Information is very important to any business. If you don’t know what people want, how they want to get it, and how much they’re willing to pay for it, then you have no business starting your own company. It’s one of the reasons data gathering has become a lucrative industry on its own and you can easily find a data management company in the UK.
You should also get to know as much as you can about your competitors because they are your barriers from making a profit. As long as your competitors know more about your target market, you’ll be at a disadvantage. So, get to know what information you need about the competition.
Who are your direct and indirect competitors?
There are two kinds of competitors you should know about: direct and indirect. Direct competitors are companies offering the same products or services as you do. Indirect competitors are those who satisfy the needs of your target market in other ways.
By knowing who they are, you’ll know how to come up with a strategy to beat them. You can learn what marketing plans they have come up with and adapt them for your business. Or, you can take a different route altogether and see if it can work for you.
Knowing your competitors will also give you a glimpse of what their weaknesses and strengths are. If you can gather this information, you’ll be more prepared to take them on and capture your target market.
What are their market positions?
You should also know what your competitors’ market positions are so that you can see how you’ll be able to do that for your company, too. Market positioning means that a company figures out how it wants its brand to be perceived by its customers.
If you sell expensive cars, for example, you have to position your brand as a luxury car. If you sell high-priced soaps that have minimal chemicals, you can position your brand as an effective anti-allergy and moisturising soap.
That’s what you should find about your competitors. You need to know how they position their brands to their target market. This way, you can think about how to position yourself to the same market with a unique twist so that you’ll stand above your rivals.
What are their price tags?
It’s also important that you know your competitors’ pricing. This way, you’ll be able to figure out how to price your products. That doesn’t mean that you just copy their prices, though.
The reason for gathering information about your competitors’ pricing is to see how they sell their brand to their customers. For example, both you and your direct competitor are selling 100% pure cotton shirts. You see that your competitor’s pricing is lower than yours, which means that they can dominate the market more easily than you.
If you can’t lower your prices to beat theirs, what you can do is to adjust your advertising strategy and convince your customers that your brand is more authentic. Justify your brand’s higher price tag by emphasising the quality of the materials you use for your shirts.
These are just some of the information about your competitors that you need to gather. It may seem like you’re spying on your competitors, but if you don’t do this, you’ll never pull away from the pack and be at the front of the line.