear objective is the most critical part of any competitive research plan. It focuses your efforts and ensures you gather relevant, actionable insights instead of drowning in data. Here are some common objectives to get you started:
Common Objectives
Improve product features by seeing what competitors offer.
Refine my pricing strategy to be more competitive.
Discover gaps in the market for a new product or service.
Understand why customers are choosing a competitor over us.
Pro Tip: Be Specific!
Instead of a vague goal like “See what competitors are doing,” try something actionable like, “Analyze the onboarding experience of my top three competitors to reduce my user churn rate by 10%.” Our competitive analysis software helps you track these specific goals.
Step 2: Identify Your Competitors (Map the Players)
Once you know your destination, you need to know who else is on the map. Identifying competitors is more than just listing the obvious names. A thorough analysis considers different types of rivals.
Direct Competitors
These are the businesses that offer a very similar product or service to the same target audience. For a specialty coffee shop, this would be the other coffee shop down the street.
Indirect Competitors
These businesses solve the same problem for the same audience but with a different solution. For that coffee shop, an indirect competitor could be a tea house or a juice bar. Your customer wants a morning beverage, and they have options.
Aspirational/Potential Competitors
These are companies that aren’t direct competitors now but could be. This might include a market leader you aspire to be like or a new startup gaining traction. Keeping an eye on them helps you stay ahead of the curve.
How to Find Them
Struggling to list your competitors? Here are some simple starting points:
Google Search: Use keywords your customers would use to find your product. See who ranks at the top.
Ask Your Customers: Run a simple survey asking what other solutions they considered before choosing you.
Social Media & Review Sites: Look up your own business and see who else is mentioned in the same conversations.
Next Steps: Gathering Info with Ease
With your objectives defined and competitors listed, you’ve completed the crucial first steps of competitive analysis. You’re now ready to start gathering basic information like their website, product offerings, and pricing.
This is where our competitive analysis tool truly shines. Instead of juggling spreadsheets and documents, our guided 7-step workflow provides a structured path. The intuitive, Airtable-inspired interface makes it easy to input data, track your progress, and ultimately, transform that data into a winning strategy.