5. Evaluate their website for affiliations and events

[fomayof928@mowline]

A screenshot of Sprout Social’s competitive analysis features such as total engagements, total unique authors, total potential impressions, and average positive sentiment.

Online reviews also give you insight into brand sentiment. finland b2b leads Google Alerts will keep you in the loop about your competitors’ new content, news mentions and website changes. And ofcourse, our Spike Alerts help you monitor and respond to significant increases in mentions or keywords related to your brand or industry.

Looking into the events your competitors attend or sponsor offers insight into their target audience, brand values and personality. Sponsoring an important cause also helps a brand foster a more positive reputation, so researching competitor events and affiliations will tell you more about what your target audience cares about, which you can use to your benefit in your marketing strategy.

For example, consulting firm Accenture sponsoring AfroTech, an annual conference for Black tech professionals, highlights their commitment to inclusion and diversity.

A screenshot from Accenture’s “Accenture at AfroTech 2023” webpage.

6. Consider working with a market research firm
If all this research and analysis sounds daunting, outsource the work to a market research firm. They will gather and analyze competitor data about your competitors’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT). Plus, since they’re not a part of your company, they often gather more neutral, unbiased findings.

7. Summarize findings and determine next steps
You’ve collected all this data, but what does it all mean? Once you’ve completed your research, break down your marketing competitor analysis into actionable takeaways that your key stakeholders can easily understand. Summarize the key findings and most interesting points, and use charts, graphs and other visual aids to make the data more digestible. Form your next steps based on the insights you gather.

Even if your competitors don’t change, your general market will. From evolving consumer behavior to new technological developments, your business must be aware of, and ready to, adapt to these shifts.