Whether you’re starting a business, you’ve been around for 100+ years, or you’re somewhere in between, it’s important to conduct a competitive analysis.

A competitive analysis allows you to see gaps within the market that you can take advantage of. You can find ways to improve your business, create a better marketing strategy, and ultimately produce a stronger business.

Although time-consuming, breaking down the process into steps will make it more manageable. 

Tips to Help You Analyze the Competition

Find Businesses

Find businesses similar to your own.

These competitors will help you learn valuable information. When scoping out the competition, try using such tools as web searches, social media, and websites specifically geared to help answer your questions about other businesses. 

When looking for competitors, keep in mind that they can be divided into two categories: direct and indirect.

• Direct competitors sell the same products as you to a similar customer base.
• Indirect competitors sell similar products to a different customer sector.

Research the Business 

Now, it’s time to collect data on the businesses you’ve found.

Look at their online presence. Is their website consumer-friendly? Do they have social media accounts? How often do they interact with their customers? Research how happy their customers are.

Look up online reviews on Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, Google, and Instagram. Try reaching out to the customers who left negative reviews to learn more about their experience and direct them to your own business. Throughout this process, try to brainstorm ways your business could do better. 

Follow the SWOT framework 

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

This is an invaluable framework to keep in mind as you research businesses. SWOT is fairly straightforward:

• Strengths are factors that set the business apart from others.
• Weaknesses are areas the business falters in.
• Opportunities are external factors that give the business a competitive advantage.
• Threats are external factors that could potentially harm businesses.

Conduct a SWOT analysis on the businesses you are researching and your own. Then compare. Can you make their strengths your strengths? Can you benefit from their weaknesses? What external opportunities are available to you? Is there anything threatening other businesses that perhaps doesn’t affect you? 

Print Can Help You Beat the Competition

Print can be the tool your businesses can use to succeed.

Perhaps you’ve noticed that other businesses may not be utilizing print advertising. They are losing out on the advantages that print provides: enhanced customer respect, greater visibility, better customer attention and retention, and much more. You can turn their weakness into your strength to draw in a larger customer base. 

Create a Competitive Analysis Report

Simplify and organize your data into a competitive analysis report.

Your report should include your business’s target market, how your product(s) compared to your competitors, current and projected market share, sales, and revenues, pricing models comparison, marketing strategy and social media strategy analysis, and an overview of customer ratings.

Improve your business

You’ve acquired all the data; now it’s time to use it.

Your competitive analysis will have unsurfaced countless ways your business can improve and beat out the competition. Take action and create a better business! 

James Clear’s widely successful book Atomic Habits breaks down habits into four parts: the cue, craving, response, and reward.

This method shows readers how they can also form habits. Luckily, Clear’s formula can be applied to business.

4 Habits That Will Improve Your Business

The Cue

When developing a habit, Clear suggests making the cue as evident as possible.

A cue is an outside stimulus that reminds you of the habit you wish to form. Therefore, your goal is to make your business as obvious as possible.

With your advertising, you want your prospects and customers to see your ads and then associate them with the habit of buying from you.

To do this, make your ads big, bright, and hard to miss. Use large banners to capture attention with design that pops.

The Craving

After your customer has seen the cue, they then need to want your product or service.

Therefore make it as attractive as possible. Clear writes, “Every behavior is preceded by a prediction… every purchase is preceded by a prediction. The customer does not buy your product; they buy the prediction it creates in their mind.”

It’s your job to make that prediction as ideal as possible. Explain the benefits in a clear and compelling way. If possible, personalize the message to your client, sneak in some bandwagon advice (e.g., John Doe is doing/using it!), and use effective framing techniques.

The Response

“Great businesses remove every point of friction they can think of to make the desired behavior as easy as possible,” Clear says.

Break down the process into steps. Then try to eliminate or simplify the process. The easier it is to purchase from you, the more likely the customer is to do it.

The Reward

Make sure your customers feel instant happiness and success after their purchase. Your quality product and services should take care of the rest.

Interestingly, this reward is inversely related to the craving. If you make your product or service seem too good, then the customer’s expectations will not be met, and they will leave disappointed.

You may have secured one purchase, but another one is unlikely. If you make your product or service seem less attractive, then the customer’s expectations will be exceeded. That is if they even buy it. Finding the balance is key.

Your business will certainly improve if you use Clear’s formula. Simple, small changes can make big results!

Want to know your biggest asset?

Engaged customers. 

The depth of relationships between a business and its clients is one of the best predictors of lifetime value. Companies with improved customer engagement cross-sell by 22%, drive up-sell revenues from 13% to 51%, and increase order sizes by as much as 80%. 

Tailor Engagement Strategies for Your Customers

What might engagement look like for you? The strategies are as unique as your business! Here is one example:

Recognizing the power of holiday hospitality, the Penha Longa resort makes December travels extra special for its guests. While Christmas decorations might brighten the mood for lonely people, celebrations are even better for engaging guests. To get travelers involved in the festivities, Penha Longa gives guests bare, shrub-sized trees for their rooms, along with crafty kits full of everything needed for creative decorating.

This is just one magical, zero-tech model of connecting with customers. Instead of building relationships with social media or chat features, engagement is constructed through pipe cleaners, scissors, googley eyes, and a glue stick.

Any human-to-human connection will draw people closer to your brand because you offer people more than a message but an experience. While there is no bond-building formula, here are three principles for shaping your approach:

1. Personalize Products and Client Interactions

Due to the daily onslaught of digital noise, people ignore messages that aren’t specifically for them.

Adopting a conversational tone can make all the difference in cutting through this clamor. Whenever possible, address customizers by name. Use photographs of real individuals in your advertising, and use fonts or print materials that make your messages feel handcrafted and direct.  

You can also personalize products to build engagement, which is especially powerful in younger markets. This may be as simple as engraving someone’s name on a glasses case or upgrading products with matching accessories. French cosmetics brand Guerlain started offering customizable lipsticks by allowing clients to choose their own combination of case and lipstick color.

2. Incentivize Each Touchpoint

Customer engagement comes from every act of commitment people take toward your company, so make your communication reader-focused and action-oriented, like this:

Describe improvements you’ve made to your product: “Upgrade today for service that’s 20% faster.”

Pique interest by telling people about their account: “Spend XX more, and your reward points will qualify you for a 20% discount.”

Offer an incentive to come back: “Give us another try, and we’ll knock 25% off your bill for the next three months.”

3. Prioritize Loyalty Programs or Continual “Streams” of Encouragement

People don’t want to feel like they’re missing out on something.

When you add value to every engagement that a customer has with your brand, you’ll create a powerful switching barrier that makes it harder for people to shop from your competitors. 

Did you know that loyalty program members purchase more often and have an average order value of 12% higher than their non-member counterparts? Whether you use simple punch cards or elaborate tiered loyalty programs, remember that people like free stuff, and they love to save money.

71% of consumers decide to join a loyalty program because it gives them money off every purchase, and 63% join so they’ll receive a free product by signing on.

Put Relationships First

Dynamic relationships are probably the only guarantee for a strong return on your marketing investment.

With each enhanced touchpoint, engagement grows, and your influence expands. Invite customer participation and watch the magic unfold!

“There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down simply by spending his money somewhere else.” 

~ Sam Walton (Founder of Walmart and Sam’s Club)

They say every business has three types of customers.

There are price-conscious people – clients who will leave if they find a better deal. There are fence-sitters – those who like your brand but could be persuaded to go elsewhere. And there are loyalists – people who are willing to pay more to maintain a relationship.

If you move people toward loyalty, your bottom line will thrive. The success rate of selling to new customers ranges between 5-20%, while that rate soars to 60-70% for existing customers. And a 5% increase in customer retention can increase profits by as much as 125%.

With limited time and energy, devoting some of your marketing budget to customer appreciation makes good sense.

Here are five simple ways to build loyalty by showing customers you care:

1. Handwritten Notes

Over 70 years ago, Hallmark crafted one of the most memorable slogans in history: “When you care enough to send the very best.”

The phrase was spot on – thoughtful written communication speaks volumes. When you want to touch your most valuable customers, a handwritten note is the gold standard. Though these notes take time, they really do work.

Put this goal in your task list and pen one appreciation note per day.

2. Giveaway Contests

Sharing is caring!

There is nothing like the word “free” to grab attention and earn fans, especially when you give away something of value.

As soon as you post a giveaway contest, your popularity will soar. Try weekly email giveaways featuring business books or tutorial freebies. Onsite contest entries or selfie social media posts that tag your brand are a fun option. Or build engagement with a “caption this photo” challenge.

3. Happy Kids, Happy Parents

When you put kids first, parents will notice.

What are some ways you can honor families in your line of work? It may be countertop treats, mini water bottles, waiting room play areas, a coloring contest, or sibling discounts. Even a fish tank or a set of wooden puzzles can boost the happiness factor by ten.

Appreciate your families by welcoming their kids.

4. Learn & Share

Whether you’re building your content marketing or strengthening B2B relationships, giving away wisdom is a no-brainer.

When you find a great online resource, a quick life hack, or a useful industry resource, make a point to pass it along. Or create tip sheets and videos demonstrating beneficial ways to use your product. Helping people succeed is a smart way to build relational currency.

5. Promotional Swag

Double your marketing efforts by combining a gift and your brand.

Stick your logo on USB drives, notebooks, stadium cushions, and more. People love getting something for nothing. And they’ll be reminded of your appreciation again and again.

Show Your Appreciation Through Print

As business author Michael LeBoeuf says, “a satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all.” Give people time, words of appreciation, or gifts and turn price-conscious fence-sitters into loyal followers and friends.

In a digitally saturated generation, print materials are one of the best ways to solidify your business relationships. Want to win over customers month after month so your business will thrive? When you’re ready to talk options, we’re here to help you inspire loyalty through print.

Marketing content is a useful tool for any business trying to generate more traffic to their doorstep, either digitally or in person.

Whether your content is provided through a direct mailer or digitally, the right information catches people’s attention and attracts them to want to find out more.

And that generates valuable activity that causes sales to happen.

Yes, content is powerful and profitable, but what kind of content works? Here are valuable content tips that can make a difference for your business.

Don’t Reinvent the Wheel

A lot of energy, time, and resources are consumed creating new methods from scratch, whether in business or anything else.

So why go down that road when you can learn by working examples instead?

The key is to focus on companies and organizations that put out both digital and print content that is wildly successful. It doesn’t even have to be the same industry as yours.

Instead, look for methodology and strategy. What is it about these businesses that makes their content work? Find the system, learn the approach, and then apply it to your business.

Pinpoint What Attracts Customers to You

In traditional marketing, identifying viable customers is known as “defining a target market.”

Typically, a marketer would find the right type of demographics mix that makes up a target market and then aim marketing efforts towards that person, hoping for a response.

Today, however, things are easier.

Ask your current customers what they appreciate and like about your business and find more people with similar interests. Then shape your content accordingly.

Screen Your Existing Material for Easy Gems

Most likely, your company has already produced a library of information that can be used to create content for customers.

Review your existing resources, modify the material, and post or print it for them to find. Customers connect to the most amazing things; the trick is to tell a story that brings them back for more.

Don’t Brain Dump, Choose Material Wisely

Content is never an accident.

Your customer-oriented material should be part of an overall story you tell each month to audiences. Every piece should connect and integrate with the next during each content push window.

One of the best ways to do this is to shape your content for each month. Whether weekly or daily, the month’s material should be planned, summarized, and segued from one piece of the story to the next. Consider each content piece a chapter in a bigger book.

Make Sure Your Writer is Passionate

If your content is just a chore for whoever gets assigned the task, it will show in the writing.

Make sure your writer actually has a passion for your topic, and the difference will come out naturally. It will also be far more attractive to your customers, who will find the content genuine and natural.

Avoid Hard Calls to Action

Remember, your content’s goal is to generate an audience for your business.

Hard messaging stands out awkwardly in genuine content. Instead, the material should be informative, helpful, and useful. The body of the content will do its work and attract customers, who will then seek your business on their own and connect it with your business. Their interest will do the rest on the natural. This is why content generation is so powerful.

Lastly, make your content human and personal. Put a face to it if possible. Customers connect far more to a person than generic information.