The who, what, where, when, why, and how

Knowing your competition allows you to identify a niche and develop your own unique selling proposition (USP). Clearly defining and understanding the core value you offer your clients can depend on your having a firm grasp of your competitors' strengths and weaknesses.

Where do you start?  

1. Make a list of your competitors. Think big in this step. Don't just think about your direct competition; think about indirect competition in other industries as well. For example, as a copywriter I could list my competitors as fellow copywriters that do freelance work. But I don't want to stop there. Other potential competitors may include large ad agencies, small ad agencies (each may play a different role with clients), technical writers, a company's in-house writers, journalists, and even fill-in-the-blank templates you can purchase on the Internet.
   
   
2. From this broad-based competitive list, list specific companies you compete with. For example, in the "other copywriters" category, I may list Sally Field, Shelby Foot, and Joe Blow. Under the large agency category, I may have only one or two large agencies I run up against when bidding on projects. Follow this procedure until you've gone through all the competing industries. Some may have no direct competitor and that's OK; acknowledging the potential is there--and getting the "big picture" of where competing business may lie--is what's important.
   
3. From this long list of competitors, pick your top three and do a detailed competitive analysis. These are the three you should also use for your marketing plan.

Gathering information

The next step in a competitive analysis is gathering information through competitive intelligence (CI). CI is the practice of gathering, analyzing, and disseminating information on what the marketplace requires (the demand), about how and you and your competitors meet these requirements (the supply), and how each strives to meet market needs better than others (the competition).

Gather marketing materials, visit stores, call and ask questions. These are common ways to collect competitive data. I go straight to Web sites and find almost everything I need there.

Here are a few things to look for while gathering competitive information:

• What products/services competitors produce
• Who their target audience is
• Guarantees, pricing, hours of operation, and delivery options
• Overall, how do they position themselves (cheapest, best value, fastest, unique, patented, etc.)? What is their USP?

After collecting this data, do a little analysis. What is your competition really good at and what is it not so great at? Are there any holes in their product offerings? A niche they’re missing? How does your business fill in the gaps?