No matter what industry you’re in, it’s essential to keep your finger on the pulse on the market. To do this, businesses require ongoing market research and competitive analysis. By researching the marketplace, marketers can gather vital information about their target audiences, including needs, interests and pain points. But knowing about your ideal customers isn’t enough. To stand out in today’s crowded landscape, organizations also need to conduct a competitive analysis to identify their unique selling proposition. When done together, market research and a competitive analysis help create a meaningful marketplace advantage.
Defining Market and Competitive Research
Market research looks at marketplace trends to help businesses better understand their current and potential customers. Through surveys, interviews, focus groups or industry data, marketers can learn why and how target audiences connect with brands on an emotional level. This can include primary research based on your own prospect and customer interactions. It also includes external research from other data sources, including companies and studies. Market research helps companies gain a clear understanding of target audience information such as demographics, company size and budgets, but more importantly their challenges, needs, interests, buying habits and values.
A competitive analysis evaluates comparable organizations’ products, services, target markets, sales tactics, pricing, content strategy, social media and communications channels, and engagement across those channels. From there, it’s possible to get a clearer picture of the entire competitive business environment to evaluate strengths, weaknesses and new opportunities. By analyzing competitors, businesses can avoid known mistakes. They also can sharpen their value proposition and stay on the cutting edge of the industry. “Marketing organizations often forget that it is the customer who defines the competition,” says Laura Patterson of VisionEdge Marketing. “It is important to find out why your customers turn to your competition. Without asking ‘why,’ you will never know whether the customer might be misinformed about your company or is just ‘automatically’ following a buying pattern that was established long ago and not questioned.”
Three Tips to Maximize Market and Competitive Research
Both market research and competitive analysis are important. Conducting one or the other will leave marketers without a full picture of the marketplace. The two practices bridge a customer-centric goal to pinpoint opportunities to maximize engagement with clients and prospects. To maximize the benefits of market research and competitive analysis, consider these three tips.
- Keep your company mission and values top of mind.
Research helps businesses discover new opportunities, strategies and market segments. Yet the viability of adopting these opportunities or segments into your own strategy is dependent on how they correlate to your values, mission, products, services and budget. Keeping these fundamentals top of mind is a must.
- Analyze research from varied markets and competitors.
To gain the best understanding of the market, consider a wide variety of competitors and market segments. While it is important to stay within a realm of similar products, services, industries or buyer personas, simply analyzing the most related information is unlikely to provide insights into innovative opportunities. Instead, prioritize discovery. Ensure your research pulls from varied resources. Consider different industries to garner new ideas or potential opportunities about types of products, services or communications.
- Seek to discover gaps in the marketplace.
Research helps businesses focus on the needs, wants and challenges of a clearly defined audience. Armed with an understanding of what your competitors are doing and what your customers need, it’s easier to define what makes you different. Patterson advises, “This is the proper use of competitive intelligence: leveraging what you know about the competition to attack open market space and differentiate yourself in the customer’s mind.” From there, a business can capitalize on its unique selling proposition and corporate distinction.
Stay Curious
Analysis of your target market and competition allows your company to understand industry and consumer trends. This information informs marketing decisions, fuels qualified leads and builds a competitive edge. While research is especially important when considering a new product, service or target market, it is not a one-and-done activity. The key to success is ongoing curiosity. Whether hoping to discover new opportunities or maintain effective communication with clients and prospects, a desire to keep your finger on the pulse on the market is essential.
