Did you know that there are over 600,000 new businesses across the United States each year? As you might guess, it’s essential to keep tabs on your competitors so that you know who you’re up against. Although competitive market research might seem complicated, it’s much easier than you think.

We’ve put together a guide on how to properly conduct a competitive analysis of other companies in your industry. Let’s dive into everything you need to know about competitive intelligence.

Identify Your Competitors Who Have the Highest Priority

These will usually be the companies who are the biggest threat to your business, or who have the most market share. Once you’ve identified these companies, you can start to research them in more detail.

Here are some questions to ask yourself when determining which companies are the biggest threat to your business:

• What are their strengths?
• What are their weaknesses?
• How much market share do they have?
• What is their competitive advantage?
• How well known are they in the industry?

This info will help ensure you get started on the right track.

Determine Key Research Areas

Once you’ve identified your key competitors, it’s time to start thinking about what areas you want to focus on in your research.

This will vary depending on your industry and what information would be most useful to you. In general, though, you’ll want to focus on their marketing strategy, product offering, pricing, and distribution.

Otherwise, you can also look at their financials, if public, to get an idea of their overall health and growth. There are a few ways to collect this information. You can look at their website and marketing materials, such as brochures or case studies.

You can also search for news articles or press releases about them. Finally, you can also reach out to them directly and ask for more information.

Build Profiles of Your Competitors

Once you’ve gathered all this information, it’s time to start putting together profiles of your competitors. These should include their key strengths and weaknesses, as well as anything else that would be useful to know. For example, if one of your competitors has a new product coming out soon, that’s something you’ll want to be aware of.

This will help you make better decisions about your own business.

Keep Tabs on Your Competitors

Now that you’ve done all this research, it’s important to keep track of your competitors and what they’re up to.

This can be as simple as setting up Google Alerts for their company name or checking their website regularly. By doing this, you’ll be able to quickly adapt to any changes they make, such as new products or changes in their marketing strategy.

Social medial listening is also an essential process that you need to consider. So, what is social media listening? Check out this resource to find out.

Competitive Intelligence Research Doesn’t Have to Be Difficult

In fact, it will likely go far more smoothly than you anticipate. Be sure that you keep the above information in mind about competitive intelligence so that you can make the decision that’s best for you in the future.

Our blog has plenty of other articles like this one that can help you out in the future. Be sure to take a look!