Have questions on how to get information about your competition?  Here are some best practices:


1. To stay competitive in the short and long term, here is the info you need to get on your competitors:


Conducting Competitive Research: Creating a Framework 


In general, the way to start gathering competitive research is to first set a framework for your competitive assessment. Levy suggests the best way to begin if you're doing this on your own is to start by opening up a new Excel worksheet and creating the following columns outlining your competitors: 

  • Name (and location if relevant) 
  • URL 
  • Elevator pitch (Brief answer to the question "Who is this company?") 
  • Mission (If it exists.) 
  • Products/services offered (with pricing) 
  • Strengths (What is the competitor good at?) 
  • Weaknesses (Where does the competitor fall short?) 
  • Key brand differentiators (What are the messaging, product/service offerings, etc., that set the competitor apart from their competition?)

Additional tips from Inc. Magazine.

2. Here is where you can find out info about your competitors:
  • Local business directories 
  • Your local Chamber of Commerce 
  • Advertising 
  • Press reports 
  • Exhibitions and trade fairs 
  • Questionnaires 
  • Searching on the Internet for similar products or services 
  • Information provided by customers 
  • Flyers and marketing literature that have been sent to you - quite common if you're on a bought-in marketing list 
  • Searching for existing patented products that are similar to yours 
  • Planning applications and building work in progress


3. Monitor the way your competitors do business. Look at:

  • The products or services they provide and how they market them to customers 
  • The prices they charge 
  • How they distribute and deliver 
  • The devices they employ to enhance customer loyalty and what back-up service they offer 
  • Their brand and design values 
  • Whether they innovate - business methods as well as products 
  • Their staff numbers and the calibre of staff that they attract 
  • How they use IT - for example, if they're technology-aware and offer a website and email 
  • Who owns the business and what sort of person they are 
  • Their annual report - if they're a public company 
  • Their media activities - check their website as well as local newspapers, radio, television and any outdoor advertising


See more details here.


Here is another article that talks about customer service as a more sophisticated version of competitiveness.