You need to know your competition. Full stop, no ifs or buts about it.
By identifying your competitors, you can sharpen your unique value proposition and dial in on your target audience.
Knowing your competitors means knowing where you stand in the market and changing course accordingly.
This guide will present different methods to identify your competitors so you can get started with competitive analysis and build a winning marketing strategy for your brand.
Types of Competitors: Not All Competitors Are Made Alike
Before you start identifying competitors, you need to know the differences between direct, indirect, and substitute competitors.
By doing this, you can understand how a potential customer views your product and the alternatives they’ll come across before they buy.
Direct
Your direct competitors sell the same product as you do. Your customers will compare you with your direct competitors when they shop for alternatives.
If you sell furniture, your direct competitors are other furniture manufacturers. If you’re in the laundry business, your direct competitors are other laundromats.
For example, Sony and Bose are direct competitors because they both sell headphones.
Indirect
Your indirect competitors sell different (or similar but not the same) products from you but nonetheless compete with you for the same audience and address your audience’s needs in a different way.
Because of their nature, indirect competition is harder to identify. For example, furniture shops may offer beddings as a complement to their main product but they don’t sell beddings primarily.
Still, if you sell beddings like sheets, duvets, and blankets, furniture stores will affect your business. Therefore, furniture brands are your indirect competitors.
Substitute Competitors
Substitute or replacement competitors don’t sell the same products but share the same audience. They pose a threat because they can still steal potential customers from you as they address the same needs.
For example, a potato chip brand’s substitute competitors are popcorn brands, softdrink brands, and energy bar brands because all their products are consumed as snacks.
How to Know Your Direct Competitors
Search engines like Google will quickly unearth potential competitors. Google the keywords relevant to your brand and product and check the top results.
Aside from that, you can explore the ads that come up in your search. These will most likely be your direct competitors.
Repeat this step, this time with your location added to your main keyword. This will surface even more direct competitors.
Conduct market research
Talk to your sales team because they have firsthand knowledge of your market. You can also look into industry events and conferences to see what you’re competing against.
These networking opportunities will give you extensive knowledge of your competitive landscape.
Talk to your customers
Customers, like your salespeople, are a great source of trusted information because they have considered your competitors before buying from you.
Ask your customers about alternatives they’ve evaluated during their decision making. You can even learn about direct competitors you’ve never heard of or didn’t know were your competitors.
Look at review sites and Google Maps
Review sites like Yelp, G2, Capterra, and even Google Maps will also give you clues about who you’re up against in your industry.
This is especially helpful if you want to identify local competitors.
As a bonus, you can read reviews from customers and see which businesses are the most highly rated in your area.
Search for competitors on social media, online forums, and communities
Let’s not forget the biggest source of consumer insights online: social media. People are vetting products online and they’ll often turn to social media and online forums to ask for feedback about products and brands.
Reviews are a huge factor in making a purchase so definitely take a look into these places and see what brands are being talked about when you look up your product or brand.
Ask your customers about alternatives they’ve evaluated during their decision making. You can even learn about direct competitors you’ve never heard of or didn’t know were your competitors.
How to Know Your Indirect Competitors
Don’t neglect to research your indirect competitors in your competitive analysis. It takes more work but it’s necessary if you want to catch the eye of potential customers early in their journey.
If you want to stay sharp and keep up with your industry, you need to research your indirect competitors, too.
Keyword research
SEO is key in knowing your indirect competition. Look at what ads, brands and websites have the top spot on Google for your target keywords.
You are competing with these brands for your target audience’s eyeballs. You may not have thought of these brands as your competitors but Google considers them in your league.
After all, anyone who steals traffic that could have gone to your website is by definition a competitor. Trust Google and do your keyword research.
Regularly monitor news and trends
Change is constant so you should never be complacent because new competitors crop up regularly and if you don’t prepare yourself, they can seriously chip away at your revenue.
Always check potential competitors by reading up on technology news and browsing on social media sites like LinkedIn. Industry experts are also a good source of information and they’re often the first to catch wind of changes in an industry.
You can also set up Google alerts for your target keywords so you can be reminded of pertinent news.
Competitor tracking should be a part of your routine. This includes monitoring newsletters, ads, and websites of potential competitors.
If that sounds like a tall order, use competitor tracking tools like Panoramata to stay on top of marketing activity and trends across multiple platforms.
Know your competitors using Panoramata
You can also use Panoramata as your all-in-one tool to find competitors. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do this.
Identify Competitors on Panoramata Emails Search
On the Panoramata dashboard, click on Emails Search on the lefthand panel.
Type in a product your brand is selling or a keyword related to your brand.
The results will yield emails that mention your product or keyword. You can then view each email in detail.
You can also click on the brand and head to their brand profile on Panoramata to view their latest activity across several channels.
Identify Competitors on Panoramata Ads Search
On the Panoramata dashboard, click on Ads Search on the lefthand panel.
Type in a product your brand is selling or a keyword related to your brand.
The results will yield ads that mention your product or keyword. You can then play the ad (if it’s in video format).
Alternatively, you can
- Download a copy of the ad
- Go to the ad on the brand’s website
- Check the ad’s landing page
- Save the ad to a list on Panoramata
You can also click on the brand and head to their brand profile on Panoramata to see if they are your competitor and learn more about them.
Your Path to Smarter Competitive Analysis
In conclusion, understanding your competitors is essential for refining your brand’s strategy and standing out in the market.
By identifying direct, indirect, and substitute competitors, you gain valuable insights into your position and can adjust your approach to meet customer needs more effectively.
Leverage tools like Google, review sites, social media, and customer feedback to discover competitors across different levels. Combine this with ongoing monitoring and keyword research to stay ahead of industry changes.
Don’t forget the importance of tools like Panoramata, which streamline competitor tracking and make it easier to gather actionable data.
FAQs
1. Why is it important to know your competitors?
Knowing your competitors helps you understand your market position and refine your unique value proposition. It also enables you to anticipate market trends and improve your strategy to attract more customers.
2. What is the difference between direct and indirect competitors?
Direct competitors sell the same products or services as you and compete directly for your audience. Indirect competitors address similar needs with different products, competing for the same target audience in a broader sense.
3. How can I find my competitors online?
You can find competitors online by using search engines, social media platforms, review sites, and competitor tracking tools. Keyword research and monitoring industry trends also help identify both direct and indirect competitors.
