You're conducting a competitive analysis. How can you include more competitors without delaying the project?
In marketing research, conducting a competitive analysis is crucial for understanding your market position and identifying opportunities for growth. However, expanding the number of competitors in your analysis can be challenging without extending the project timeline. To navigate this, you'll need to be strategic in your approach, ensuring that every step is efficient and focused.
To include more competitors in your analysis swiftly, start by streamlining the data collection process. Use tools that aggregate information from multiple sources, saving you the time it would take to manually search for each competitor. Focus on key data points that offer the most insight into competitive positioning, such as market share, product offerings, and pricing strategies. This way, you can cover a broader range of competitors without getting bogged down in unnecessary details.
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Maria-Luiza (ML) Apostolescu
Thought Leadership, Business Intel & Strategy Consultant | Sustainability, Tech, Public Policy, Markets & Insights
Adding in new competitors is something that is almost guaranteed to happen. As you do your market research, you'll likely stumble upon new companies that are in fact competing with you/your client. This should not be a resource-consuming action if you have already set yourself a template for your competitive search. Always, always, have a template for what you're looking for in each competitor (market share, number of employees, turnover rates, revenue growth, product offerings, pricing, etc.). Adding new competitors should just be a matter of filling a form. However, your template should be tailored to each client/new project: don't just assume that the type of insights client X needed is the same as the one needed by client Y.
Prioritizing which competitors to analyze first can significantly reduce delays. Begin with direct competitors who share your target market and offer similar products or services. Then, if time permits, move on to indirect competitors who may not compete in all areas but still pose a potential threat. By structuring your analysis in tiers, you can ensure you cover the most critical players first and add more as your schedule allows.
Embracing technology can expedite the competitive analysis process. Utilize software that can quickly scan and analyze competitor websites, social media presence, and customer reviews. Look for platforms that offer real-time data and alerts on competitor activities, enabling you to stay updated without constant manual monitoring. By automating parts of the research, you can cover more ground in less time.
Collaboration can be a game-changer when expanding the scope of your competitive analysis. Divide the research tasks among team members, with each person responsible for gathering information on different competitors. Ensure clear communication and set interim deadlines to keep everyone on track. This collective effort allows you to parallel process different parts of the analysis, significantly speeding up the overall project.
Smart sampling is a technique where you analyze a representative subset of competitors rather than attempting to study every single one. Identify patterns or categories within the competitive landscape and select key players that best represent these segments. By focusing on these samples, you can infer broader market trends and dynamics without analyzing every competitor in detail, thus saving time.
Finally, consider implementing a system for continuous monitoring of competitors. This proactive approach allows you to regularly update your competitive analysis with new entrants and changes in the market. By maintaining an ongoing watch, you can add competitors to your analysis incrementally without needing to conduct a full-scale research project each time, thus avoiding project delays.
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Ussam Husain Siddiqui
One of the best ways to do so is by conducting regular brand health tracking (BHT) studies which helps tracking brand performance viz-a-viz competition.
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