Using Competitive Analysis to Drive Growth
By using a Competitive Matrix Analysis businesses can find new opportunities for growth, innovation, new products, services and marketing strategies. It is used to critically profile and compare your company against known competitors, and the results will help increase a companyʼs competitive advantage in an easy to use and read format.
At one glance you want to see your companyʼs competitive landscape, your position in a given market and possible opportunities to differentiate your companyʼs products and services from the competition.
Building a Competitive Matrix:
This matrix can be just a simple table that starts with criteria that are pertinent to a companyʼs industry and will help to differentiate your company’s products and services from your competitors. Product features and benefits can be included, but my advice is to focus more on benefits to customers rather than get confused by features. For features, answer simply Yes or No, but for benefits go deeper and assign a ranking versus your competitors of 1 - 5, with 1 being low and 5 being high. The goal is to define those features that deliver significant benefits to your customers when compared to the competition.
Here’s a sample Competitive Matrix
| Factor | Your Company | Competitor #1 | Competitor #2 | Competitor #3 |
| Low Price | 4 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| Superior Quality | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Onboard Controls | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Installation | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Training Provided | Yes | No | No | No |
| Custom Products | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Unique Features | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| Rapid Delivery | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
Analyzing the Competitive Matrix
For each product, identify all of the key features or benefits that are important to your existing and potential customers and then rank how your company compares with your key competitors.
Now that you have completed the competitive matrix it’s time to analyze what it means to your company’s Profitable Growth strategy. Here are a few things the matrix may reveal:
- Improve your service function to help customers use your products more effectively
- Develop a customer training function that trains the people who will use your products
- Develop new ways to easily customize your products to meet the differing needs of customers
- Develop a new marketing campaign to communicate your message better
- Find opportunities to develop a new or improved products
- Use this competitive matrix as an internal sales training tool to help your sales staff communicate your company’s competitive advantage more clearly to customers
Why This is Important
Companies that design and deliver more distinctive products can command a higher margin and are usually more profitable. By continually seeking out ways to make your products and services more unique and distinctive, as well as delivering measurable benefits to your customers, your company will on the road to developing a profitable growth plan now and in the future.
Charlie Alter specializes in Business Growth, Innovation, and Coaching. Follow Charlie on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/#!/cpalter or check out https://bentbrookadvisors.com.
