{"id":12211,"date":"2015-05-21T06:00:28","date_gmt":"2015-05-21T13:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/?p=12211"},"modified":"2015-05-21T06:00:28","modified_gmt":"2015-05-21T13:00:28","slug":"8-questions-to-start-your-competitive-information-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/8-questions-to-start-your-competitive-information-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Questions To Start Your Competitive Information Journey"},"content":{"rendered":"

The idea behind competitive intelligence isn’t so much to beat the competition, as it is to become the obvious choice for your ideal customer. And if your ideal customer is choosing a competitor and paying more for their product or service than they are for yours, then you are going to want to do some competitive research.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re probably wondering where to begin. \u00a0I thought of that. \u00a0So I\u2019ve pulled together some questions to get you started. \u00a0\u00a0\"start\"<\/p>\n

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  1. How do they emphasize their value proposition?<\/li>\n
  2. What are their prices like compared to yours?<\/li>\n
  3. What is their product photography like, and how are their product descriptions?<\/li>\n
  4. What are their shipping options and prices like?<\/li>\n
  5. Where are their call to actions, and how obvious are they?<\/li>\n
  6. Are they trying to build an email list?<\/li>\n
  7. Is their site optimized for mobile?<\/li>\n
  8. What is their social media presence like; which platforms do they use; how often do they interact with customers, and how do they speak with their customers?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    You can simply create a document and begin brainstorming answers to these questions. \u00a0You can also create a simple table or spreadsheet with these elements in the first column and then you can evaluate specific competitors in each additional column. \u00a0Something that looks like this:<\/p>\n

    You\u2019ll notice that I\u2019ve also included some comparative information on your competitors\u2019 online presence. \u00a0Here are a few tips on what to look for when evaluating their website.<\/p>\n

    How to evaluate your competitors online presence<\/b><\/h2>\n

    The first step in evaluating a competitor’s Web presence should be the their website. In the same way that you can learn a lot about someone by their outward appearance, you can learn a lot about a company\u2019s personality through their website.<\/p>\n

    Is the competitors\u2019 website customer focused or company focused? \u00a0A customer focused website will be written in the second person (using the word \u201cyou\u201d frequently) and focus on specific customer pains. \u00a0If a competitor\u2019s website is company focused, you might see pictures of their buildings or they will feature their products and services prominently.<\/p>\n

    If your competitor is customer or user focused, take note of who they are targeting, notice what problems they feature and pay special attention to how they support their claims. \u00a0The same holds true for a product or service focused company. \u00a0What products are they featuring and what claims are they making? \u00a0How do these compare to yours?<\/p>\n

    Here is a short list of some other areas you can evaluate.<\/p>\n