Competition has become stiffer than ever, no matter the industry.
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the number of small businesses has reached approximately 33.3 million, comprising 99.9% of all companies in the country. But here’s the problem: About 20% fail in the first year, 30% in the second year, and 50% in the fifth year.
So, how do you ensure your business enterprise will thrive and survive? The answer is to optimize your operations to rise above the industry competition. Start with a competitor analysis using a robust comparison chart!
💡Read Competitive Analysis: All You Need to Know
Fret not; let’s go through how to create and use a competitor comparison chart. Learn how to identify your competitors and get ahead of the competition in your industry.
How To Use a Comparison Chart To Know and Win Your Competitors
Competition is inevitable; It has always been and will always be a part of business. No matter the niche, you’ll encounter competitors getting slices of the total market share. Therefore, do what it takes to win the competition or at least be on par with the rest—or you’ll end up losing!
As such, companies and organizations keep an eye on their competitors. Besides boosting profitability (60%) and ensuring environmental safety and emissions compliance (55%), gaining a competitive advantage (57%) is one of the top three priorities of most industries.
It’s crucial to identify and monitor the competitors in your industry. The goal is never to destroy them but to set your business apart from the rest. This also means offering newer, better products or services that meet consumer needs and wants.
Enter competitor analysis, which entails identifying and analyzing your competitors. What better way to streamline this process than to create a winning comparison chart? That will give you a clear picture of what areas you excel and what areas you can improve as a business.
That said, here’s how to build and leverage a comparison chart to study and win the industry competition:
1. Study your market and identify your competitors
Before identifying your competitors, it’s best to conduct market research. Perform due diligence to deeply understand your industry, business, and target market. This deeper level of understanding is crucial for your next step—competitive analysis.
In fact, SBA cites that while you use market research to find your customers, you leverage competitive analysis to gain a market advantage. This analysis will not only let you list all your competitors but also help you strategize to gain a competitive advantage.
Brooke Webber, Head of Marketing at Ninja Patches, suggests segmenting competitors based on industry segments, locations, channels, and other key factors. “Some even go as far as using keywords via SEO tools to list tons of competitors. Sorting them out will help you assess their strategies.”
Webber, however, recommends categorizing competitors according to their primary types:
- Direct competitors: They offer exactly the same or very similar products or services.
- Indirect competitors: They provide different products or services but cater to the same customers or market segments.
- Emerging competitors: These are new entrants in the industry, which can either be your direct or indirect competitors in the future.
2. Gather key data on your competitors
Now that you have a list of categorized competitors, it’s time to collect valuable data on them. These pieces of information will give you insights into what they are (as a business), what they offer (actual products or services), and how they connect with customers (their tactics or strategies).
Sergey Taver, Marketing Manager at Precision Watches, recommends leveraging the internet for competitor research. “The web is a goldmine of data and information in today’s digital landscape. You just need to be internet-savvy and highly resourceful with great research skills.”
Taver suggests the following avenues for gathering competitor’s data:
- Competitor websites: Visit your competitors’ sites, and you’ll be bombarded with tons of key information.
- Social media channels: Drop by your competitors’ pages and employ social listening for competitor analysis.
- Customer feedback: Check third-party websites that publish online reviews to obtain customer insights into your competitors.
- News organizations: Specifically look for competitors’ brand mentions in various online publications.
- Public records: Go as far as checking public records like industry research and public datasets.
3. List the business details of your competitors
At this point, you wonder what specific competitor details you should collect. Of course, you start with the basic information like business names and product or service brands. Then, later in the research process, you can dig deeper by seeing how they perform.
Phil Strazzulla, founder of SelectSoftware Reviews, gathers business information for their HR software review. “We have our fair share of obtaining company details, which can be pretty straightforward. You can simply use the internet to search for information and even go as far as using data analytics. It works exactly the same for your competitor’s research.”
Strazzulla recommends collecting the following data:
- Business information: Use Google My Business profiles to get your competitors’ name, address, and phone (NAP) details, including hours of operation, maps, and even ratings or reviews.
- Product or service value: Visit your competitors’ websites to see what various products or services they offer. While at it, examine and list their features for later comparison.
- Pricing structure or model: Of course, know the actual pricing of your competitors’ products or services. Likewise, check their pricing structure, whether fixed price (FP), time and materials (T&M), or staffing pricing (SP) model.
- Target market: Lastly, it’s crucial to identify your competitors’ client or customer base to see if you are all catering to the same market. That will help in your competitor’s analysis later on.
4. Set comparison metrics for competition
After collecting your competitors’ data, you can proceed with the actual comparison. But before doing so, setting key metrics for industry benchmarking is crucial.
Logan Mallory, Vice President of Marketing at Motivosity, emphasizes the value of KPIs for performance measurement in competitor analysis. “Your key performance indicators (KPIs) will serve as the critical metrics for measuring your performance and that of your competitors. Are you ahead of the curve, or are you falling behind? These KPIs will reveal where you stand and what you must do to excel.”
Mallory cites five general metrics you can employ for competitor analysis:
- Brand awareness: This metric category measures whether or not your target audiences recognize your brand. This includes brand mentions, brand impressions (exposure to the brand messaging), and share of voice.
- Reach metrics: These metrics show how many people your brand has reached. In social media, for example, consider your reach (the number of users who have seen your brand), impressions, and even your follower growth rate.
- Engagement metrics: These metrics measure the impact of your interactions with your potential and existing customers. Consider the number of likes, comments, shares, and clicks on your social media pages, for instance.
- Customer satisfaction: CSAT is one of the most critical metrics in business. It measures whether or not your customers are satisfied with your products or the services you provide.
- Conversion metrics: This metric category is the end goal of every business. Think of sales conversion rate (for successful sales), click-through rate (clicks on CTAs), and cost per conversion (the average price for acquiring leads or customers).
5. Create competitor charts for clear comparison
This part is the most crucial—creating a winning comparison chart for your competitor’s analysis. The chart should clearly show how your company and competitors perform based on the abovementioned KPIs.
Here’s the good news, though: You can use different types of charts for comparison. The competitor analysis templates usually feature various charts showing key differences and similarities. They are designed to be user-friendly, making it easier for you to discover your strengths and opportunities versus your competitors.
Below are some chart types you can create for your competitor analysis:
- Comparison tables present detailed information in an organized way. They allow for a side-by-side comparison of several rivals’ features and data.
- Bar charts use horizontal or vertical bars to compare numbers across categories. They help show numerical differences between competitors.
- Pie charts show the proportion of distinct pieces within a whole. They are excellent for demonstrating market share or attribute distribution.
- Line charts show changes over time for one or more variables. They can help uncover trends and performance patterns among competitors.
- Pareto charts combine bar and line charts to show the most relevant aspects of a dataset. They are commonly used to detect key issues or opportunities in rival performance.
Of course, it’s up to you to decide what chart to use for your competitor’s analysis. You can actually use several of these charts for comparison based on various KPIs used.
To gather competitors’ information, you can ask for performance reports, check their case studies, and/or review published whitepapers.
Read What Is Competitor Mapping and How to Use It for Your PR Campaigns
But if this is quite overwhelming, use web or data analytics tools to generate reports. Then, you can use the data to create comparison charts and conduct your SWOT competitor analysis.
6. Use comparison data to improve your business
Now, you’ve reached the final step of the competitor comparison chart. This begs the question: Why is there a need to create comparison charts? The answer is crystal clear: To use the data to improve your business and get ahead of the competition.
The comparison chart will reveal where you stand among all the competitors. It will show what areas you excel in and need to improve. That will guide you in making informed business decisions and implementing effective strategies.
Here are some critical steps you can take to improve your business:
- Optimize business functions. See what departments or particular processes need significant improvements.
- Streamline your workflows. Consider automating some tasks to reduce manual work and accelerate processes.
- Implement best practices. Adopt some excellent practices you’ve discovered from competitors and make some tweaks here and there.
- Train your labor workforce. It’s best to provide your team members with the necessary training programs, such as reskilling and upskilling.
- Leverage modern technologies. Leverage some of the best digital tools like artificial intelligence (AI), robotic process automation (RPA), and even blockchain technology.
- Tap into an uncharted territory. You might want to penetrate a new market or expand your business based on what your competitors currently do.
Final Words
There’s no denying how stiffer the competition has become in every business and industry. Aside from studying your market and optimizing your operations, also keep an eye on your competitors. The goal now isn’t only to improve your products or services to meet your customers’ needs; find a way to rise above the competition as well.
That said, start with a competitor analysis using a competitor comparison chart. Follow our crucial steps outlined above, from studying your market and identifying your competition to using comparison data to improve your business. With all these tips and steps, you can get ahead of the competition for business growth and overall success!
