Transcripts
1. Introduction: Hi, my name is Shyam Gursahani and I'm the founder and
Strategy Director at Albatrot, a marketing agency with clients across six
different countries. I have over 13 years of
experience as a marketing professional and an MBA from
the University of Cambridge, Judge Business School with a specialization in
Strategy and Marketing. I've built my career, executing
several award winning integrated marketing
campaigns for a host of different
bands across FMCG, automobiles, aviation,
technology, hospitality, insurance, healthcare, finance, and entertainment.
At Albatrot, my work focuses primarily
on Marketing Strategy, Performance marketing,
and campaign conceptualisation. To prevent all confusion, this class is not about
corporate espionage. Yes, we will ask you
to go undercover. But in no way are you required
to conduct a cloak and dagger operation to get
your end objectives. Now, having established that, let's understand
what this class on competition analysis
will look like. Through this class,
I will show you how to experience the
market as a consumer, and you will learn the
necessary due diligence that needs to be done to understand what is already
out there in the market. This will then allow you to
make inferences about where the market is served well and in which areas
it is underserved. At the end of this class, you will be able to
answer questions such as, What opportunities
exist in your industry? What are the gaps? How can you fill those gaps? What are the market trends? What features of your
product should you focus on? What benefits
should you promote? What does your audience feel? Where is your audience
being underserved? and mainly how you can make
your brand stand out. This class is aimed towards brand owners and strategy teams in agencies that work on competitive analysis for
brands they service. Once you've mastered this class, you will be able to develop a competitive landscape for any brand that you
find yourself working
2. Project: Your project is to
pick a brand you currently work with,
or a brand you own, and follow the 13 step
process taught in this class to create a competitive analysis. To
help you with the project, this class also
showcases a google sheet that has been populated
with a sample analysis. It will give you a
structure to work with; a structure that you can
adapt to suit your needs. Through this class, I
will also highlight the relevant tools you need to ensure success at each stage. The final outcome
will be a sheet with your findings in the same format of the sheet used in this class.
3. Overview: Consumers today are
not short of choices. No matter what
product or service your brand currently offers or
wants to offer in the future, there's some foam alternative
out there in most cases. In fact, chances
are that there are several businesses
offering something similar or exactly the
same as your offering. Competition analysis
in simple terms, is to develop a
strong understanding of your competitive
landscape that provides you the
information to make strong brand
positioning decisions. Once you understand
what is out there, you can create a brand
that is differentiated. I'll be the first to admit, competition analysis
is not a topic that many of you will
get really excited about. However, with a framework
and steps to follow, the process can be made easy. Competition analysis is most relevant when you're launching
a new brand or product, or when you're looking
to do a brand refresh. But I believe that a quarterly competition
analysis is good practice. It's always to your
strategic advantage to know how and where the
industry is heading towards. The following 13 steps aim
to teach you a way to do comprehensive and
thorough analysis while keeping the process
streamline and simple. Remember, the mission
is not to discover some secret sauce, it's to gather
information. Any findings, or aha moments, that do
happen are only coincidental, and are not an indication to
stop your work mid way through. So let's dive in.
4. Step 1 - Start a datasheet: Step one, let's start simple. The first step is to create
a spreadsheet and list the number of competitors you're going to analyze in the columns. I'd suggest ten at the least, but for the ease of
presentation in this class, I will consider five. Then from hero on, we
can fill each column based on the data we gather during the competition analysis. There are several
tools out there that can be used to
create a datasheet. I'm listing a few here for you. Try and stick to a tool you
are most comfortable with. Albatrot as an organization has been set up using Google. So I find Google Sheets
most comfortable. But that should not
restrict you in any way. To make life
easy for you all, I will also upload
a blank version of the document that
I used to create this video so that
you can simply download and edit it to
suit your requirements.
5. Step 2 - Identification of competition: The next step is to
identify the competition. If you're starting
your business in an industry you have
belonged to all your life. You will know who your direct
competition is going to be. For example, if you are a
part of the garment industry looking to start
your own line of shirts, you will have a fair idea of
the players in the market. However, if like us
at Albatrot, you are building
brands for clients, then your familiarity
will not be so pronounced. But that only means
you bring a fresh, unbiased perspective
to your search, and that will be beneficial when going about the analysis. This is especially
true for agency folk and consultants who are often thrown into
such situations and are required to
understand the ongoings of a completely new industry
for their projects. Either way, focus on relevancy to identify
the ten competitors. What is relevancy?
Let me explain. For example, if you were
starting a quaint cafe, then the KFC down the road
is not your competitor, but another similar
establishment around the corner would be. Yes, KFC and a few others will be considered as secondary
and tertiary competitors, but more on that later. Given the above, let's
consider another example. Let's say you were launching a shampoo and were
planning to create it in much smaller batches than the large FMCG
players in the market. Can you identify the names on this slide who will not be
your direct competitors? You may find competition
from large MNCs, and those may not be as relevant as a competition
for your brand, at least not yet. Hope this helps you understand. The next question then is where do you find your competitors. I usually start on
Google or Bing, depending on your choice of search engine to discover
the top ten results keeping relevancy in mind. Depending on the type of business you are
looking to start, Maps can also be a helpful
tool for you to consider. As explained in the
previous examples, If the results are all large brand names is irrelevant
as your competition, then I try to get more
specific with my search to identify more
relevant competitors. Here's an example ... If you are coming up with a shampoo brand that
prevents hair fall, then specifying the same can help you get a more targeted search
for your competitors. Hashtag search on social media will help draw relevant
competitors too. It's not as exact as Google, but if you do spend enough time, you will be able to
get the best results. How to effectively search
on Google, YouTube, social media platforms
are topics I can hopefully cover in more
detail in future classes, and are not covered here. Please let me know
in the comments if you would be interested
in such a class. Another great way to find your competitors is
actually going on ground, visiting stores and
walking through the aisles. Visit smaller corner stores to, and talk to the retailers, ask them what sells. The insights you get
here can be further refined by searching for
those brands online. Remember to add
the information to the spreadsheet created
in step one. This is the most important step. If you don't get it
right at this stage, everything else will fall apart. The examples stated earlier
are in no way exhaustive. So here's a list of other avenues you can explore to find
relevant competition. The more you look for
competitors at this stage, the easier the process
becomes in future steps. Relevant competition will
drive a relevant analysis and thereby allow you to create a strategy for your brand
that actually works
6. Step 3 - Categorize the competition: Step three, Categorize
the competition. In this step, we talk about dividing the competition
into three sections, primary, secondary,
and tertiary. Remember, while we collect
and work with extensive data, it's important to
keep things simple. From nomenclature to the process used to collect information. Complicate it too much,
and you might find yourself giving up
halfway, or cutting corners. Primary competitors are the most relevant
direct competitors. You will most likely
have a similar audience set and will provide similar
products or services. Let's see a few examples. Depending on which
country you belong to, Stay Free and Whisper
are two sanitary pad brands that are direct
competitors of each other. They solve the same problem for their customers at
similar price points. Similarly, Coke and Pepsi, or Nike and Adidas are examples
of direct competitors. Secondary competitors
are brand alternatives. Their product offerings are either a higher or lower end
version of what you offer. They will most likely be
fixing the same problem, but for different people, probably even
offering a different experience than your own. These products solve
the same problem, but in most cases the audience, so the purchase mindset
of the audience at that instance
is very different. Someone in the market for cotton t-shirt may not
want the polyester one. Or someone who wants
store cheese will most likely not pay a
premium for gourmet. Tertiary competitors are not your direct competitors
in any sense of form, but may have
products that are in the same space as the
one you operate in. They will probably have different customers and
offer different solutions. There will be a
crossover and can serve as an alternative
to your offering. An electric stove
would be considered a tertiary competitor
for a gas one. And iPad is a tertiary
competitor for a laptop. Going back to the spreadsheet
we created in step one, the question arises,
should we have a mix of all three types of
competition in the sheet? I'd say focus on relevancy. While it is important to have a broad understanding
of the landscape, your top ten
competitors could be all primary competitors if you are operating in
a crowded market. Alternatively, it could
be a mix of all three. The next question
would then be how do you rank them? The answer, you don't
have to, not yet. Once you learn
more about each of the brands that are your
prospective competitors, you will be armed
with the ability to understand which ones are more important for
you to watch out for. It's best to combine your
search from step two here. Information that you
find in step two will allow you to populate this section of
the sheet as well. As mentioned earlier, supplement this with actual store visits to get this right. There are several
tools you can use, and I've tried to list
them on this slide.
7. Step 4 - The brand experience: Step four, The brand experience. This step is often
the hardest because it can be laborious depending on the
industry you belong to. It's important though. So put that customer
hat on and go experience each
of these bands on your list as a customer would. All of the competitors will most likely have multiple
touch points and it's your job
to experience them all. How do you do that? If these brands are
present in stores, go to those stores and see
how they are placed on the shelf. If they have a
brand store online, see what that looks like and
how easily available they are. Look for the brand website,
social, marketplaces, mobile applications, and any other place
you can think of. Basis your research. Add pointers to the spreadsheet so they can be referred
to in the future. I believe that this
step will help you understand the final
nuances of the brand
8. Step 5 - Analysis of the brand look: Step five, analyze
the brand look. It's the first experience you
will have with the brand. While this is a much
longer conversation and I hope to make a
future class on this, if the look and feel of the
brand is done well, it makes a huge strategic impact on the overall success and
adoption of that brand. A well-designed visual look will communicate specific
characteristics, but at the same time,
it will also have invoke a feeling that
you as a consumer will feel towards the brand. You can analyze
the visual appeal of the brand through
several channels. The first one being
their online presence. The second through their
brand collaterals. And the third, through the way the
product itself is designed. One can focus on
characteristics such as color, typography, images,
and supporting visuals. This will also help you put
your brand together later by giving you an
understanding of what you like and dislike. After that is done,
ask yourself, does the visual materials communicate a certain
message for the brand? If so, what is that. Note
in your spreadsheet.
9. Step 6 - Analyse the brand talk: Step six, Analyse
the brand talk. After you've spent
time admiring or critiquing the way the
competitor brands look, the next step is to read into
what the brands are saying. I often find that design is a reflection of
multiple factors. A good design for some may
not be good for someone else. This is where the messaging plays a very important role.
When analyzing brand talk, try and look for themes. Is that a universe that they
have created for themselves? One of the themes to look
out for is repeated messages. What does the brand want
the audience to take away from an interaction
with their material? Apple has cultivated a brand universe centered
around innovation, simplicity, and
design excellence. The brand messaging is
often concise, precise, and focused on highlighting the transformative power
of their products. Another theme to look out for is benefits versus storytelling. What are the benefits and
USPs that are highlighted? And what methods they employ to communicate
these benefits? Is it fact based corporate lingo or
storytelling that's engaging. Both work in
different scenarios. For example, Nike
aims to inspire and motivate its audience to push their limits and
achieve greatness. Nike often adopts an empowering and inspirational tone in their storytelling. The third major
theme is tonality. What tone do they use for
their storytelling? This also connects with
their brand archetype, a topic that I have
covered in the past, and the point that I will touch upon in the
next step as well. For example,
Coca-Cola has created a brand universe build on joy, togetherness,
and refreshment. Coca-cola's tone is friendly,
energetic, and lighthearted. The brand aims to evoke
feelings of nostalgia, enjoyment, and
shared experience. Through the website,
their social channels, the physical materials, you will have enough to
identify these themes. Add your observations
to this spreadsheet.
10. Step 7 - Identify the brand archetype: Identify the brand archetype. If you haven't noticed
this one before, do it now. Most, if not all great brands, adopt a human brand persona
to deliver their message. I've done a complete
class on this topic that will help you define
your brand archetype. So please go and check that out. When analyzing the competition. See if you can read and write
a message and identity to understand if they have adopted a core archetype
for their brand. And easy way to do
this is to associate that brand with one of the 12th brand
archetypes out there. Carl Jung, a Swiss psychologist, theorized that humans
have a tendency to use symbolism to
understand concepts. He used this theory to identify 12 distinct archetypes
that all brands fit into. Each of these archetypes are associated with a
powerful identity. Each of them has its own
set of characteristics, values, attitudes,
and behaviors. Let's see a couple of examples. The hero brand archetype is driven by the
desire for mastery, triumph over adversity, and
the pursuit of excellence. Nike's messaging,
revolves around empowering individuals
to overcome challenges, push their limits, and
achieve greatness. Nike is a hero. Through their theme parks,
movies and merchandise, Disney transports
people into a world of imagination,
enchantment, and magic. They create experiences that
allow individuals to escape reality and immerse themselves in captivating stories
and characters. Please refer to my class
on brand archetypes to learn this concept in detail. But yes, Disney is the magician. So, how do you Identify
the brands archetype? These bands won't
spell it out for you. It's for you to decipher. Ask yourself what archetype
are the visuals, tonality, language hinting at. Ask yourself, is the way they speak
aligned with they look. And hopefully that should give you the answer that you
can add to your spreadsheet
11. Step 8 - Engage with their content: Step eight, Engage
with their content. Content is a great way to differentiate yourself
from your competition. You're competition analysis is incomplete without engaging and understanding what
your competitors are doing to engage
with your audience. What are their active channels? Are they active only
on social media? Or do you also create
content for YouTube, podcasts, blogs,
and other channels? What kind of content
are they producing for these channels? Is that content focused on helping thier audience
with tips and techniques? Or is it focused on pushing
the brand, or is it both? Or is there something else
that you find unique? Add all of these findings to the spreadsheet.
Basis your review, you will be able to clearly segment the content
into three categories. Mostly brand focused or one
side, confused and or frivolous, or stimulating
that helpful insights
12. Step 9 - Study their offers: Step nine, Study their offers. After understanding
their content strategy, the next step then becomes
to look deeper into their marketing and study their
offers. Look for the following... What do they offer
through their advertising? Are they giving you
the free content in the form of eBooks
to generate leads? Sign-up for the e-mails and see if they make you
offers to purchase. Follow them on social media, and wait for their ads to target you. There's just one rule of
thumb, never stop. If an email comes with the CTA, click on all of the CTA's. If social ads take you to
different pages go there. Each engagement will help you
understand the different offers these bands work with
to convert their customers. Ads the collected information
to the spreadsheet. There are a couple
of tools such as Facebook Ads Library and Google Ads Transparency
that will help you find the active ads that any
brand is currently running. Explore these tools out
to aid with your analysis
13. Step 10 - USPs / Differentiators / Positioning: Step ten, USPs,
Differentiators, Positioning. For every brand you experience, you will start to see
an underlying theme and character coming through in almost all cases. Be rest assured that the
themes you notice are intentional and that the
brands want you, and thair other consumers to notice this theme as
a differentiator. In Marketing
terminology, it's called the brand positioning. Brands, with an effective
communication strategy, make it easy for
customers to identify the big idea they have
built the brand around. It's their differentiator and
your reason to purchase. For example, Harley-Davidson has
positioned itself as an iconic and
legendary brand in the motorcycle industry
by establishing a distinct identity
associated with freedom, rebellion and the spirit
of the open road. On the other hand,
Red Bull has created a brand universe around extreme
sports and music events by focusing the communication
around those topics. Do understand, no
brand will spell out their positioning strategy
through their communication. However, they will make it
clear to you how they position their brand and why you should complete the path to purchase. For our competition sheet its this differentiator that needs to be perceived and added. Now you may ask what if you can't identify a competitors
differentiator? It's not your fault, its theirs!
if you can't find it, there's a good chance they
audience can't either.
14. Step 11 - Understand the fulfilment experience: Step 11, Understand the fulfilment experience.
Buy the product, use the service! You've seen the offers, but what is the complete
fulfilment experience like? To know that you have to go all the way and order
the product for yourself. Now I can hear a lot of you
sighing at this point. Yes, we understand that some
products and services can be expensive and not feasible
to try, but do your best. The way I see it, even if the competitors
product costs $500, ordering from three
different competitors, and experiencing their fulfilment
process today will be invaluable to your research and product offering
in the long run. Sometimes you may not even
need to spend that much. I try and work around
the expenses if I can. Products come with trials packs, services with entry-level
subscriptions, see if you can experience those. It may not be the
complete experience, but in most cases, brands put their best foot
forward in these trials. So even these limited trials can offer you a lot
of perspective. The final step here is to
speak to customer service and see how the after-sales is managed by these
brands. Remember, retention is always a lot cheaper than acquisition
of new customers. Understanding what efforts
brands put into retaining their customers will
also allow you to build these models into
your brand offering. So what to add to the sheet? The main takeaways
from your experience. Here are some cues.
15. Step 12 - Learn from reviews: Step 12, Learn from reviews. This is a validation step. You've done your analysis
and been through the entire customer journey for the brands you
are analyzing. So now it's time to
find similarities or differences in your observations
from actual customers. Remember, reviews are
mostly always extreme. It's generally the
extreme experiences that motivate customers
to write reviews. You'll see those who
loved the experience, those who hated it, and all of that is
peppered with a few that are actually objective. I like to call them
the emotionally charged window into
our customer's mind. I often find myself
comparing what I read in the reviews
to my own notes. It's like adding a bigger
dataset to my findings. When you do this, you
will be able to point out the gaps to look out
for in your own brand rather clearly. Back in the sheet, add any points that stood out to
you in the reviews. But be objective.
16. Step 13 - SWOT Analysis: Putting the steps to use: Step 13, SWOT analysis. Your sheet is populated. So now it's time to make
sense of everything you have. Compile your research data, and begin to identify strengths and weaknesses
of your competitors. Strengths represent whether
the audience is being well served. These are also potential threats to your
differentiation strategy. For example, for Apple, it's biggest strengths are its customer loyalty and
innovative style. Weaknesses indicate that your
audience is not satisfied. These are areas you can capitalize on when
building your own brand. For Apple, its weaknesses, if we were forced to find some, are premium pricing, which limit its market and lack of compatibility
with other softwares. For each one of the
competitors add the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities,
and threats to the sheet. Just like we've
shown to the right.
17. Conclusion: And there you have it, the 13 Step framework for conducting the
competition analysis. Like I mentioned at
the start of the video, the entire process can be quite tedious and
time-consuming, and if they're on a
budget, then even more so. However, it is a critical step. With everything
that's out there, it's not enough to simply think of an idea
and move forward. The downfall can be devastating. Keep the process and structure simple so as to
not lose focus and capitalize on the
various tools available to you to simplify your
work at each step
Shyam Gursahani, Cambridge MBA | Strategy and Marketing
