In the words of famous marketing guru Philip Kotler, marketing is the ‘process of getting people to think about your product, want your product, and buy your product’. But how do you go about measuring the relative success or impact of this critical business process?
One way is running a competitive marketing analysis of all players in the market who are reaching out to the same customers as you by appealing to the same needs or desires as you are. Perhaps, their content is more engaging, personal and better optimized for search engines? Or they have forged the right strategic partnerships to help them build a loyal customer base. The fact is – without studying the marketing models of your competitors, you have no way of finding out what kind of messaging, branding and advertising really works.
Which brings us to the all too famous 7-P marketing mix, arguably the holy grail of modern marketing – a common analytical framework used by marketing teams to study the most key aspects of every marketing strategy: Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Process, and Physical Evidence.
How Our Template Works
In this template, we offer a pre-made spreadsheet where you can compare each of these marketing elements across competitors. Once you narrow down a list of your key competitors (direct and indirect), it’s time to conduct an in-depth analysis of their marketing strategy based on their:
- Marketing or ad copy
- Digital content such as blogposts, videos, etc.
- Customers reviews & testimonials
- Web traffic analytics (e.g., Google Analytics)
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as customer lifetime value (CLV), conversion rates, click-through rates (CTR) etc.
- Other
Once you sum up your key findings for each competitor under each Marketing ‘P’ – you can also prioritize each factor in a separate column on our sheet to indicate its level of importance in light of your overall business goals or market context; thus making sure you direct or redirect the most attention, time or resources to the most critical factors. An additional column is added at the end where you can highlight any key takeaways or actionable steps you must take in the future to up your marketing game at par with the best of your competitors.
To map out the different kinds of competitors you may be up against, feel free to check out our Competitive Matrix template here.
“The goal of marketing is to create a customer who is so loyal, they will never consider buying from anyone else.” – Walt Disney
Now, let’s dive into each ‘P’ in a bit more detail:
Product
In this row, you compare product features, such as price, warranties, usability or functionality, down to branding elements such as style & design. By comparing the most salient features (which, of course, vary from product to product or industry to industry), you get to see what really sets everyone apart and where your product fits in the market relative to others.
Elevate your product development strategy and marketing game by using our in-depth Competitive Product Feature Analysis template!
Price
Now, find out how your competitors are pricing their products. Are they offering the same functionality as you but at a much higher or lower cost? And it’s not even just about the price per se; you also want to look at the kind of discount offers or loyalty programs they are offering to customers to encourage them to buy their products.
You can also look at the different types of payment methods or financing options available to their customers.
Place
Okay sure, you might have lucked out and developed the perfect product prototype – but if you are not selling it in the right ‘places’ at the right time, you will fail to generate enough sales.
This is why you need to find out what different distribution channels are being used by your competitors to sell a product. This could be a physical shop or store, or an online marketplace like Amazon or Alibaba. For example, a coffee shop will (at least intuitively) rack up more sales if they offer both in-store cosy seating for people who want to sit down and relax, and a quick drive-thru service for those crunched for time.
Promotion
Whether you are launching a new product in the market, or rebranding an old one – the right kind of promotion can do wonders for your business.
Find out what your competitors are doing to encourage repeat visits or sales. Perhaps, their content game is strong, or maybe they are offering a point-based loyalty app or seasonal promotional offers such as ‘Buy One, Get One Free’.
From TV commercials to traditional PR events & product launches, there are countless ways to reach out to customers and encourage them to buy what you are selling. Only by measuring the success of these efforts across competitors can you understand what’s working for whom, and why.
People
Every time a new customer walks into your shop, it’s your job to create the perfect shopping experience for them. And the best way to do this is to hire the right people; from store managers to salespeople and customer care agents – your staff must be friendly, well-trained, motivated to work, and have the right attitude.
For some companies, you can get a pretty good idea of their team structure by looking at its employees on LinkedIn or their official websites. When exploring this ‘human’ aspect of a business, ask yourself:
- What is the organizational structure?
- What kind of work culture do employees work in?
- What are the key skills and talents of each team member?
- What hiring and recruiting methods does the company use?
Process
A successful product experience puts the customer at its heart, and not the company. That’s why it’s important to analyze all the different systems & processes involved in delivering the product or service to its intended recipient.
From the moment a potential customer discovers your company through to the actual purchase and beyond – it’s all about creating a seamless and efficient process for your customers with minimum waiting times and helpful staff to guide them through every step of the way.
When analyzing the ‘Process’ of every company, ask yourself:
- How does the product or service get delivered to the customer?
- Is there a lot of interpersonal interaction between staff and client?
- What self-service features are available to customers, say self checking counters?
- Is your website fast enough and available on the right devices?
- Do customers have to wait in long queues?
- How long do customers reaching you via phone have to wait?
- How user-friendly is your app interface?
Physical Evidence
Sometimes, you need more than just a little thumbnail image to win over new customers. You have to prove that your solution is the right one by backing up your offerings with physical assets that legitimize your business. In other words, they (customers) gotta see it to believe it!
From a clean reception area and elegant store decor to attractive packaging and branded merchandise, tangible assets can help reduce the uncertainty in the minds of your customers by letting them ‘see’ what they are buying.
In an increasingly digital world, even websites and well-shot product demo videos or customer reviews written on independent websites count as tangible assets that add authenticity and credibility to your offerings, helping you shape your customer’s experience the right way. After all, if your digital or physical premises aren’t up to scratch, why would the customer think your product or service is?
Who Is Our Template For?
- Business strategists and analysts
- Digital marketers/telemarketers
- Product managers
- Corporate planners
- Entrepreneurs
- Marketing teams
- Entrepreneurs
- Corporate planners
What’s Our Template Good For?
- Identifying Competitive Gaps: By comparing a business’s performance with competitors.
- Strategic Planning: To enhance the effectiveness of marketing and operations.
- Decision-Making: Prioritizing actions based on important levels and key takeaways.
- Market Positioning: Understanding strengths and weaknesses in the marketplace.
Wrap Up
Each element of the 7-P marketing mix matters, and we can’t press on that enough. No single ‘P’ can be studied, analyzed or implemented in isolation — you cannot, for example, hope to sell a product without considering a profitable price, or how it will be shipped or delivered to the customer.
Use our Competitive 7-P Marketing Analysis template to study the strengths & weaknesses of your competitors’ marketing strategy, and use these insights to identify areas of improvement.
Our free and editable template can be downloaded directly as an Excel file or accessed via Google Sheets for cloud-based sharing, editing, and collaboration.
