A crucial aspect to understanding your competitors is their strengths and weaknesses.
Let’s think of your business as your body. You get regular health check-ups or if you think there is a problem at the doctors to evaluate your health. Your doctor and specialist have tools like stethoscopes, X-rays, and MRIs to detect any health problems and gain insights into a patient’s internal condition.
Businesses can use competitor analysis to gain valuable insights on their competitors’ strategies, capabilities and market positioning that will help them in their decision-making.
When we think of competitors, we can use the analogy of running in a race with them and each one of us are trying desperately to get to the finish line first. Having in depth knowledge about your fellow runners will give you a calculated lead. Knowledge about their strengths and weaknesses will have a strong impact on your strategy in running that race and this is a crucial aspect to understanding them.
So, why is knowing about our fellow runners (our competitors) fundamental, and how can we compare it to having a comprehensive health check?
Essential value of having insights on our competitors through a competitor analysis:
When you have insights on your competitors, it is like having a compass helping your business intentionally know where you are heading in that race. Whether the business is just starting and trying to find their way, or it is a long-time runner looking to claim dominance, having insights through a competitor analysis provides unequalled advantages.
It is not about undertaking what your competitors are doing, it is about being different and transforming your business to help you stand out and always be ahead in that race.
The health check and analysing business health
Think about your business as a living creature, and your competitors are other living creatures in the same network.
When you visit a doctor, they will use different tools to check those health issues you went to see them for.
Businesses can use competitor analysis tools to determine their health in the marketplace.
Stethoscope – Listening to the pulse
Whilst the doctor uses the stethoscope to listen to your heartbeat, competitor checking devices allows the business to listen to the business’s pulse.
Tracking your competitors consistently, what they are doing and how they are running, at what stage of the race they are in, is like listening to the beat of the business/your heart. What products or services do they have? What is their customer service like? What is their pricing like?
By being ahead with this kind of information, your business’s strategies can be adjusted to ensure you stand out and remain ahead of the race.
X-ray: Examining inside
The X-ray machine looks inside your body and highlights any possible concerns.
Using competitor reporting tools means you can investigate your competitors’ operations, strategies, and products/services. Knowing what their strengths and weaknesses will help determine the parts where you can set yourself apart.
To illustrate, if a competitor’s strength is their customer service but there are gaps (weakness) in their product/service and pricing, you can focus on boosting your product/service and pricing.
MRI: In-depth insights
The MRI gives a thorough view of your body’s internal functions. Without it, you cannot possibly know what is going on inside your body.
Equally, a detailed market analysis provides a complete outlook of your business settings. This means identifying what your customers want and need, market trends, and new opportunities.
So, just like an MRI can identify any unknown health issues, a market analysis can discover potential growth opportunities and improvement.
Using a medical approach to obtain lessons in business
Proactive diagnosis:
Just like you would have regular health check-ups, consistent competitor analysis means that you can immediately identify any challenges and be aware of opportunities.
This way there will be no surprises and strategic adjustments can be implemented when needed.
Customized Treatment Plans:
Just as doctors generate customized treatment plans, valuable competitor insights will permit businesses to customize their strategies.
Concepts can be created focusing on competitive gaps.
Informed Decision-Making:
Doctors make informed decisions on diagnostic findings.
Similarly, competitor analysis allows businesses to make informative choices that will boost their competitiveness.
Constant examining
Doctors constantly examine their patient’s progress.
Equally, knowing competitors’ actions is a constant activity that allows you to change and react dynamically.
Collaborative Improvement
Doctors help their patients improve their health.
Having valuable insights on your competitors is not about beating them, but it is about advancing your business by learning from their successes and mistakes.
To conclude, having insights on your competitors is key to effective business strategy.
Doctors use diagnostic tools to evaluate your body’s health, listen to your pulse, and examine your internal functioning.
Competitor analysis tools diagnose your business’s market health. They help you listen to the industry’s pulse, examine how your competitors’ function, and acquire thorough awareness of the market landscape.
By assuming a medical approach to help understand your competitors, you can work towards diagnosing
problems, customize your strategies, and make informed decisions that heads towards viable business growth and success.