Our Competitor Mapping Process
Our Competitor Mapping Process
Our competitor mapping process involves investigating, analyzing, and mapping our customers’ competitors on 30 predetermined points. Our customers deserve to know where they are in comparison with other businesses within their industry and to leverage technological and marketing advances to their benefit. That is why we provide a detailed analysis of your top 3 competitors using various metrics and tools to understand their strengths, weaknesses, and market positioning. Here’s what we analyze.
Firstly, we split the points into paid and owned media. Paid media refers to external marketing efforts that involve a paid placement. Owned media includes any web property you can control and is unique to your brand.
Paid Media
Current and Past Digital Ads
Analyze the digital advertisements that competitors have run, including search ads, display ads, and social media ads. Tools like SEMrush or AdEspresso can help identify ad types, content, and effectiveness.
Other Media Ads (TV, Radio)
Investigate competitors’ presence in traditional media advertising. This includes TV commercials, radio spots, and any other broadcast media. Media monitoring services can provide insights into their campaigns and reach.
PR Efforts
Review public relations activities, such as mentions in major publications like Forbes, HuffPost, etc. Tools like PR Newswire or Google News can track these mentions and evaluate their impact.
Social Media Presence (if sponsored content is included)
Assess competitors’ social media strategies, focusing on sponsored content and paid campaigns. Use tools like Hootsuite or Sprout Social to look at engagement rates, follower counts, and the effectiveness of their paid social media efforts.
Social Media Listening (for paid social listening tools)
Use paid social listening tools like Brandwatch or Mention to monitor mentions, sentiment, and conversations around competitors’ brands. This helps understand public perception and engagement.
Owned Media
SEO Score
Evaluate competitors’ search engine optimization efforts by examining their SEO scores. Tools like Ahrefs, Moz, or SEMrush can provide insights into keyword rankings, on-page SEO, and backlink quality.
Site Speed Score
Measure the speed and performance of competitors’ websites using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, or Pingdom. A faster site improves user experience and search rankings.
UX Score
Analyze the user experience of competitors’ websites, including navigation, mobile responsiveness, and overall usability. Tools like Hotjar or UserTesting can provide detailed feedback.
Content (Topics Covered, Unique Thoughts)
Review the type of content competitors produce, the topics they cover, and the originality of their ideas. Look for blog posts, articles, whitepapers, and case studies to understand their content strategy. Create a mind map of their top 100-200 topics and perform a qualitative and quantitative analysis.
Unique Messaging (Copywriting)
Examine competitors’ messaging and copywriting quality and uniqueness. This includes their slogans, taglines, and overall tone of voice in their ads and landing pages.
Wayback Machine (Site Development)
Use the Wayback Machine to view the history and evolution of competitors’ websites. This can provide insights into their development and rebranding strategies over time.
Talking Heads (Micro-Influencers from the Company)
Identify key individuals from the company who appear on podcasts, LinkedIn, or other platforms. Analyze their influence and the topics they discuss to understand their thought leadership and industry presence.
Negative Press
Search for any negative press about competitors, including customer complaints, legal issues, or scandals. This can highlight potential weaknesses or areas of concern.
Financial Success/Annual Reports Synopsis
Review competitors’ financial reports to gauge their economic health and success. Look at revenue, profit margins, growth rates, and other financial indicators.
Target Audience
Analyze your competitors’ marketing messages, customer reviews, and demographic data to define their target audience. This will help you understand who they are trying to reach. Perform a buyer persona analysis to understand the difference between the competitor’s and our customer’s audience.
Current and Past Partnerships
Research competitors’ partnerships and collaborations. This can provide insights into their strategic alliances and market positioning.
Target Keywords
Identify the primary keywords competitors target in their SEO and PPC campaigns. Tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs can help uncover this information.
SimilarWeb - Analyze Traffic
Use SimilarWeb to analyze competitors’ website traffic, including sources, geographic distribution, and user behavior. This gives a clear picture of their online presence.
Employee Satisfaction (e.g., Glassdoor)
Check employee reviews on platforms like Glassdoor to gauge satisfaction, company culture, and potential internal issues.
Backlinks
Assess the quality and quantity of backlinks pointing to competitors’ websites. This can reveal their link-building strategies and overall authority.
Listings (e.g., Design Rush, Clutch)
Look for competitors on industry-specific directories and review sites. These listings can indicate credibility and reputation.
Storyteller Tactics Pip Deck
Analyze competitors’ storytelling techniques in their marketing and communication strategies. This includes their narrative structure, emotional appeal, and engagement methods.
Newsletter Analysis (if any)
Subscribe to competitors’ newsletters to understand their email marketing strategies, content types, frequency, and engagement levels.
Brand Differentiation from Top Competitors
Identify what sets competitors apart in the market. This includes unique selling propositions, branding elements, and market positioning.
Brand Mentions - Scraping Forums
Scrape forums and online communities to find mentions of competitors. This provides insights into customer opinions, issues, and overall brand sentiment.
Social Engineering to Gain Customer Insight on Forums
Conduct qualitative surveys or engage in discussions on forums to gather customer insights and feedback on competitors.
Mystery Shopper
Conduct mystery shopping exercises to evaluate competitors’ customer service and experience, including online and offline interactions.
Mystery Buyer
Perform mystery buying to assess the purchasing process, post-purchase support, and overall customer journey competitors offer.
Focus Groups
Organize focus groups to gather in-depth feedback and perceptions from potential or existing customers about competitors.
Explore Public Domain Data (Legal Documents)
Investigate public domain data, such as legal documents and filings, to uncover additional information about competitors’ business practices and legal issues.
What You Get
After we conclude our initial research, we present our findings in a document listing all points you can utilize to penetrate the market further. This includes, but isn’t limited to:
- Sharing knowledge and leveraging your influence
- Optimizing the website
- Improving ad quality
- Investing further in owned media
Once we complete our analysis, we develop a tailor-made strategy that responds to your specific situation, market movements, and requirements.
Follow this link if you want to know more about our custom strategy creation process based on our competitor mapping activities.