Learning from the Mistakes of Others: Competition Analysis and Online Marketing

Posted on August 12, 2013


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Competition analysis is of uttermost importance for the successful establishment of market positions. Today, nearly all niches are occupied. Launching a new product depends on the marketing and the presentation. Analyzing what the competition is doing will give you the opportunity to earn your market share without committing grave mistakes.

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★ Learning from the Mistakes of Others: Competition Analysis and Online Marketing

The Importance of Competition Analysis: A Case Study
Dell is one of the best-known names in the world of computer technologies. The company, however, is seeing some serious competition from other popular entities like HP and IBM. Dell marketing experts decided to carry out competition analysis in an attempt to establish the company’s leading market position and to attract new customers.

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The competition in the IT world is fierce. According to 2008 information, HP is the leading market PC producer. IBM ranks among the top five manufacturers in the world. Beating such competition seems like a mission impossible.

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After doing competition analysis, Dell came up with several strategies to take the market share of the competitors and to build a loyal clientele. The company diversified its product line to answer the needs of everyone starting from the gamer and going up to the large corporation. It began launching new products each year to capture a more diverse market share. Other strategies that the company adopted after doing competition analysis include decentralized production method, complex networks of marketing communication and decentralized distribution. Competitive prices were introduced, as well, because the IT market is highly price sensitive.

A Contemporary Approach to Competition Analysis:
Though the specifics of the process remain unchanged with time, competition analysis has evolved somehow to address contemporary realities. Internet, mobile browsing and eCommerce have all affected analysis of competitor activities.

Technology and web developments have led to the emergence of some important trends and have also given you access to incredible volumes of information. Cross-industry competition analysis has become important. In this instance, you compare your performance to that of competitors in several industries or sectors. Cross-industry competitive analysis is important because it allows you to assess the performance of your eCommerce website, for example, against that of other popular web projects.

Search engine optimization is another criterion that has started playing role for good competition analysis. SEO is an important way for many businesses to generate leads. The keywords you target, however, will also be important for another company. Your SEO performance will be determining for the ranking of your website and the ability to generate traffic through search engine referrals.

Tips for Adequate Competition Analysis
Doing competition analysis is connected to so many advantages but do you know how to do it properly? When executed incorrectly, competition analysis will demand too much time and resource. Flowed competition analysis may also result in the wrong business decisions.

First, do SWOT analysis of your own business. Understanding your strengths and weaknesses is the best ways to figure out what others are doing and why it gives you competitive advantage.

Investigate corporate activities and study business reports connected to the proceedings of competitors. Try to find out more about the people running the business, their philosophy and their business approach. Understanding their style will help you anticipate moves and perform better.

Purchase products and talk to customers that used your competitor’s services. This is some of the most valuable marketing information that you will ever get a chance to analyze. Gaps in customer service and communication will really benefit you, as long as you react quickly by offering the clients what they seem to be missing.

Competition analysis will save both time and money when done properly. Start by taking a close look at your own business practices. You will next have to do extensive research. Analyzing your competition, seeing what other companies are doing and identifying market gaps will give you access to a tremendous marketing resource that can be easily monetized.

About The Author
Nick Anderson is a writer and specialize in writing on Marketing or financial topics and writes for Forths Forensic Accountants. He often likes to do competition analysis with in different niche as a writer so he decided to write this post to share his knowledge about that. You can follow him on twitter @NickNikanderson.