Research and Analyse competitors Offline Presence
It’s crucial to know what your competitors are doing, how they’re doing it, and why they’re successful (or not). Knowledge that can help you make better decisions to give you a competitive edge. But how do you go about researching your competitors? An important step is to understand what they are doing offline. So what to do when you want to research and analyse competitors offline presence.
Analyse Their Offline Presence
Analysing competitors’ offline activities involves examining their physical presence and engagement strategies. Start by evaluating their retail locations. Assess their store design, layout, and overall shopping experience. Look at the ambience, customer service quality, and in-store promotional activities.
- What’s their distribution strategy?
- Do they have any partnerships with other retailers?
- What’s their regional presence?
- What does their supply chain logistics consist of?
All these answers can reveal their market penetration and operational efficiency. They can also reveal how they manage inventory, handle logistics, and optimise supply chain operations. This analysis will provide insights into their cost structures and service levels.
Their participation at trade shows, conferences, and community events offers insight into their marketing strategy. These events are platforms to showcase new products and engage with industry stakeholders. And an opportunity to strengthen brand visibility. These events let you see their presentation styles, marketing materials, and customer interaction.
Network With A Purpose
Networking with industry professionals and potential customers gives firsthand feedback on competitors’ reputations and market positioning. Look at their sponsorships, charity causes, and other community initiatives. All are designed to improve their image, CSR efforts and community engagement strategies. All of these factors can influence consumer loyalty and brand perception. But assess if they are being genuine or if there is a chink in their armour.
Mystery shopping or customer surveys will give detailed insights into the competitors’ performance. Mystery shopping involves posing as customers to evaluate the overall buying experience. This can include sales tactics, staff product knowledge, and post-purchase support to uncover nuances in customer service and operational efficiency. Something can’t be revealed through secondary data alone. Secondary research tells us what our competitor wants you to think about them.
Primary research tells us what they are really like. Customer surveys can also provide valuable feedback on why customers prefer your competitors. They highlight key differentiators and potential areas for improvement in your offerings.
Win-Loss Analysis
You can go deeper and develop a win-loss programme. Whenever you win business or lose out to a competitor, you reach out to the buyer and ask them questions. The salesperson is not best placed to do this as you want impartiality and the buyer not to feel uncomfortable.
Win-loss usually brings you brilliant answers and, once analysed to reveal patterns, will:
- Strengthen your sales strategy
- Improve success rates
- Enable grow market share
Do you know why you lost the sale and why the competition beat you? It’s rarely the case that you are too expensive. Over time, you will be able to assess the reasons for wins and losses, such as:
- Price compared to the competition
- Product and service differentiation
- Brand strength and customer goodwill
- Customer Perceptions of Product and Service Value
Boots On The Ground
Boots-on-the-ground involves gathering insight through direct in-the-field observation and interaction. This method provides unique and usually unattainable insights through traditional online research. Your competitor is also going to refrain from doing it. After all, they have that super new AI database that tells them everything.
Observe trucks leaving and arriving at a competitor’s factory. Count chimneys in operation and track building activity. All of this will allow them to assess the scale and efficiency of their operations. The frequency and volume of truck movements can indicate production levels and shipment schedules. This will give you an idea of their demand and capacity. Smoking chimneys suggest operational production lines. This can tell you how many production lines are running and what’s been manufactured—all solid to allow you to verify numbers from other sources.
Tracking where trucks have been and where they are going can reveal many things. Note the presence of foreign number plates. This offers insights into supply chain routes and international trade activities. Plus, it indicates potential new markets the competitor is entering. Checking around a plant, like new construction or increased truck traffic, can signal:
- Business expansion
- New product lines
- Increased demand
Information is crucial for forecasting market trends, adjusting strategic plans, and countering or confirming predictions made by a large research house or your competitor.
Human Intelligence
Talking to security guards or employees entering the plant can yield invaluable insight. Asking innocent questions might reveal details about shift changes or production schedules. A complaining security guard could even make recent management decisions. Counting employees entering work can give clues about workforce size and shift patterns. Again, this reflects the company’s production capacity and operational scale. And determine what they claim to be producing is reality.
Talking to shop managers can reveal important insights. Counting cars in supermarket car parks over time can indicate sales, inventory turnover, and customer behaviour. Building rapport with store managers can lead to insights about sales trends, product popularity, and competitor promotions. Cars in a car park at different times can signal peak shopping times, consumer habits, and store performance.
Leaving the office and observing the real world offers a reality check against what data and reports tell you. This hands-on approach ensures that decisions are based on accurate and current information. It reduces the reliance on potentially outdated or incomplete data.
Remember, when doing any boots-on-the-ground work, it’s important never to trespass on private property. And it can all be done without breaking the law.
More On Trade Shows
Trade shows, conferences, and competitor events provide fertile ground for gathering competitive intelligence. All allow you to observe, interact, and collect crucial information. Here’s how you can use these settings for competitive intelligence:
Monitor the foot traffic and engagement at competitors’ booths. High activity levels can indicate strong interest in their products or services. Note new product launches, technology displays, and special promotions or offers. Look for insights into your competitors’ current focus and future direction. Collect brochures, flyers, and business cards. These materials can contain valuable information about new products, services, and strategic messages. What do they see as important regarding message, product, and features?
Talk to attendees, including competitors’ employees, customers, and suppliers. Asking open-ended questions gathers insights about market trends, competitor strategies, and industry problems. Attend presentations and panel discussions. Pay attention to what they highlight in their talks and any new initiatives they hint at or announce. Attend social events, such as dinners, cocktail hours or end-of-the-day drinks. These settings are great for building relationships and gathering intelligence through casual conversation. Read more: Why Competitor Analysis to View Your Market in a different Light.
Remain sober. Listen to someone complaining about their boss or how they are smashing their sales targets. Or how a certain product is flying off the shelves, or if they have been off to Paris to meet Microsoft next month.
Competitor Strategy Or Sale Bonding Away Days
If you know where a competitor’s strategy meeting or away day is, go to the venue. Leave your corporate T-shirt at home. Note the number of attendees, the duration of the event, and any visible materials or themes. Again, hotel bars are a goldmine for overhearing conversations. Competitors let their guard down in informal settings, especially 3 pints in. They may reveal strategic insights or, at the very least, company morale. Remember, it’s a public space, but remember to fit in and stick out like a sore thumb. Read more: Unlock the Secrets to Outperforming Your Competitors: Tips For Comprehensive Market Research.
Talk informally with hotel staff. They may offer information about the event, such as the number of participants, the nature of discussions, or any special activities. If possible, attend public sessions or open events. Engage with attendees and gather intelligence through networking. An event that’s going badly or poorly attended is rich pickings for intelligence. Bad news travels fast. This article described a number of ways to research and analyse competitors’ offline presence.
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