TABLE OF CONTENTS
What Is Competitor Analysis? | Why Perform Competitive Analysis? | How to Conduct a Competitor Audit | Next Steps
For marketers and business owners alike, auditing your competitors’ marketing strategies isn’t just smart … it’s essential. Without a clear view of how you compare to others in your space, it’s tough to identify where you need to improve or which strengths to spotlight in your messaging.
Here’s what goes into an effective competitor audit and why it’s an investment that pays off.
What Is Competitor Analysis?
Competitor analysis, or a competitor audit, is a strategic deep dive into how your business stacks up against others in your industry. It’s more than just knowing who your competitors are; it’s about understanding their strengths, weaknesses, marketing tactics, customer perceptions, and overall market positioning.
Whether you're launching a new product, entering a new market, or simply trying to stay ahead, a competitor analysis gives you the clarity and context to make smarter, more informed business decisions.
Why Perform Competitive Analysis?
By evaluating how key competitors approach their product offerings, branding, customer experience, communications, and operational strategies, you gain insights that can fuel smarter decision-making and accelerate your brand’s growth.
More importantly, competitive analysis helps you uncover meaningful points of differentiation — those unique advantages that make your brand stand out in a crowded market.
Think about it like this: In a place like New York City, there’s no shortage of pizza shops. Yet one always seems to draw the longest lines. Why? Because different customers value different things, whether it’s convenience, flavor, atmosphere, or even nostalgia.
The same idea applies in B2B marketing. One buyer may choose a provider for their rapid response time, while another prioritizes innovative features or white-glove support.
When you understand what your competitors are doing well and where they’re falling short, you’re better equipped to highlight your own strengths and spot opportunities for improvement.
Maybe your customer service team consistently outperforms others in your space. Or perhaps your competitors are offering a seamless digital experience while yours needs a refresh. That’s insight you can act on.
Analysis also helps you stay ahead of evolving industry standards and trends. It can inspire innovation and push your team to try new tactics your competitors haven’t yet considered. And once your analysis is complete, it provides a benchmark to measure the impact of any new strategies or improvements you roll out in response.
7 Simple Steps to Conducting a Competitor Audit
1. Determine Who Your Competitors Are
Competitive analysis is often focused on businesses within the same vertical. For example, a local construction firm might examine how another nearby construction company markets itself, serves customers, and prices its services. If both companies operate in the same geographic area and target similar clients, they’re direct competitors.
However, competition isn’t always limited to your exact industry. Businesses in adjacent or overlapping markets can also be considered competitors. These are known as indirect competitors.
Take a standalone clothing boutique and a large department store, for example. While they aren’t targeting the exact same audience with the same business model, they both sell similar products and compete for the same consumer dollars.
To identify your true competitors (both direct and indirect), it’s important to look beyond industry labels. Consider factors like:
- Customer Base: Who are they targeting? Are their buyers similar to yours?
- Product or Service Mix: Do they offer similar solutions or solve the same problems?
- Location: Are they operating in the same regions or markets?
- Business Size and Reach: Are they competing at a local, regional, or national level?
For example, while both a local family entertainment center and Disney World serve a similar purpose — providing fun experiences — their scale, audience, and competitive dynamics are worlds apart. Understanding these nuances helps you evaluate the competition that truly matters and better position your brand within your market.
2. Identify Competitors’ Products & Services
Product mix is one of the most critical elements to evaluate during a competitive analysis. It answers the fundamental question: What are you offering … and how does that compare to your competition?
Take a close look at what your competitors provide. Consider not just their products or services, but also:
- Pricing and packaging
- Delivery methods or service models
- Customer reviews and testimonials
- Clarity of their offerings (How easy is it to understand what they sell?)
By comparing their product mix to yours, you can identify key opportunities and gaps. You may uncover untapped market segments your business could serve or realize your current offerings are too broad, making it difficult to stand out in a saturated market.
A focused, strategic product mix helps define your niche, sharpen your messaging, and attract the right audience, while also revealing where competitors may be overextended or underperforming.
3. Research Their Sales Tactics & Results
Once you understand what your competitors are offering, the next step is to evaluate how they’re selling it.
Are they relying on a dedicated sales team, offering a self-service subscription model, using direct sales, working through distributors, or a combination of these approaches? Understanding their sales model is key, as it shapes the customer journey and influences how prospects interact with their brand and content.
Next, examine how they drive conversions. Do they offer free trials? Freemium versions like those from HubSpot or Mailchimp? Are there limited-time offers, demos, or strong guarantees?
Finally, ask yourself: Do these tactics appear to be effective? Look for signs of traction, such as positive reviews, social proof, growth metrics, or client testimonials, and consider why their approach is or isn’t working. This insight can inspire improvements to your own strategy or highlight gaps you can capitalize on.
4. Analyze Competitors’ Content Strategies
Take a close look at the quality, quantity, and placement of your competitors’ content.
What types of content are they producing? A regularly updated blog is great for search engine optimization (SEO) and brand voice, but in the B2B space, assets like whitepapers, datasheets, case studies, and in-depth guides often carry even more weight. Dynamic content formats like videos, webinars, and podcasts may offer a significant edge in brand differentiation.
Next, examine content frequency. Brands that post consistently across blogs, social channels, and newsletters tend to stay top-of-mind and build trust more effectively than those with sporadic or outdated content.
Don't forget to assess where content is being published. While owned media like a company’s website is crucial, earned and shared content on third-party platforms can provide valuable visibility.
Finally, evaluate content quality. A competitor with inconsistent or low-quality blog posts and poorly designed visuals may not pose much of a threat. But a brand producing polished videos, compelling thought leadership, and gaining visibility on reputable industry sites? That’s a competitor to watch and learn from.
5. Find Out What Technology Stack They Use
It’s not always easy to uncover the exact tools and platforms your competitors use, especially without insider knowledge. However, you can often pick up clues from their content. Blog posts, case studies, or job listings might reference specific systems, software, or partnerships that reveal pieces of their tech stack.
A thorough tech stack analysis should include tools related to marketing automation, customer relationship management (CRM), email marketing, social media management, content distribution, influencer marketing, analytics, and any proprietary platforms they may use.
Once you gather these insights, compare their stack to yours. Are they using tools that streamline workflows more effectively? Do they have integrations that give them a competitive edge?
Take note of any platforms in your own stack that may be underperforming or lacking in features. Identifying these gaps can help you optimize operations, enhance efficiency, and get more value from the tools you invest in.
6. Observe How They Market Their Content
How do competitors promote their content? Are they leveraging social media to share new posts, or relying on email newsletters, RSS feeds, or just keeping everything confined to their website?
Take note of how their content is presented. Do they simply maintain a blog, or do they offer additional incentives like exclusive content that’s accessible only by subscribing to an email list? Are they using other distribution channels, and if so, do they have strategies that give them a competitive edge?
Content marketing isn't just about creating valuable content; it’s also about how it’s presented and distributed. How your content is shared and made accessible can be just as impactful as the content itself.
7. Assess Their Engagement
It’s not just about what your competitors are publishing … it’s about how their audience is responding. Are people actually engaging with their content, or is it falling flat? Start by checking how their content ranks in search results for relevant keywords or even their brand name. Strong visibility is often a sign of a solid SEO and content strategy.
Next, look at engagement on their owned platforms. Are there comments on blog posts? Do social posts get likes, shares, or spark conversation? A blog post that’s frequently linked or a social post with dozens of comments is clearly resonating.
Also, consider which platforms dominate in your industry. For example, food and lifestyle brands often thrive on Instagram and Pinterest, while B2B companies tend to perform better on LinkedIn. One brand might go viral on a certain platform while a nearly identical competitor struggles. That's an insight worth noting.
Finally, review the full digital picture: site design and navigation, content quality, publishing consistency, and social media performance. You don’t need to chase every platform, but if all your top competitors are succeeding somewhere you're absent, it might be time to show up.
These are the types of insights only a thorough competitor audit can uncover.
Next Steps: Perform a SWOT Analysis of Your Brand & Your Competitors
A SWOT analysis — originating from the Boston Consulting Group's framework for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats — is an invaluable tool for assessing both your business and how you stack up against the competition:
- Strengths: What are you excelling at? What competitive advantages do you hold that set you apart? How can you further leverage these strengths?
- Weaknesses: What areas are holding you back or could use improvement? What steps can you take to address these weaknesses?
- Opportunities: What current or emerging trends, either within your industry or society as a whole, could you take advantage of?
- Threats: Are there any external factors or shifts in the market that pose a risk to your brand’s success?
Beyond evaluating internal factors, a SWOT analysis also considers external elements that could impact your brand, from industry-specific events to global trends. A clear example of this is how the pandemic fundamentally altered consumer shopping habits, presenting both challenges and opportunities for retail businesses that had to adapt quickly.
With the insights gained from analyzing both your brand and your competitors, it’s time to turn that information into a solid marketing strategy. How can you amplify your strengths while addressing any gaps? What strategies have helped you stay ahead of the competition, and what risks or innovations are they exploring to differentiate themselves?
Competitive analysis isn’t just about keeping an eye on your competitors. It’s a valuable opportunity to learn where you stand and discover how you can elevate your brand and digital presence.
Competitor Audit Insights = The Foundation of Your Marketing Strategy
Conducting a competitor audit is a time-intensive process, but it’s essential for gaining a deeper understanding of your industry, customer behavior, and how to outpace the competition. The insights you uncover will serve as a strong foundation for crafting an effective marketing strategy that drives results.
Businesses that consistently monitor their competitors and tailor their marketing strategies based on these findings are more likely to experience growth. Often, companies miss out on significant revenue opportunities simply because they haven’t closely analyzed what their competitors are doing right or how the industry is evolving.
At LAIRE, we equip you with the tools and expertise to perform a comprehensive competitor analysis and leverage those insights to elevate your B2B brand. Our digital marketing experts are ready to help you uncover the strategies that will set you apart.
Contact us today to schedule your free 20-minute marketing consultation and discover how we can help take your brand to the next level.
