There is one thing every brand wants to do to increase sales and market exposure: stand out. In order to do this, you must know what your brand is up against and determine ways to differentiate yours using market research.

Without a proper competitor analysis and the right marketing, it is easy for a brand to get lost among other brands with similar offerings. Below we’ve outlined key ways to ensure you know what your competitors are up to and how to conduct the proper research.

1. Determine which platforms your competitors are present on and how active they are. If they’re only present on select platforms, this gives your brand an opportunity to fill in the gap and gain more exposure. Scroll through their feeds to see which types of content have performed well, giving you insight into what resonates with your industry’s audience.
2. Look at where your competitors are mentioned in the media besides their own accounts. Once you’ve taken a dive into what their brands are posting and saying about themselves, now it’s time to see what the media is saying about them. Look at their tagged photos, comments, and do a search using relevant keywords to see what comes up. Browse through their customer reviews to see the unfiltered thoughts of their audience. This provides you with an understanding of what their audience likes and dislikes about their brand and, again, gives you a chance to differentiate yourself.
3. Make it a habit of regularly checking its websites to stay aware of any brand changes. Did they launch a new product? Did they change the website design? The messaging? How user-friendly is their website? All of these are important to look at to see how they’re presenting themselves and if their brand is changing.
4. Scroll through their open job positions to get a sense of new offerings they might have coming. If you see a job opening for a service they don’t currently offer, it gives you insight as to what may be coming in the future.
5. Invest in online tools that will assist in your market research. There are many online tools that will show you how your competitors are performing in regards to metrics and will lay the groundwork for your research. Investing in these can lead to more success in the long run by having competitor data to adjust your own marketing plan.

Doing proper market research can help you find weaknesses in your competitors and lead to opportunities to make their weaknesses your strengths in your own brand. It can also assist in predicting your competitors’ future decisions by watching their current moves in the market.

Looking to fine-tune your marketing plan? Get in touch with TribalVision today to get started!