Know What To Spy For When Doing Market Research

Know thy enemies.

Keep your friends close; your enemies closer.

Get to know your competition.

Ever heard of these principles? One writer/philosopher once said that in order for you to be competitive and even rise above the pack, you need to know your competition and what theyre doing to be different. When you do, youll surely be able to create tactics that will make you stand out and hence, make a difference in your market share.

I suppose you think that the business community is very hard to be a part of because youre always competing and trying to outdo each other.

Believe it or not, business is not about that. On the contrary, its not a blood bath all the time. In fact, business owners and marketers do it in a more classy and comfortable arena where they often work together to make their community work.

But no doubt about it, competition is present. And the best way to differentiate yourself from the rest is an analysis of what your competition is doing to become successful. Heres what you should know when spying for your marketing research:

Step 1: Be a detective.

Competitive analysis is all about gathering the tools...