“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”

Sun-tzu, The Art of War, 722-481 BCE or 403-221 BCE

Anyone that has spent much time in the corporate world has heard this quote more than a few times, but in the real world of small business, can it still be applied to knowing your competition?

Absolutely. It takes time, and the ability to leave your prejudice at the door, but every business regardless of size should know and learn from their competitors by gaining an understanding of the marketplace from the eyes of the customer.

To begin, bias for one’s own product or service has to be set on the side. You must assume the role of the customer and view the offering choices as they do. See what they see. Think what they think. Question what they would doubt. Pace the buying process as they would. Fear what they would fear.

Start with the search. People looking to fulfill a need or want seek out a solution. Who and what (ads) do they find and where do they find them?

Offline marketing and advertising

• Gather all relevant information – yours and the competitors. Potential sources include: Yellow page ads, Direct mail pieces, Trade journal and industry magazine ads, Trade shows (look up the registration list online), etc.
• Track your advertising activity and the competitors’ in a spreadsheet (Ad type, placement, size, date, frequency, etc.)
• Compare your ads and their ads with a critical eye. Are you getting out- advertised? Which creative is the most effective? Take note of the headlines, the copy, the branding. Is there a call to action? Is there a consistent look, feel and messaging across delivery channels?

Online marketing and advertising

Organic or Free Search. Most product searches start with an online search, so begin there. Start with Google, but don’t forget Yahoo and MSN.

Now, what search terms do new product or service seekers use to conduct a search? The search term it is not, is your business name. Most small businesses are not known by prospects and must be found by the key words and key phrases entered into the search engine. Google has a free tool to discover/refine keywords and there are numerous others (free and not free) available.

Once you determine the key words and key phrases, work must begin to assess the SEO strengths and weaknesses of your competitors to gain a competitive advantage in search engine rankings. This process is called Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, and is an entire topic on its own. If you are unfamiliar with SEO, you need to get familiar, and quickly. Google has a beginner’s SEO guide available, check out DIY Website Success, or hire a consultant.

Paid Search or Pay Per Click (PPC). PPC ads are the paid ads that appear on the right and top of search results pages and say “Sponsored Search” above the ads. Here is a simple method to gain a quick understanding of your ads versus your competitors:

• Determine your top key words from your keywords list
• Open a Word document and create a table, 4 columns wide with 14 rows
• Label the top row of each column with a key word or phrase
• Label each row of the left column Top 1, Top 2, Top 3, Right 1, Right 2, etc.
• Now search the first phrase and cut and paste the ad results into the table, one result per cell

When you finish, you should have all the page one PPC results for your top 3 key words or phrases. Repeat for as many keywords as needed.

Google also has quite a few free tools available for AdWords advertisers. Simply create/login to your Adwords account, go to Tools and begin exploring.

Next, for the top ads (the biggest competition because customers see them first), examine their landing pages, or the place where the person is taken if that ad is selected. Does the thought path flow well or does the landing page have nothing to do with the ad? Remember, the closer the landing page is to the ad creative and messaging, the more likely the success.

Competitors’ Web Sites

If you aren’t already visiting your competitor’s web sites at least a couple of times a month, again, you need to be. Simply create a folder in your toolbar, bookmark their sites and then choose a day of the week to visit them.

Next-> Marketing Insanity

The ability to clearly communicate the unique benefits of a product or service is critical for achieving marketing success and should be consistent in all marketing communications.

Considering the significant cost associated with marketing and advertising efforts, when was the last time your company spent some quality time ensuring the correct features and benefits were being utilized across all marketing efforts?

Features

Every marketable product or service has features, but what makes a feature unique?
Take the apple.

Features
Common: Round, comes in multiple colors
Unique: Contains soluble and insoluble fiber
Obscure:   Contains quercetin

Developing a robust feature list

♦ Compile a full feature list for each product or service offered, from common features to the obscure.

♦ Brainstorm with the entire organization (development, sales, customer service, implementation, etc.) to uncover all product features and customer uses.

♦ Document alternate terms or names used for features by customers and competitors. (Make sure you’re comparing apples to apples ~ pun intended).

♦ All features should be fully documented and clearly described to provide customers a clear understanding of the attributes of the product or service.

The “So What?” Test

Now, take the list and feature by feature, ask “So what?”

♦ Some features are merely features.

An apple is round, but aside from the fact that the human eye finds round objects more pleasing than square objects, it is not really a marketable benefit.

♦ The middle ground will most likely yield benefits for the most wide segment of customers.

Apples contain pectin, a soluble fiber that can lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of stroke, and insoluble fiber, which provides a filling effect that helps suppress appetite and improve digestion.

♦ The obscure facts will appeal to niche segments and those with more educated needs.

Fresh apples have a high level of quercetin, an antioxidant that researchers believe may help fight the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

So What Marketing

The list of significant “So Whats” should serve as a foundation for developing or uncovering any required updates to the marketing positioning and marketing messaging.

♦ All marketing collateral, such as product brochures, web design copy, PPC ads, etc. should be created using the most relevant features and terms, while highlighting the product’s unique benefits.

♦ The more unique or niche features and benefits may be good for developing long tail search terms.

♦ Conduct an annual or semi-annual check-up to ensure features and benefits remain up-to-date.

Need more marketing information or help with your marketing? Dallas Marketing Services is the blog of Dallas marketing firm, Seven Aspens.   Seven Aspens specializes in marketing services, website design, search engine optimization and product consulting.  Contact us to learn more about custom, yet affordable, online and offline marketing services for your business.

Next-> The Buying Process

Even in today’s world of marketing with so many online and offline choices, good marketing begins with the basics – an assessment of where you are now and development of a strategy for getting to where you want to be.

Over the next series of posts, we will cover the various aspects of developing a marketing strategy and then creating a tactical marketing plan.

• The Discovery process
• Defining benefits & features
• The Buying process & the participants
• Who are your customers?
• Markets – SMBs, verticals, specialties
• Competitors – learn from them
• Marketing insanity
• Positioning & messaging
• Opportunities: Awareness, Offline & Online
• Developing a marketing budget & a tactical marketing plan