Competitor mapping, also known as competitive analysis or benchmarking, is the process of studying and analyzing the strategies and tactics of a business’s competitors. Competitor mapping can help businesses to understand the competitive landscape, identify opportunities and threats, and develop strategies to gain an advantage in the market. Here are some steps to follow when doing competitor mapping:
- Identify competitors: The first step in competitor mapping is to identify the main competitors in the market. This may include direct competitors that offer similar products or services, as well as indirect competitors that offer substitutes or alternatives.
- Gather information: Once the competitors have been identified, businesses can gather information about their products, services, pricing, marketing strategies, and other relevant data. This information can be obtained through various methods, such as online research, customer interviews, and market surveys.
- Analyze the data: After gathering information about the competitors, businesses can analyze the data to identify trends, strengths, weaknesses, and other key insights. This analysis can help businesses to understand the competitive landscape and identify opportunities for differentiation and advantage.
- Develop a strategy: Based on the analysis of the competitors, businesses can develop a strategy to position themselves in the market. This may include identifying areas where the business can differentiate itself from the competition, targeting specific segments of the market, or implementing new marketing or sales strategies.
- Monitor and update: Competitor mapping is an ongoing process, as businesses need to continuously monitor the competitive landscape and adjust their strategies as needed. This may involve revisiting the analysis of competitors and gathering new information, as well as implementing new strategies or tactics as needed.
By following these steps, businesses can gain a better understanding of the competitive landscape and develop strategies to gain an advantage over the competition.
Tools and resources for Competitor mapping
There are a variety of tools and resources that businesses can use to do competitor mapping, also known as competitive analysis or benchmarking. Some of the most commonly used tools and resources include:
- Google Analytics: Google Analytics is a free web analytics service that can provide valuable insights into the traffic and performance of a website, including the sources of traffic and the actions taken by users. This information can help businesses to understand the strategies and tactics of their competitors.
- SEMrush: SEMrush is a paid tool that provides data and insights on the search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC), and content marketing strategies of websites. SEMrush can help businesses to understand the keywords, backlinks, and other tactics that their competitors are using to rank well in the search results.
- Ahrefs: Ahrefs is a paid tool that provides data and insights on the backlinks, keywords, and content of websites. Ahrefs can help businesses to understand the link-building and content strategies of their competitors, and can also provide insights into the traffic and performance of competitors’ websites.
- SimilarWeb: SimilarWeb is a paid tool that provides data on the traffic and performance of websites, including information on the sources of traffic, the actions taken by users, and the demographics of the audience. This information can help businesses to understand the marketing and traffic-generation strategies of their competitors.
- Social media: Social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, can be valuable sources of information for competitor mapping. Businesses can use social media to monitor their competitors’ activity and engagement, and to understand the strategies and tactics they are using to reach and engage their audience.
By using these and other tools and resources, businesses can gain a better understanding of the competitive landscape and develop strategies to gain an advantage over the competition.
