Have you ever been playing a game and had to look around to check out the competition? Whether you currently own or you’re looking to start your own business, you need to do the same thing. Luckily, there’s a methodical way to do that: by conducting a competitive analysis and creating a competitive matrix. A competitive matrix will help you identify your competitors and lay out their products, sales, and marketing strategies in a visual format. By doing this, you’ll learn where you’re positioned in the market, how to differentiate yourself from your competition, and how to improve upon your […]

Market research is an overarching term for gathering information from you customers about your business, and focus groups are one way to conduct market research. Whether your focus group’s goal is to give feedback on a product or service or help you assess how your brand stands out in your competitive landscape, thought-provoking, open-ended questions are essential to a productive discussion. Focus group questions should dive into the mind of a consumer. What do they think? How do they make their decisions? You want more than a yes or no answer, and your questions need to generate them. However, it […]

When I was younger, my dream was to open a cheese store with my family. My mom, brother, sister, and I — we’re all obsessed with cheese. So anytime I see a cheese store, I’ll go in and sample everything … for research, obviously. Although I’d never thought about it this way before, I was already thinking in terms of market intelligence and market research (two different concepts, but more on that below). I was thinking about the product and its competitors. As a marketer, market intelligence is important because it can help you understand your position in the market, […]

Sometimes, commercials really get me. T-Mobile‘s Super Bowl commercial this year is a prime example — “What’s for Dinner?” demonstrates the infuriating process of choosing what to do for dinner for a young couple, and it’s gold. The reason T-Mobile’s ad was so relatable is because of their market research. They looked at what their target audiences wanted — including their thought processes, what informs their decisions, and the trade-offs they’re willing to make for their products. To accomplish all of these important factors in one go, many companies use conjoint analysis. Think about buying a new phone. Attributes you […]

If you’ve ever been in charge of gathering reports for your marketing team, then you know there are a plethora of metrics you can measure. One metric that gets overlooked is share of voice. However, this is a versatile metric that you can use in a competitive analysis for social media, organic traffic, or even paid advertising. As a marketer, share of voice is important because it helps you understand how well your brand is performing against the competition. Below, we’ll review everything you need to know about share of voice. This metric was mainly used as a way to […]

When you’re developing or launching a new product, service, or business, you’ll want to have a general sense of how receptive your target market will be to it. Typically, this is done through extensive market research — and one key component of the research process is running a focus group. In this article, we’ll define what a focus group is, give you an agenda to follow when conducting on, explain how to run a focus group step-by-step, and help you plan your questions with a focus group questionnaire. What is a focus group? A focus group is a small group […]

According to a 2020 survey, most businesses have an average of 29 competitors. Do you know who yours are? All businesses have competition — and knowing yours is key for innovating your products, services, and marketing strategies. But identifying the competition isn’t always obvious. Some are direct, while others may take more time to uncover. Here, we’ll cover the three types of competitors to watch, and five ways to identify them. 3 Types of Competitors in Business 1. Direct competitors. A direct competitor probably comes to mind when you think of your competition. These are businesses offering similar (or identical) […]

Porter’s Five Forces is a model that identifies and describes the five economic forces that shape every industry. More specifically, it explains how these forces dictate every industry’s competitive intensity, potential for profitability, and attractiveness. Porter’s Five Forces has become a fundamental model that most businesses use to grasp the dynamics of their industry and, in turn, drive their business strategy. And it can help you do the same, too. To help illustrate this, we’ve fleshed out the five fundamental economic forces at play in every market and provided an example analysis in each section, so you can see how […]