My team and I recently shared insight about the importance of competitive analysis with my One Million Views Club private group. Particularly, how we evaluate and learn from competition. It’s a strategy I constantly use, and most major brands do as well.
If you’re a coach, artist, influencer, or small business, like many are in my private group, I highly recommend that you do the same. It’s not just about knowing who is in your market, or how they’re similar to you. There’s a lot you can learn from it.
A few tips:
- Research – Use search on Google and the social platforms you are targeting. Type in keywords and terms that are relevant to you/your brand, industry, message, and area of expertise. Make a list of what you find that’s relevant to you. Don’t just look at the big competition, consider your small competitors, too.
- Evaluate – Take time to explore each competitor. Visit their website and the social platforms they use, and look at their products/services. Then, take it a step further. See what they’re saying, their message, how they do things, their content, and anything else you can gather.
Write down what stands out. Look for consistent themes, strategies that are common, and what’s unique or different. Pay attention to what they do that’s working, and what isn’t working! You can learn from both success and failure.
- Learn – Digest and process the information you’ve gained. Consider what you can learn from it, what you can do differently to stand out, and why you are unique. See what you can try or test with your own business or brand, and what you need to avoid doing.
A huge value of competitive analysis is that it can really help you identify where you can carve out your own niche, differentiate, and leverage your value or strengths.
- Go big – Don’t just focus on your competitors. Expand to see what their customers or audience do. Who are they? What are they responding to? What are their behaviors?
If you haven’t done a competitive analysis yet, start now. Even if you’re already established, or have a huge following. We regularly do it here to constantly learn, and see who and what’s new.
