How do you conduct a competitive positioning audit?

Most people don't consider these indirect competitors or they probably don't know that such a thing exists. When it comes to identifying competitors, it's not just about listing businesses that offer similar products or services. It's about understanding the entire landscape in which your customers make their choices. Think about it this way: If you're a local bookstore, your competitors aren't just other bookstores. They could be online retailers like Amazon, libraries, or even streaming services like Netflix if people are choosing to watch a show instead of reading a book. Knowing this will save you a whole lot.??

I have been conducting competition audit for hospitality. My experience has taught me. - Understand your target audience first to be able to identify your competitors. not every option and competing hotel is targeting same persona due to different abilities. - for hotels - location has huge impact so just hit google map and you will know options available from competitive offers.

If you are looking at FMCG then one cannot have Market share for all India or for any particular region as it will give you GENERAL and overall figure but not what your strong and weak areas are One needs to do the survey area wise and not overall if you are planning any marketing activity. The best method for it is the age-old technique retail audit that was being followed by HLL, Nestle,ITC and to some extent HMM(later GSK) The problem is setting up retail audit, if it is done properly it gives you the best of the results and if not set up properly it will give WRONG results. I have used it successfully for entire state of Maharshtra and later for Mumbai city

When looking at competitors, remember to look at your biggest competition of them all - the customer choosing to do nothing. Sometimes, the biggest challenge isn't another business or an alternative service but the customer's decision to do nothing. They might decide to live with the problem instead of seeking help. Outside of competitor analysis and customer feedback, see if you can get in front of those people that chose not to act (although this is a difficult task!).

Find time for this exercise to double your marketing strategy's effectiveness. Call 3-5 (at least) of your existing customers and ask them to name as many alternatives to your product/service. The reality is no matter how much you search, your customers will always find someone faster, cheaper, or better. However, that's okay because there are better positioning tactics. The point is that your customers always know what's out there, so ask them without investing countless hours researching on your own.

True, position is multi dimensional so business need to choose two / three most important dimensions.. If business really think multiple dimenesions are at play they can use spider web framwork to evaluate positioning to understand where your business stand compare to other competitors. simple 2-D diagram may not be enough. for example hotels are choosen over location, service, pricing, amenities they offer and loyalty program offers, reviews on social media. etc.

Assessing your competitors' positioning in the market is essential to understand the landscape you're operating within. A positioning or perceptual map offers a visual representation, allowing you to place competitors based on two customer-relevant dimensions like price versus quality or features against benefits. This visualization not only shows how competitors stand out but also offers insights into customer perceptions. Furthermore, evaluating a competitor's value proposition is crucial. This statement essentially answers the question: "Why choose them?" To decipher it, sift through their online touchpoints. Their websites, for instance, often house mission statements and USPs.

To truly fathom where you stand, evaluate your competitors' market stance. A highly effective tool is the positioning or perceptual map, which plots competitors on two customer-relevant dimensions, be it price, quality, features, or even brand image. This visual representation illuminates competitor differentiation and customer perception. Additionally, dissecting the competitors' value proposition is paramount. This concise statement reveals why customers should gravitate towards them. To unravel this, scour their websites, delve into their social media, analyze ads, and sift through reviews. By discerning the value they pledge and its substantiation, you can fortify your unique space in the marketplace.

Again, I wouldn't rely on these tools alone for understanding your competitor's pitch. Having conversations with your customers as well as your customer-facing teams will not only give you insights into their surface-level positioning, it will give you more details on how they're pitching their product or services in person. You may learn more about how they're prepping their customer-facing teams, particularly their sales team.

Conducting a competitive positioning audit is a critical part of my strategy. Firstly, I identify key competitors and analyse their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). I then assess our product's unique selling points (USPs) and compare them with the competition. Market trends, customer feedback, and industry benchmarks are also evaluated. By aligning this information with our business goals, I can pinpoint where we stand in the market and devise strategies to enhance our position. This comprehensive analysis helps in making informed decisions and steering the brand in the right direction.

Reflecting on my time at a startup, I remember a moment when I felt we'd lost our brand's essence amidst the noise of the industry. To recalibrate, I initiated an internal "positioning workshop." Using the same perceptual map we'd created for competitors, we plotted our brand, aiming to visualize our market stance. Probing questions steered the session: Who truly is our audience? What unique solutions do we offer? What makes us distinctive from the competition? By revisiting our brand personality, tone, and core value proposition, we were able to refocus. We also evaluated how we communicated our essence across various channels. This exercise proved invaluable, highlighting areas for refinement and solidifying our market positioning.

If no two people are the same then no two businesses are either. In a marketing sense positioning often comes down to the value proposition that the brand is offering. Often this value proposition is believed to create the necessary separation & identity. Personally, I believe more is needed. "People should act more like Brands & Brands should act more like People" - Seth Godin (that might be a misquote but I'm close) Is Liquid Deaths "value proposition" the reason why they are able to create a following behind a water beverage? No. They take 1 principle they believe in & push it to the extreme by crafting stories from it. (& that principle is not Liquid Death exclusive)

SWOT analysis is surely good. but business need to stick to its own mission as well.. it need to choose battles to be fought. not all weaknesses need to be fixed and not all strength are valuable for customers.. sometime customers accept week offer on some dimension in favour of other offsetting strengths. an insight on this can help businesses prepare positioning strategy more relevant.

These mechanisms are useful for the initial audit. However, identifying gaps and opportunities is not a one-time activity. It's an iterative process. The competitive landscape evolves, and new insights emerge over time. Incorporate a feedback loop into your process to regularly revisit and refine your positioning based on changing circumstances. Lucrative opportunities can popup when and where you least expect them. Don't forget to include other options for your SWOT analysis. Assess potential partnerships or collaborations that could enhance your positioning. Are there complementary products or services in the market that could be integrated with or leveraged to strengthen your offering?

The Founder of Enterprise-Rent-A-Car founded his LOT of Cars between several competitors which were major car dealers. In the nature of Car Dealing, him owning a handful of cars, that were not the newest models, could've been deemed a "weakness". By changing his audience he was able to serve a unique need. He was the only "Rent A Car" service in town. I believe SWOT comes down to perspective and flexibility. What is perceived a threat may actually be an opportunity.

In my experience, the magic often lies in uncharted waters. The fourth step is identifying the gaps in your positioning. By juxtaposing your positioning map and value proposition against competitors, you unearth crucial insights. However, diverging from convention, view SWOT analysis as an evolving lens. What's that unnoticed strength of yours? A lurking weakness? Can you spot a yet-untapped market opportunity or a silent market threat? It's not just about being different, but about perceiving what others miss. That's the core of distinctive positioning.

As Caitlin Farrell said in a previous section, identifying gaps and opportunities is never done. To that end, you must consider your positioning strategy in terms of moves and counter-moves. Allen Weiss is a great person to follow and learn from in this regard. Focus your positioning on what your market segment(s) need and direct your strategy towards alleviating customer and prospect pain points. Continue to assess competitor movement in the market, and take some time to think about what they may do and how your organization needs to prepare for it.

Its good to know where you are amongst your competitors. Its better to know how you are positioned amongst your audience. A competitive audit is best utilized when one of your competitors is serving your customer better then you are. I believe in these instances a deep dive or case study needs to be conducted to understand how they are being more effective & how the audience has developed an affinity for the brand.

Leverage technology to continually monitor your competition. You can be scrappy and do it on a low budget using Google Alerts, use websites to send you changes to key competitor webpages, etc. Or if you have the budget, you can leverage tools that exist to scale your efforts. No matter which route you choose, know that while this work is important, there is nothing more important than paving a unique path for your organization. Your business will suffer if all you do is copy what the competition is doing. Make the competition copy you. Be the market leader in a way that is important to your customers and prospects.