A Competitive Edge In The Market

by Octopus Intelligence Octopus Competitive Intelligence

Understanding your competitors is crucial when looking at your sales planning process. Investing time in researching them will allow you to reduce surprises in your sales planning. Have you been in business for a while and been doing well, with lots of sales and satisfied customers? Then you may notice that you aren’t winning as many customers as you used to.

You realise that some of your customers are switching to new providers. Or have otherwise disengaged with you because of a noticeable reduction in your business with them. You inquire about the matter and discover that your consumers favour the new organisations because they offer something unique, fresh, or unusual. Or they ignore you or use some excuse.

Alternatively, other things may have distracted them and prevented them as they used to do. Initially, you may take the news that your customer has gone elsewhere as a sign of personal rejection—’they don’t like me”. Then you will stop battering yourself in self-pity and realise that it’s part of the game.

Your market can alter suddenly. And significantly if much of the stuff you do and the associated can be commoditised. You may lose your competitive advantage overnight, and a once-exclusive, premium, customised product or service may quickly become a ‘me 2’.

Stay Ahead Of The Game

It’s crucial to frequently examine our markets and competitors to stay ahead of the game. The old strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats assessment (SWOT) is usually carried out when the initial business plan is created, then sporadically afterwards.

It’s challenging to keep up with the rapid pace of innovation and new ideas in the market. How often do we need to monitor our rivals and competitive advantages? Well, there’s no right answer, as you can obsess with them, especially if you have invested in CI software. However, we know that once a year is insufficient. And a completely unacceptable risk these days. There is a lot of competition out there for people’s time, attention, and money, and it’s challenging to keep up.

Keep Up With The Competition

Competitor analysis is a crucial component of competitive intelligence. Instead of believing that everything is too difficult, we think it is worthwhile to continuously assess your position in the market relative to all other players and the global market. You do not need to engage in major competitive intelligence initiatives every time you want to do this. But it’s vitally important to keep up with the competition. You can gain market intelligence from every contact you make or receive.

What is competitive intelligence?

Competitive intelligence is the finding & critical analysis of information to make sense of what’s happening & why. Predict what’s going to happen & give the options to control the outcome. The insight to create more certainty & competitive advantage.

Researching on the internet provides many resources to get information on various topics. You may also visit your competitors’ stores to see how their employees interact with customers.

Look at their employees’ behaviour and how they deal with customers.
What do they look like?
What are their products like?
Is their pricing reasonable?
Competitors’ ads and websites and your customers’ and prospects’ comments on competitors are among the things to watch out for.
Competitors’ advertisements, websites, and other marketing materials can assist you in learning about their target audience, market position, product features, advantages, and prices, as well as other things.
Attend a talk or presentation by a competitor’s representative.
Look at competitors’ trade show displays from the viewpoint of a prospective buyer. Find out more about a competitor’s marketing approach and target market, and attend the trade shows and events they select.
Competitors’ marketing and advertising publications will also provide that information. It is also important to examine local newspapers, business journals, industry and trade association publications, and industry research and surveys.

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An in-depth look at your competitors is critical to your sales strategy and gaining a competitive edge in the market.

A Competitive Edge In The Market

In conclusion, understanding your competitors is crucial in your sales planning process. Investing time in researching them will allow you to reduce surprises in your sales planning, giving you a better understanding of obstacles and helping you plan for success.