In today’s highly competitive markets you need to stay alert to companies around you in order to get ahead.
No matter what your business concerns, keeping in tune with trends across your sector is an essential part of making the right decisions moving forward. Knowing the market intimately integral to this growth, as is being aware of how your competitors are vying for the market share.
Here are six ways you can monitor your competitors to give your firm the advantage:
Harness the web
Google is great as a starting block, but other Google services will allow you to develop your search for competitor information. Google Trends will give vital information about goings on in your industry and will allow you to compare your company to others. Google Alerts allows you to monitor the web for interesting new content; you can stay on top of new events and offers and be able to respond appropriately.
Become the customer
Try to put yourself in your customer mind-set and visit the workplaces of your competitors. Enquire about products and services and think about your experience as a customer. Try to approach the same business through a variety of platforms to get a more thorough idea of customer service and get a taste for what your competitors are doing well and less well.
Embrace social media
Social media engagement is essential if you want to maximise the reach of your brand. Some of the main players being Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram, these are cost effective means of keeping your finger on the trend pulse, expanding your following and communicating your business to as many people as possible. Pay attention to how your competitors interact with their customers and emulate successful methods.
Engage with your customers
Take advantage of the efficacy of customer dialogue. Get as much feedback as you can to find out what your audience likes and dislikes about your products and services. Try and find out who they used before they became your customers and the reasons behind their leaving other companies. Similarly, try to talk to customers who go to your competitors; what are other businesses doing well that you’re doing badly? Where could you improve?
Attend industry conferences
Appearing at key events within your industry will let you stare into the face of your competitors while giving you a forum to throw ideas around with business leaders who are on your wavelength. Familiarise yourself with what others are doing and get a feel for what they are offering. Network as much as possible and learn how other firms are planning to grow. The methods your competitors are employing will give away intentions and future goals. Pay attention to these strategies and plan your own goals accordingly.
Who’s being hired?
There’s valuable information to be gained from noting who your competitors are using to fill job roles. Try to obtain competitors’ application forms if possible to see what skills they want their candidates to be equipped with before coming into the job and that industry. This will give you a good idea as to the standard of products and services being offered in businesses around you, and alert you to how you need to adapt to stay on track.
Throughout the process of researching your competitors, keep your eye on the future. So many things can change in six months, so be aware that the businesses you are up against will most likely have pretty ambitious plans for the year ahead. Think about competitors’ applications for patents, their marketing strategy and how their brand is developing. Is anything going on that might signify a shift in focus, and why is this being done?
Today’s customers are more enlightened and more savvy than ever. To attract and maintain their attention, you need to pull out all the stops and force yourself above and beyond the performance of your competitors. Researching those you are up against can be time consuming but it is well worth the effort in the long run.
By Tom Darnell, Chief Commercial Officer at Creare.
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