How Does Competitive Analysis Inform Marketing Decisions?

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    What's one example of how you've used competitive analysis to inform your marketing decisions?

    Diving into the competitive landscape can be a game-changer for marketing strategies, as evidenced by insights from Google Ads experts to CEOs. From analyzing competitors for market gaps to pivoting content strategies to video, discover the diverse ways seven marketing professionals have leveraged competitive analysis to steer their decisions.

    • Analyzed Competitors for Market Gaps
    • SEO Strategy and Content Gaps
    • Reputation Management Enhances Client Strategy
    • PPC Campaign Outperforms Competitors
    • Competitive Analysis Reveals Social Media Gaps
    • Content Strategy Pivots to Video
    • Integrated Approach Differentiates from Competitors

    Analyzed Competitors for Market Gaps

    We identified key competitors and analyzed their marketing strategies, product offerings, pricing, and customer engagement tactics. This included examining their online presence, advertising campaigns, and social-media strategies. The insights gained helped us identify gaps in the market and areas where we could differentiate our product.

    As a result, we tailored our marketing strategy to emphasize our unique selling points, targeted our advertising more effectively, and adjusted our pricing to offer better value, leading to a successful product launch and increased market share.

    John Cammidge
    John CammidgeGoogle Ads Expert, John Cammidge Consultants

    SEO Strategy and Content Gaps

    In looking at competitors' SEO strategies, we often find easy wins for building backlinks and identifying content gaps. Most of our competitors just produce, produce, produce, and do not take the time for research and analysis. This is one reason why we have consistently grown traffic over the past two years.

    Jason Vaught
    Jason VaughtDirector of Content, SmashBrand

    Reputation Management Enhances Client Strategy

    At Stratosphere, a notable instance of leveraging competitive analysis for our insurance clients involved recognizing a competitor's success with a reputation-management strategy. Understanding the paramount importance of online presence in the insurance sector, we integrated our reputation-management tool into our client's strategy.

    This decision not only enhanced their online credibility but also contributed to an increase in customer trust and policy conversions. It exemplifies our commitment to tailoring marketing decisions based on industry-specific competitive insights, offering our insurance clients a strategic advantage in managing and enhancing their online reputation.

    Nitin Bajaj
    Nitin BajajCEO, Stratosphere

    PPC Campaign Outperforms Competitors

    One example would be when I worked on a PPC advertising campaign for a client. Through competitive analysis, I identified the keywords our competitors were bidding on and how they were structuring their ad copy. This gave me insights into how to create more compelling ad copy and identify relevant, high-performing keywords that boosted our ad visibility and click-through rates.

    For instance, I found out that our competitors' ads didn't highlight the free shipping they offer, which was a pain point for customers. I then made sure we highlighted our own free shipping policy upfront in our ad copy. This led to a significant increase in our click-through and conversion rates.

    This experience solidified the value of competitive analysis in my marketing practice—it's not about copying the competition, but learning from them and finding unique ways to outperform them.

    Steve Pogson
    Steve PogsonFounder, First Pier

    Competitive Analysis Reveals Social Media Gaps

    Developing a competitor analysis is our go-to marketing research technique. When we conduct a competitive analysis for a client, we gather three competitors in their industry and assess their strengths, weaknesses, brand personality, and analytics (i.e., audience engagement, etc.).

    Conducting a competitive analysis allows us to clearly show clients what is working in their niche, what isn’t, and what we can do to take their social media to the next level. We recently did this for a realtor client in Arizona. Social media leads us to believe there is only so much room at the table, especially in the real estate space, but a competitor analysis allowed us to show our realtor just how many gaps her competitors had in their social media strategies.

    Even top competitors with large followings don’t have picture-perfect strategies, and showcasing this to clients allows them to feel like they have an opportunity to establish themselves as an authority in their field.

    Chelsea Evans-Flower
    Chelsea Evans-FlowerOwner, Scott Social

    Content Strategy Pivots to Video

    Competitive analysis has been instrumental in informing my marketing strategies, particularly in refining the content strategy. When working with a client in the real estate investment financing industry, a comprehensive analysis of competitors' content revealed a notable gap for engaging video content.

    Recognizing this opportunity, we shifted our content strategy, channeling increased resources and creative efforts into video production. This strategic pivot resulted in the creation of several viral videos across YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram Reels, significantly increasing brand awareness.

    This shift in content strategy opened doors to media opportunities as well as generated a substantial increase in audience engagement and web traffic. The success derived from this shift validated the pivotal role of competitive analysis in steering our marketing decisions, showcasing its tangible impact on our client's business outcomes.

    Taylor Caplan
    Taylor CaplanMarketing Manager

    Integrated Approach Differentiates from Competitors

    Competitive analysis has been a cornerstone of our marketing strategy. One notable instance was when we were looking to expand our service offerings. We conducted an in-depth analysis of our key competitors to understand their strengths, weaknesses, and service gaps.

    We discovered that while most competitors were focusing heavily on digital marketing tactics, there was a lack of emphasis on integrating sales and marketing strategies. This insight was crucial. It highlighted an opportunity for Sales Therapy to differentiate itself by offering comprehensive solutions that bridge the gap between sales and marketing, something our competitors were overlooking.

    Based on this analysis, we developed and marketed a new service package focused on this integrated approach. This included targeted content, workshops, and consulting services designed to align sales and marketing efforts for our clients.

    The campaign was a success, leading to increased engagement and a surge in clientele seeking a more holistic approach to sales and marketing. This example demonstrates the power of competitive analysis in identifying market opportunities and shaping marketing decisions to capitalize on those opportunities.

    Michael Hammelburger
    Michael HammelburgerFounder, Sales Therapy