What are some best practices for conducting competitive analysis and benchmarking?

1 Define your criteria

Before you start comparing yourself to your competitors, you need to define what criteria you will use to measure your performance. These criteria should be aligned with your sales goals, your customers' needs, and your industry standards. Some common criteria include market share, revenue, growth rate, customer satisfaction, product features, pricing, and marketing strategies. You can use a simple spreadsheet or a tool like SWOT analysis to organize your criteria and assign weights to each factor.

2 Research your competitors

Once you have your criteria, you need to research your competitors and collect relevant data. You can use various sources, such as their websites, social media, reviews, case studies, reports, and news articles. You can also use tools like Google Alerts, SimilarWeb, or SpyFu to track their online activity and keywords. You should aim to research at least three to five direct competitors, as well as some indirect or potential competitors, to get a comprehensive view of the competitive landscape.

3 Analyze the data

After you have gathered enough data, you need to analyze it and identify the gaps and opportunities in the market. You can use a tool like Porter's Five Forces or a competitive matrix to visualize and compare your strengths and weaknesses against your competitors. You should look for patterns, trends, and anomalies that can help you understand your competitive advantage and differentiation. You should also look for areas where you can improve or innovate your product, service, or marketing.

4 Benchmark your performance

Benchmarking is the process of comparing your performance against a standard or a best practice in the industry. It helps you set realistic and achievable goals, monitor your progress, and evaluate your results. You can use a tool like SMART goals or OKRs to define and track your benchmarks. You should also use metrics and KPIs that are relevant, measurable, and actionable. You should benchmark your performance regularly and update your criteria and data as needed.

5 Apply the insights

The final step is to apply the insights from your competitive analysis and benchmarking to your sales prospecting strategy. You should use the information to create or refine your buyer personas, value proposition, pitch, and messaging. You should also use it to identify and prioritize your prospects, qualify them, and tailor your approach to their needs and pain points. You should also use it to anticipate and overcome objections, handle competition, and close deals.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?