hbadmin

3 Tips & Tricks To Spy On Your Competitors

When was the last time you did an analysis of your competitors and how they advertise themselves? What do competitors do to stand out and how do they succeed? Understanding how your competitors are managing their marketing will help you stand out.

By monitoring your competitors, you increase your ability to win more business. The products and services differ marginally on paper. What determines success are usually factors such as timing, personal relationships, and the ability to understand and communicate with customers.

It’s good to occasionally spy on competitors and see what they do both in terms of product and other areas. There are several ways to do this and below we share 3 tips and tricks to spy on competitors so that you can improve your bottom line.

Through Your Customers

Most likely, your competitors want to attract the same customers as you. This means that your competitors have probably courted your existing customers. Your customers have therefore probably received a lot of interesting information. They also have a unique position to see the pros and cons of them based on the fact that they work with you today.

In other words, the absolute best way to spy on your competitors is to ask your customers. Of course, you can’t ask your customers directly what they know about your competition. Possibly in exceptional cases where you have a very close and good relationship with your customer.

However, you should make it a habit to always ask questions about why your customers chose you, what they think you lack, how they valued the various offers they received, and what you can improve. In addition, ask questions in case you lose a customer. If you lose a customer, it’s smart to conduct a closing interview. Dive deep into your relationship and the reasons why they didn’t choose you.

Through Social Media

Today, almost everything is available online, so using the internet to gain information about your competitors and their strategic choices is an excellent idea. Of course, you can start by researching your competitors on Google and visiting their websites. Then you should continue by taking a look at their social media accounts. A company’s presence on social media is becoming increasingly important and every company uses social platforms in different ways.

Social media is a great place for companies to interact with consumers and followers and share their content. The next step in your analysis should be to see how your competitors use social media and integrate it into their marketing. Not only is it important to see if your competitors can be found on social media, but also how effectively they use their profiles. What kind of information/pictures do they post? How often? Who are the people who follow them? You often benefit from focusing on the platforms that are relevant to your particular industry.

Monitoring the competition on social media platforms such as Instagram is essential for your marketing strategy as you can see the insight into their content strategy and use it to differentiate your brand. If you feel uncomfortable giving your competitors a clue that you’re keeping an eye out for them, try out a web viewer for Instagram which allows you to search for any public account anonymously using only their IG username.

By using these simple methods, you’ll become better at keeping track of your competitors and gaining valuable knowledge about them.

Through Advertising

Advertising text not only tells you about the competitors’ prices and other product information, but it also indicates their entire marketing program and budget. When reading a competitor’s ad, be sure to note the following: the place of publication, frequency, special offers, product features, and highlighted benefits.

If your competitor suddenly puts an ad in an industry publication that is read by a group that none of you is currently selling to, it’s an indication that they’re trying to reach a new target audience. It’s also important to note the design and tone of your competitor’s ads. What message do they want to convey? How does your brand compare to it? Are their ads in color while yours are black and white? What feeling does it create?

Final Thoughts

Spying on your competition is not a bad thing. It will provide you with valuable information on how you can avoid copying them and make your brand stand out from the crowd. Use your customers, various social media platforms, and advertisements to learn more and create your strategy.