Competitive Analysis
Keeping a close watch on your competitors not only deepens your market insights but also sharpens your strategies to excel in your operating markets. In this article, we’ll break down the basics of competitive analysis and walk you through the key components of this free-to-use template.
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What is competitive analysis?
Competitive analysis is the process of conducting in-depth research on competitors in a specific market you want to enter or operate in. A comprehensive analysis typically covers various aspects of a business—pricing, features, target market, positioning, customer support, and more.
This analysis helps you understand the ever-evolving landscape of your industry. It also allows you to identify your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, so you can position your product or service more effectively.
When to use a competitive analysis template
A competitive analysis template can be useful even when you’re a seasoned veteran in a domain, playing a significant role in spearheading your business in more ways than you might think. Let’s look at some of them:
Product launches
When you launch a new product, it’s essential to clearly understand the market to identify opportunities and minimize risk.
Testing new business ideas
That eureka moment when a new business idea strikes is exhilarating. But before you dive in, it’s crucial to recognize that similar ideas may already exist in the market. This is when it becomes important to assess the landscape and identify key players to uncover opportunities for product success and differentiation.
New competitors
It’s essential to keep an eye out for new competitors that could bring major market shifts as they respond to changing consumer preferences. Monitoring their presence keeps you informed about emerging trends and may prompt you to reevaluate your strategies. By doing so, you can remain relevant and retain your audience in a dynamic market.
Staying in the loop with industry changes and market trends
Instead of making short-term, reactionary decisions, a competitive analysis will help you anticipate shifts, adapt strategies, and seize new opportunities with a more structured approach—without losing track of emerging trends, economic fluctuations, policy updates, etc.
Expanding your territory
Expansion, whether in terms of demography or geography, comes with risks. A competitor analysis helps you understand and navigate this unfamiliar territory.
How to use the competitive analysis template in Zoho Tables
Identify your competitors
Start by identifying the key players in your industry, but don’t stop there. A thorough competitive analysis includes direct competitors offering similar products, indirect competitors solving the same problem differently, and niche players targeting a specific segment.
Collect insights
Once you’ve identified your competitors, the next step is to gather detailed insights about them. The template’s Competitor Overview section allows you to analyze competitors across multiple dimensions, including product and service offerings, market positioning and branding, and marketing and sales strategies.
Analyze your metrics
Compare key performance indicators (KPIs) and benchmarks. This helps in identifying gaps, strengths, and opportunities for improvement in your strategy.
Compare product offerings
Pinpoint key differentiators that make your product stand out, and find areas to improve or innovate to compete more effectively. Make informed decisions on feature prioritization based on market demand.
Document your SWOT analysis
Once you've compared product offerings, it's time to document your market findings in a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis format.
The final result of doing a competitive analysis correctly is that you arrive at a clear understanding of your unique selling proposition (USP).
Who can use this competitive analysis template?
Whether you’re tracking market trends or refining your business strategy, a competitive analysis template is essential—not just for analysts but for anyone involved in shaping a company’s competitive strategy. This includes:
Product managers
Marketing managers
Sales executives
Business analysts
Strategy teams
Entrepreneurs & founders
Competitive intelligence analysts
Investors & venture capitalists
Growth managers
Market researchers
Why Zoho Tables?
When it comes to competitive analysis, businesses need a tool that’s structured, flexible, and collaborative—and Zoho Tables delivers that. It offers centralized data management, customizable views for different teams, easy automation, and options for commenting, tagging, and notifications to keep everyone aligned. Whether you’re a startup, SMB, or enterprise, Zoho Tables grows with you and helps you stay ahead of the competition.
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