Competitive Analysis and Competitor Analysis

Competitive Analysis and Competitor Analysis research applies in Business to Business (B2B or B-to-B) markets as well as Business to Consumer (B2C or B-to-C) marketplaces. Companies can take very different views of how deeply they should understand their direct and indirect competitors and the competitive offerings which are currently available from them or are being developed by them. This disparity can be driven by an over eagerness to develop 'me too' products or service offerings or alternatively a worry about following them and losing innovation.

We would argue that a good understanding of competitive offerings provides a leadership advantage at all stages of product life cycle including: strategy, definition, launch and introduction and sales. It is important that this knowledge and understanding be shared across the various departments or functions involved with product or service offering management.

Leadership comes from building into Value Propositions those Unique Selling Points (USPs) or Differentiators or Experiential Selling Points (ESPs) which will provide competitive advantage.
Since an investment in time, effort and money will be required to collect useful competitor and competitive offering information, it is important to think of the practicalities relating to:

WHO: Who are our main competitors? Types of direct and indirect competition?
WHAT: What are the main competitive offerings - now and in future? Trends?
HOW: To gather information, understand, translate, share and prioritise messages.
WHEN: To update information and understanding?

Competitor Analysis relates to understanding and analysing those businesses and companies which compete directly or indirectly with your business in one or more markets, product categories or service offerings. Typically, the analysis provides a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) as part of the output.
Competitive Offerings research refers to understanding, analysing and 'benchmarking' the physical products, non-physical products or service offerings of your competitors with your own.

Depending on the reason for doing the analysis (e.g. for product development purposes) the planned future offerings may be of more importance than the current ones which are already available.

Typically, Competitive Offering research is focused on providing a comparison with our own Value Propositions, current or future. There are 2 main methods of analysis. "What Analysis" with the objective of comparing offerings from the perspective of customers and "How Analysis" with the objective of comparing offerings from a 'technical perspective'.

From a data collection perspective there are four main sources of Competitive Offering information:

Secondary external sources which provides 'published' or written information relating to competitive offerings which can be gathered from, for example, research reports, magazines, competitors' web sites ………. and provides information which can be used in a gap or other analysis. This information typically provides input to How Analysis. Sometimes referred to as 'Desknet' research.

Comparative or Benchmark data sources which typically provides a 'published' third party comparative input which may be applicable to both What and How Analysis. Examples include: trade magazines; IT reports; IT web sites; Industry web sites; Financial web sites which attract readers by providing comparative information on products and services.
In House Benchmarking of physical or non-physical products which depending on how the bench marking is carried out can contribute to both What and How Analysis.

Primary external research with various types of customers to obtain their views of Competitive Offerings. Depending on the types of customers this information could be primarily for What Analysis or How Analysis or a combination. If the particular Value Proposition is used by Business Users or End Users then usage information is important for What Analysis, this entails some of the observational methods discussed in customer research.

To read a free TtM case study based on some of our tools and techniques click here

Business to Business User (B2U) and Business to Business (B2B)

While there are similarities with B2C competitive research there are differences which can affect the methodology, for example:

Secondary external sources for competitive information can be very comprehensive, as these are increasingly becoming a way that B2B and B2U companies attract prospects. The use of 'White Papers' to discuss future applications and products as a demonstration of 'Thought Leadership' provide a useful source of trend information.

The effectiveness of In House Benchmarking in terms of understanding vs cost depends on the complexity of physical products and non-physical products and their integration into systems or other products.

Typically B2B and B2U companies have much fewer direct customers. These customers are people within other business organisations and may have a constrained focus in terms of their understanding of competitive offerings.

From a primary external research aspect, the structure of a Value Network can provide good opportunities to understand fully the various dimensions of competitive situation, however, competitive confidentiality needs to be managed.

When deciding who to involve in primary external research, we have found it helpful to consider different types of customers who may be involved in B2B and B2U value networks, these can include:

End Business 'Technical Buyer'

End Business 'Economic Buyer'

Business User (for B2U situations)

Route to Market 'Technical Buyer'

Route to Market 'Economic Buyer'

End Business Internal Influencer

External Influencer for End Business and Routes to Market

In a particular situation not all of these may be appropriate, however, consideration of these different types helps to define the methods and tools for gaining their insight into competitive offerings.

We are experienced in adapting and applying the Competitors Analysis and Competitive Offerings Research Wheel methods and tools for a client's specific situation using a variety of implementation programmes and a database of tools.

Implementation programmes

Competitive Analysis market research programmes can be of 3 main types:

1. Competitive Analysis Methods and tools improvement programme.
In this type of programme we can help you tailor and implement best practices, methods and tools best suited to your company, business unit, market, application and industry. We also provide training and skills transfer if required.

2. Competitive Analysis Market Research programme.
In this tope of programme we implement a programme for Competitive Analysis including Competitor Analysis and Competitive Offering Research and transfer results and recommendations to you. This may include: Secondary external sources; Comparative or Benchmark data sources and/or primary external research with differing types of customers. This could be part of a Value Proposition definition or In Market improvement.

3. Competitive Analysis Market Research programme incorporating methods and tools improvement.
In this type of programme we implement a programme for competitive analysis; tailor and implement best practices, methods and tools best suited to the research programme and transfer the improved process, methods and tools as well as results and recommendations to you. We also provide training and skills transfer if required.

These programmes can be used at various stages of the product or market life cycle and adjusted to provide an appropriate mix of research results and process improvement

Typical Competitive Analysis Market Research Programme Deliverables and Steps

Each of the main types of programme is tailored to the client's situation, but typically comprises the following deliverables:

Plan for conducting Competitive Analysis Market Research

Detailed Results from Primary and Secondary Competitive Analysis Research

Observations, comparisons and recommendations relating to current Value Propositions

Observations and recommendations relating to potential future Value Propositions

A typical programme comprises:

Definition of Competitive Analysis Market Research requirement

Agreement of programme deliverables

Tailoring of methods and tools

Understanding of applicable current Value Propositions based on physical and non-physical products and service offerings (as appropriate)

Secondary 'desknet' research for competitive analysis

Primary Competitive Analysis with an appropriate mix of different types of customers.

Consolidation and analysis

Summary of results and comparisons

Typical Competitive Analysis Methods and tools improvement programme deliverables
A Competitive Analysis Methods and tools improvement programme is tailored to the client's situation, but typically comprises the following deliverables:

Improvement Plan.

Tailored Competitive Analysis Wheel

Tailored methods and toolkit

Tailored Software Packages and Templates

Toolkits:
Our approach installs an advanced set of tools to help achieve improvements and results. We assemble these tools into a toolkit for a client's specific situation. Examples of tools include:

Value Network
Value Proposition
Experiential Value Network
Competitive Forces
Project Plan
Contextual Enquiry - Gemba Topic Guide
1:1 Interviews - Topic Guide
1:n Interviews - Topic Guide
DeskNet Research - Topic Guide
What Analysis
How Analysis
MoSCoW rules
SWOT Chart
Price/Performance Chart
Value Map
Spidergrams

Software Packages and Templates
Possibilities include:

S2: Customer and Competitive Analysis

Free Proposal
We can provide a free proposal, including programme outline with costing, to meet your requirements please contact us.

To read a free TtM case study based on some of our tools and techniques click here

For more information, click on the links below:

Product Marketing and Management
Product Strategy and Product Portfolio Strategy: framework and tools
Product Definition (PD) and pragmatic Quality Function Deployment (pQFD)
Voice of Customer (VoC) and Market Research
New Product Introduction (NPI) or New Product Development (NPD)
In Life or In Market Management of Current Products
Product Value Proposition and Value Propositions Portfolio
Product Development, Marketing and Management Software Applications
Product Management and Product Manager Training