Why is Competitor Research Important for Business Growth?

Have you considered using competitor research to grow your company?

In the business world, it’s tempting to go it alone. But don’t underestimate the importance of knowing your competitors!

Why is competitor research so important for your company? How can you do it right? Here’s exactly what you need to know.

Why Don’t Businesses Do Competitor Research?

Many business owners assume that competitor research isn’t necessary. You don’t want to seem like you’re copying other brands, right? You want to do your own thing!

This results in companies focusing entirely on their own methods, never concerning themselves with what other brands in the industry are doing.

Confidence in yourself, your brand, and your product is important. However, taking the time to research your competitors’ strategies can put your business on the cutting edge.

Why Is Competitor Research Important?

Escape from False Assumptions

Within your business, you’re often talking to people who already know what you mean. You’re all on the same page, and so you may assume that your target audience is also on that page.

Without realizing it, your marketing might be confusing your audience! Are you using jargon to describe your service that only makes sense to your employees?

Seeing the language your competitors use in their marketing can help you mold your messaging to be more understandable to the public.

Discover New Audiences and Opportunities

Your competitors are offering similar products and services to the ones you offer. But are you and your competitors marketing to the same target audiences?

It’s possible that your competitors have found another group of customers that you never thought to market to!

Checking out who your competitors direct their ads towards, and what social media platforms they post to, can guide you towards new audiences and greater marketing opportunities.

Avoid Old Mistakes

If you’re a new business in the industry, there’s value to learning what strategies have been tried before.

Thanks to the internet, you can see what digital marketing campaigns your competitors attempted in the past, and more importantly, see how well those strategies worked! Rather than waste time using a strategy that didn’t work, you can learn from your competitors’ mistakes.

How to Approach Competitor Research to Get the Most Value?

Now that you understand the importance of knowing your competitors, let’s explore the best way to approach competitor research.

1. Make Competitor Research a Priority

It all starts with a commitment. Don’t just talk about looking at your competitors – do it! Treat competitor research like the valuable investment it is, and dedicate the time and resources necessary to it.

2. Choose the Right Subjects to Research

Narrow your research field down to the most important details.

Competitors: The most relevant competitors are those with services similar to your own. If a competitor goes out of business, you don’t need to research them anymore!

Data: Focus on your competitors’ marketing strategies, as well as what products they are marketing. Sorting these data points into “strengths” and “weaknesses” can help you analyze your data!

3. Keep to a Regular Schedule

The business world is always changing. This means that a single competitor analysis will not be enough!

Regularly run your competitor research. Depending on your industry, this could mean reviewing your competitors two or four times per year, or even more!

A good strategy is to perform a more detailed yearly analysis, with smaller updates every business quarter.