How a Competitor Analysis Can Be The Key To Your Success

January 14, 2021

Is it time for you to perform a competitor analysis?

Competition — we’ve all got a lot of it.

[via Giphy]Most of the time, we look at our rivals with the ultimate disdain and try to keep them off our minds.But if you want to be just as successful as them, or more, then it might be time to become their best friend. Performing a competitor analysis can tell you more about them, and more about your own brand too.If you're ready to siphon success off your rivals, ask yourself these three questions.

1. Who are you competing with?

Let’s real talk for a second — you can’t compete unless you know who you’re competing against.

[via Giphy]When you set out to figure out who your competitors are, you need to think of more than where your brand is now.You have to keep a vision in mind for where you want your brand to get to.So, if you’ve got lifeless copy right now but you want something punchy, you’re gonna look for brands in your market with punchy copy.Look for at least three competitors, but the more the merrier.Once you know who your rivals are, it’s time to become their biggest fan. Sign up for those email lists, look at every page of their website until you see it when you close your eyes. Follow their social media, see how they interact with customers, do everything you can to understand them.And once you’ve done that, it’s time to ask yourself the next question.

2. Why are they doing so well?

Everybody has a secret to their success — and now it’s your job to figure out what that is.

[via Giphy]Do they focus on meeting customers where they’re at and forming meaningful relationships?Are you constantly getting sucked into their copy because it’s just so good?Can’t tear your eyes away from how well their design flows with everything around it?Brands won’t tell you outright why they’re so successful. That would just be bad business.But here are a few key things you should be looking out for to determine why they’re #1:

How’s their social media looking? If they have a massive following, take a look at their strategies for interacting with people on those platforms.
Are their emails well put together? We’re not just talking about how nice they look, but how well the copy and design lead the customer to convert.
How do they talk about their products? More likely than not, they’re making sure the customer is the hero in the brand’s story, and the product is the guide to achieving success.

If you can figure out how to answer this question, you have the key to solving the final part of the puzzle.

3. How can we steal that?

Writers, artists, and Steve Jobs stole and rewrote this quote over a hundred-year game of telephone, but the meaning is still the same. “Good artists borrow, great artists steal.”

[via Giphy]No, we’re not telling you to plagiarize. That’s what teachers are for.But we are telling you to steal what’s making your competition stand out — whether that’s exciting subject lines, fresh formats, or crazy hooks — and put your own spin on it.Your ideas don’t have to be brand-new, but they have to seem new enough to keep your customers engaged.Let’s take one brand that came to us with lacklustre emails, but tons of competitors. The competition had fantastic emails, copy that was full of life, and most importantly, a strong connection to their customers.So, we figured out how to break that down. You guessed it — it was time for a competitor analysis.We compared target audiences, product lines, and more to see what we could steal and repurpose from every competitor.We infused our brand’s emails with a Frankenstein of everything that worked — and they loved it. Not only do their emails finally represent who they are, but they stand out from the competition.Why?Because they’re doing something new.And that could be you too.But if this all seems like a lot of work that you don’t have the time for, we’ve got you covered.