?? Toys R US, ??BlackBerry, and ?? Blockbuster were all household names one. These giants once dominated their industries but failed to adapt. The culprit? Their leaders ignored the competition.?
In today’s fast-paced world, staying ahead requires constant vigilance. As a leader, you need to become a competitive intelligence pro and get first-hand experience without getting buried in endless reports.
Competitive Intel is Your Secret Weapon
Let's face it, as senior leaders, our plates are overflowing. Between steering the product vision, managing the team, and keeping the stakeholders happy, who has time to dig into competitor analysis? Competitive research deserves a top spot on YOUR to-do list. It is a crucial responsibility that starts with you and permeates through the team through your actions.
The Problem and the Consequence
In today's fast-paced business landscape, staying ahead of the competition requires a deep understanding of their strategies, strengths, and weaknesses. The truth is, that delegating everything to the team might be a blind spot.?
What are the pitfalls of delegating competitive research?
- Limited perspective: Team members have a narrow focus, missing broader trends and competitive strategies
- Lack of strategic context: Team members may not fully understand the company’s overall strategy, leading to misaligned analysis
- Insufficient resources: Teams might not be able to marshall the right resources (time, budget, expertise) to do a thorough analysis
- Groupthink: Team members might reinforce each other’s assumptions, and might not feel comfortable challenging assumptions.
The consequences of not conducting competitive analysis as a senior leader are dire.
- Strategic blind spots: You might miss critical market trends and competitor moves, leading to poor strategic decisions. You might miss a new approach to solving the problem you solve for users e.g. Facebook and short-form-video (TikTok)
- Innovation stagnation: You might fail to identify opportunities for growth and innovation, leading to stagnation and decline e.g. Blockbuster Video was unable to transition to a digital model
- Disruption vulnerability: You are unprepared for market disruptions and new competitors, leading to a loss of market share e.g. Polaroid was unable to anticipate the impact that digital cameras would have on its film business
- Poor prioritization and resource allocation: You allocate resources to the wrong priorities and lose market share.
The ultimate consequence is a loss of market leadership, reputation, and ultimately revenue.?
The Solution
As senior leaders, you can gather intel efficiently through the following ways:
Stay in the know (low time investment)
- Follow industry thought leaders and analysts firms: Subscribe to newsletters or feeds from industry analysts and publications. They often break down competitor news into bite-sized pieces, and keep you aware of your competitive blind sights.
- Google Alerts: Set up alerts to be notified of competitors’ mentions online, specifically when they are in the news, launch new features, or hold events
Analyze the customer experience (moderate time investment)
- Shop secretly: Sign up for competitor trials to experience their product firsthand, and see how it compares to yours. I take snapshots of the entire flow and share them with my teams. I upload the snapshots to a shared Google photo album and add my notes to the flow alongside notes from the team. Use the competitor’s products with your team and understand how their users behave over time.
- Organize teardown sessions: At Meta, we would have a small group analyze a competitive/new product experience, and have them lead a session with the entire team. This would be a hands-on experience with the product while capturing the feedback in a single document.?
- App Store Reviews: App store reviews are mostly left by disgruntled users, but have a wealth of information on what does not work.?
Track their public messaging (low time investment)
- Lurk on Social media: Follow your competitors on social media. See what content they are posting, how they are interacting with customers, and what kind of traction they are getting.
- Competitor Blogs: Sign up for updates from competitor blogs and be informed of what they are communicating to their customers and partners.
- Community portals: Many companies offer community portals for their customers and support teams to engage. These portals are a great source of new feature requests and features that do not work.?
Talk to your teams (low time investment)
- Periodic sales/marketing sync: Schedule time with your sales and marketing teams. Ask them about what competitor references they are hearing and which of those seem to resonate most with potential customers
- Sit on customer care calls: At GoDaddy, I would sit with customer service agents on various teams (sales, support, cancellation, premier, etc.) and listen to customers’ frustrations and joys. This would give me unfiltered access to customer feedback and help me serve our customers better.
Consistency is key here! Even a small amount of time invested regularly can yield valuable insights.?
TL;DR
Competitive research isn't just a task for your team, it's a responsibility that starts with you. By taking a proactive approach, you can gain valuable insights, stay ahead of the curve, and make strategic decisions that keep your product on top. The competitive arena awaits—let the games begin!
