4a Evaluate Your Competition

Evaluate Your Competition
How well do you know your competitors? How do you stack up against them in the marketplace? How do your
prospects rank you in a competitive situation?
Evaluating a competitive analysis is a key element of any competitive strategy. It should include:
Listing your competitors: Include any competitors that can solve your customers problems even if their
solutions are much different than yours ! theyre still your competition.
"ating your own company and your direct competitors on operational efficiency #price$ product
leadership and customer intimacy. Its easy to think youre the best so be as impartial as you can.
Summary
EXERCISE
SUMMARY
When to Address
If youre creating your competitive positioning strategy and have already segmented
your market your ne%t step is to evaluate your competitors.
If youre considering a new marketing campaign that positions your company
against a specific competitor or group within the market youll want to have a
detailed understanding of them.
Who Should
Participate
&usiness leaders: company founders owners presidents and vice presidents
'arketing and sales leaders
Where to Use the
Results
(oull use your competitive evaluation to help define your value proposition and
your competitive positioning. (oull also use it to help shape your messages
influence your campaign creative and overcome sales ob)ectives.
Why its Important
(our competitive evaluation plays a key role in determining your position in the
marketplace and should influence key strategy decisions such as how to penetrate
the marketplace where to spend your budget and what customer segments to pursue.
E*ually important it should also help you determine what not to pursue as
sometimes taking on entrenched competition is a poor investment.
+ompetitive ,ositioning Evaluate (our +ompetition page of !
More instant-access resources and tools online at http://www.doitmarketing.com
What "uilds Upon
it
(our competitive analysis is the largest factor influencing your ultimate positioning
decision. -his strategic decision should be reflected in your entire brand strategy and
all of your messages campaign creative and sales pitches.
#ime$rame to
Completion
-he time.consuming part of this e%ercise is in gathering the intimate details about
your competitors. If you already have them this is a short e%ercise that can be
completed in a few hours. If you need to obtain them it might take you a few days
to a week depending on your ability to connect with your customers.
Potential "usiness
Impact
/ubstantial. -he better you know the makeup of your market the more effectively
you can carve out your own space. Its more important than the *uality of your
product: 0 great product probably wont be very successful if its entering a mature
market with other e*ually great products from entrenched competitors.
%elivera&le
(oull determine direct indirect and future competitors determine your rating
criteria rate each competitor as well as yourself and analy1e the results.
'e(t Steps
0fter you complete your competitive analysis youll want to reference it to
determine your value proposition.
#ar)et Completion %ate
PAR#ICIPA'#S
#AS*S #+ ,E# S#AR#E%
PERS+'
RESP+'SI"-E
%UE %A#E
+ompetitive ,ositioning Evaluate (our +ompetition page . of !
#AS*S #+ ,E# S#AR#E%
PERS+'
RESP+'SI"-E
%UE %A#E
'otes
What to Complete
/ %E#ERMI'E Y+UR #RUE C+MPE#I#I+'
./ %ECI%E +' Y+UR RA#I', CRI#ERIA
0/ E1A-U#E Y+UR C+MPE#I#+RS A'% Y+URSE-2
3/ A'A-Y4E C+MPE#I#I1E A'A-YSIS RESU-#S
5/ CREA#E SW+# A'A-YSIS
Where it 2its in Competitive Positionin)
+reate +ustomer 2iew
3iscover ,otential 4ew 'arkets
4ew 'arkets "e*uirement 5verview
4ew 'arket 0nalysis "esults
3efine 'arket /i1e
5utline 'arket +haracteristics
3etermine 'arket Lifecycle /tate
3etermine ,ositioning /trategy
6et to 7now (our 'arket
Evaluate (our 'arket "esearch
3etermine (our /egments or ,ersonas
+ompetitive ,ositioning Evaluate (our +ompetition page 0 of !
,rofile (our /egments or ,ersonas
3etermine (our -rue +ompetition
3ecide on (our "ating +riteria
Evaluate (our +ompetitors and (ourself
0naly1e +ompetitive 0nalysis "esults
+reate /85- 0nalysis
3etermine (our +ompetitors 2alue ,ropositions
"ate (our 'arket on How it /olves +ustomer ,roblems
3etermine (our 2alue ,roposition
+reate +ompetitive ,ositioning 'atri%
'ap (our 'arket
/ummari1e (our +ompetitive /trategy
-he first step in creating your competitive analysis is to determine your true competition.
/ %E#ERMI'E Y+UR #RUE C+MPE#I#I+'
8hen considering your competitive positioning think about all of your competitors including both e%isting
and potential future competitors. +onsider the competition within each market and think on a national regional
and local level if appropriate.
#YPE +2 C+MPE#I#+R EXP-A'A#I+'
%irect -hey offer solutions that are similar to your own.
Indirect
-heir solutions are different than yours but can potentially provide relief for
the market
2uture -hey could easily e%pand their offerings to compete with you.
%IREC# C+MPE#I#+RS
9or each product in each market list your top five direct competitors their details and estimate their market
share
Product
Mar6et
Su&cate)ory 7i$ applica&le8
%IREC# C+MPE#I#+R
C+MPA'Y %E#AI-S 7YEAR
2+U'%E%9 RE1E'UE9 CURRE'#
#RE'%S9 E#C8
APPR+XIMA#E
MAR*E# S:ARE
.
0
3
5
I'%IREC# C+MPE#I#+RS
9or each product in each market list your top five indirect competitors. -hese could be companies with
offerings that overlap yours or have access to your market. 5ftentimes partners can be indirect competitors.
Product
Mar6et
I'%IREC# C+MPE#I#+R
#RE'%S9 E#C8
APPR+XIMA#E
MAR*E# S:ARE
.
0
3
5
2U#URE C+MPE#I#+RS
9or each product in each market list your top five future potential competitors. -ake some time to consider all
the potential threats:companies that can *uickly enter your market win capture market share. +onsider the
case study of 4etscape in ;<<=. 4etscape developed the first commercial web.browser and didnt have much
competition starting out. -hen 'icrosoft decided to built its own browser and bundle it with the 8indows
operating system and 4etscape suddenly couldnt compete.
Product
Mar6et
2U#URE C+MPE#I#+R
#RE'%S9 E#C8
P+#E'#IA-
A"I-I#Y #+
PE'E#RA#E
MAR*E#
.
0
3
5
+ompetitive ,ositioning Evaluate (our +ompetition page ; of !
2I'A- C+MPE#I#+R -IS#
/pend some time evaluating all your direct indirect and future competitors and create a final list.
Product
Mar6et
C+MPE#I#+R #YPE
APPR+XIMA#E
MAR*E# S:ARE
+R P+#E'#IA-
3irect Indirect 9uture
. 3irect Indirect 9uture
0 3irect Indirect 9uture
; 3irect Indirect 9uture
< 3irect Indirect 9uture
! 3irect Indirect 9uture
./ %ECI%E +' Y+UR RA#I', CRI#ERIA
4ow determine the criteria youll use to rate your competitors and yourself. 3ifferent companies in different
industries re*uire different criteria so choose the most effective criteria for you and your market.
Here are some suggestions:
+ompetitive ,ositioning Evaluate (our +ompetition page < of !
P+#E'#IA- RA#I', CRI#ERIA

USE= '+#ES
Price
Product >uality
Product Uni?ueness
Product 2eatures
Product E$$ectiveness
Service
Innovation
Mar6et Share
%istri&ution Channels@PoAer
Product@"rand AAareness
'ame Reco)nition
Reputation
Corporate CitiBenship
2inancial Stren)th
Sales A&ility
Environmental Responsi&ility

-hen choose the criteria youll use:
+UR RA#I', CRI#ERIA IMP+R#A'CE
+ompetitive ,ositioning Evaluate (our +ompetition page ! of !

0/ E1A-U#E Y+UR C+MPE#I#+RS A'% Y+URSE-2
4ow rate your competitors in the categories below with = being the best and ; being the worst. &e as neutral
as possible ! pretend youre a prospect who doesnt know a lot about your competitors or your own company.
"ate each competitor on a scale
from ;.=.
Y+UR C+MPE#I#+RS 72R+M -IS#
A"+1E8
C+MPARIS+' CRI#ERIA . 0 3 5 ; < ! A1,
Y+UR
C+/
+ompetitive ,ositioning Evaluate (our +ompetition page C of !
from ;.=.
A"+1E8
Y+UR
C+/
3/ A'A-Y4E C+MPE#I#I1E A'A-YSIS RESU-#S
4ow evaluate your ratings. 0gain be as neutral as possible especially when considering your own company.
In Ahich cate)ories did you score hi)her than avera)e=
In Ahich cate)ories did you score loAer than avera)e=
Are there any cate)ories Aith consistently loA scores across the &oard= Can you $ocus on those
cate)ories to di$$erentiate your product=
+ompetitive ,ositioning Evaluate (our +ompetition page D of !
Are your scores si)ni$icantly di$$erent $rom many o$ your competitors= If not the market may not see
how you are different. Can you improve your scores to stand out=
In Ahat areas are you Aea6=
Can you improve on these Aea6 areas= I$ so9 Ahat do you need to improve on them= And9 should you
improve on them=
What are your stren)ths=
What are the e(istin) threats in the mar6et=
What are the opportunities in the mar6et=
+ompetitive ,ositioning Evaluate (our +ompetition page of !
Are there any other conclusions you can draA $rom this e(ercise=
5/ CREA#E SW+# A'A-YSIS
0 /85- analysis is a standard way to group the results from your above e%ercise into a table format. It creates
a powerful visual to use while organi1ing your competitive strategy.
/85- stands for /trengths 8eaknesses -hreats and 5pportunities.
Stren)thsE 8hat you do well.

Wea6nessesE 8hat are you doing poorly?
+pportunitiesE 8hat potential is available?
#hreatsE 8hat obstacles are in your path?
S#RE',#:S
/trength ;
/trength >
/trength ?
+ont
WEA*'ESSES
8eakness ;
8eakness >
8eakness ?
+ont
+ompetitive ,ositioning Evaluate (our +ompetition page . of !
Internal
E(ternal
Positive 'e)ative
+PP+R#U'I#IES
5pportunity ;
5pportunity >
5pportunity ?
+ont
#:REA#S
-hreat ;
-hreat >
-hreat ?
+ont
Report
/ +UR C+MPE#I#+R -IS#
./ +UR C+MPE#I#+R RA#I', CRI#ERIA
0/ C+MPE#I#I1E RA#I',S
3/ SW+# A'A-YSIS
-his report summari1es our results from completing E%ercise @ ! +ompetitive ,ositioning: Evaluate (our
+ompetition.
/ +UR C+MPE#I#+R -IS#
&ased on our e%perience and research these are our most formidable competitors:
C+MPE#I#+R #YPE
APPR+XIMA#E
MAR*E# S:ARE
+R P+#E'#IA-
3irect Indirect 9uture
. 3irect Indirect 9uture
; 3irect Indirect 9uture
< 3irect Indirect 9uture
! 3irect Indirect 9uture
./ +UR C+MPE#I#+R RA#I', CRI#ERIA
Here is the criteria we used to rate ourselves and our competitors:
+UR RA#I', CRI#ERIA IMP+R#A'CE

0/ C+MPE#I#I1E RA#I',S
Here are the results of our ratings:
from ;.=.
A"+1E8
Y+UR
C+/
3/ SW+# A'A-YSIS
S#RE',#:S
/trength ;
/trength >
/trength ?
+ont
WEA*'ESSES
8eakness ;
8eakness >
8eakness ?
+ont
+PP+R#U'I#IES
5pportunity ;
5pportunity >
5pportunity ?
+ont
#:REA#S
-hreat ;
-hreat >
-hreat ?
+ont
+ompetitive ,ositioning Evaluate (our +ompetition page ; of !
Internal
E(ternal
Positive 'e)ative
M+RE Ways to ,roA Your "usiness 2AS#///
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+ompetitive ,ositioning Evaluate (our +ompetition page < of !
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