Competitor Tracking: 5 Key Things to Focus On

Track Your Competitors and Identify Your Advantages

By keeping track of your competitors, you’ll gain a better understanding of:

• what makes your company, product, or service unique, and what your competitive advantage is,
• who your competitors are and what to do to prevent them from taking your customers,
• the trends in your industry and how your competitors are dealing with them,
• what works for your competitors in business and how you can get inspired.
  
  

Tracking your competition will also help you avoid risks. For example, if another company previously tried to launch a product that you’re now working on but failed, you can learn from their mistakes and do it better.

We explain in detail why tracking competitors is important and why even befriending them can be beneficial in our SalesDriver hub for sales managers.

What to Focus On When Tracking Competitors

Track your competitors regularly, at least once a year, but ideally more often. Start by identifying your direct competitors who offer similar products and services and operate in the same market as you. Then, research each competitor thoroughly. Focus on the following areas:

1. Websites and E-commerce

Take a look at your competitor’s website and focus on:

• the products they offer,

• the prices they charge, including any discounts, promotions, or sales,
• their sales methods—whether they use an e-shop, physical stores, or distributors.

2. Blog, Newsletter, and Other Content

Check your competitor’s blog, news updates, or other published content on their website. If they send out newsletters, subscribe to them. Find out how often they send or post updates and what they communicate. You can also track how much interest the articles generate, such as whether clients share or comment on the content.

Focus on how you could handle the topics better or even identify areas that your competitor doesn’t cover, which could be an opportunity for you.

3. Social Media

Look at which social networks your competitor is active on and how engaged they are. Also, check their number of followers and how people react to their posts—what they like and what they don’t.

Not only will you get inspiration on what content interests your clients, but you'll also see what problems they’re solving and what they’re looking for with the competitor. Or how satisfied they are with their products and services.

If your competitors' salespeople are active on LinkedIn, it’s time to catch up. We share tips on social selling in a separate article.

4. Advertisements

Track whether and what kind of ads your competitor uses and which product benefits they highlight. This gives you an overview of which goods and services the competitor sees as most important and is trying to sell the most.

Advertisements will also show you how competitive your environment is and the effort you need to put into getting noticed by clients.

5. Customers

Probably the hardest part will be figuring out what customers think of your competitors. Use reviews on social networks or ratings on e-commerce sites. You’ll see what customers like about the competitor’s products and where they are dissatisfied. Also, watch who your competitors are targeting and how they differ from your customers.

Ask your clients why they choose your products and what makes you better than the competition. You can keep all your communication with clients organized with our Raynet CRM. Try it for free for 30 days with the trial version.

What to Do with the Information You Gather

Everything you learn about your competitors can help you stand out and potentially improve your services. Here are several ways to make use of this information:

Adjust Your Ideal Customer Persona – If you find out that your competitor is targeting the same audience as you and is having more success, don’t fight for the same customers. Instead, adjust your ideal customer persona and try to attract customers your competitor is overlooking. For example, if you’re developing a business system and your competitor is focusing on manufacturing companies, try shifting your focus to retail businesses.

Work on Your Brand – If you discover that your competitor presents themselves similarly to you, set yourself apart. Create a marketing strategy aimed at strengthening your brand and make yourself more prominent and attractive to your target audience.

Adapt Your Sales Process – Consider whether you could gain an advantage over your competitor by changing your lead generation methods, sales meeting structure, or proposal creation process.

Improve Customer Service and Support – If you find that your competitors have slow customer support, improve yours. This will give you a significant competitive edge. And if your competitor is doing well, strive to be even better.

Develop Products and Services – After thoroughly researching your competitors, you should have dozens of insights that can help you fine-tune, differentiate, and overall improve your products and services. Take advantage of this opportunity.