Market Analysis - How your competitor is getting ahead

Every business has its competitors. And while market analysis isn’t fundamentally a new practice, today’s key players are regularly hunting for ways to fine-tune their intel. The kicker is, instead of turning to who you’re competing with, you should be focusing on who you’re competing for.

As a business, you may be aware of the competitors in your local marketplace, but what about online? During the buyer’s journey (the marketing funnel), potential customers are looking to your website for education on your products or services. In fact, 97% of consumers use online media when researching their local market (1). Because of this growth, businesses no longer control the selling — buyers do.

Your company’s website is a key factor to converting leads. In order to maximize its full potential, you’ll need to assess how your marketing efforts are stacking up against your competitors. Keep reading below to learn how you can conduct an in-depth market analysis, putting you two moves ahead of your competitors.

Identifying multi-level competitors

When you’re a small business, it’s easy to consider a multi-million company your competitor. In this step, choose your top three competitors on a local level, a regional level, and a national scale. Acting as a starting point, this helps you narrow your audience, working your way outwards.

Drawing in your target audience

It’s one thing to speak with a megaphone, it’s another for people to listen. Trends are showing that audiences are less likely to respond to salesy ads and traditional banners. Instead, opt for a genuine relationship with your customers. This can be done through high-value content, resources, and social media.

Assessing your website conversions

Your website may be pretty, but is it bringing in numbers? Look at your analytics data, what patterns do you see? If your page speed is too low, you may have a high bounce rate. If you’re providing great blogs, your click through rate may be through the roof. The answers are all there in the stats. Next, you’ll want to take a look at the overall growth and measure it side-by-side with your revenue. Customers are actively looking for value, especially online. How well are you positioning them with the content you’re providing?

Considering industry trends

The world is changing every day, the same pertains to technology. With Google and Facebook accounting for 76% of internet advertising growth this past year, it’s wise to incorporate trending factors into your strategy. Mobile is exploding and visual engagement continues to excel. Opt for stunning visuals with value-rich content to gain the attention of customers.

Identifying areas of improvement

Are you blogging at least once a week? When was the last time you updated your website content? Always be looking for areas to improve. As you bring in customers, ask how they found you. If online, dig a little deeper and find out where. We highly recommend performing a quarterly marketing analysis to identify strengths and hurdles, project trends, and adapt your plan of action. - ActionCOACH

Dave Lakin is a nationally recognized Speaker, Trainer, and Coach based out of Huntsville, Alabama. Dave has a solid reputation for quick results and an innovative approach to problem solving. After a lifetime in the military, he is passionate about leadership and helping people find and engage their leader within. He helps teams to truly communicate, take charge of their environment, and work together to achieve common goals.

Dave often describes himself as an organizational troubleshooter. He works with executives and their teams to fine tune their business and help make it produce most efficiently, effectively and profitably. He helps you not only reach for higher goals but to achieve them as well.

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