2.4 Build a Competitor Analysis

We've already learned about building competitive situations and goals. Those are really how we intend to position ourselves and stand out against our competition. Now it's time to build a true competitor analysis, a deep data dive that looks at all elements of competition. Competitive situations and goals focus on positives, how we position ourselves stronger than others. But competitor analyses focus on all areas. To be honest, if you think you're stronger than all competitors in all areas, you might not be looking close enough. A fair and accurate competitor analysis will show this. I'm working on this risk assessment slide and you can see that it's set up to help quantify all forms of risk. While downsides aren't the only elements of competitor analyses, they are a huge element. And of course, these are simply text placeholders, so you can make them fit any need you want. I want to keep my competitor analysis brief. My plan is to create a column for four major competitors and then briefly list their strengths and weaknesses. Of course, when you're creating a robust marketing plan for internal use, you'll want more detail. But for the presentation itself, something like this should work really well. I'll start by labeling the first column, Company A, here. As usual, I can simply click to select the existing text and then replace it with my own. And below, I'll begin listing certain elements. For example, Company A is an established market player, which could be a threat to everlytics. In other words, they have years of experience in market share. But suppose they're also heavily indebted and struggling to finance their operations? I'll list that too. As you can see, the trick is to highlight major factors that could positively or negatively impact my own firm. I'll repeat these steps for the other three competitors and you'll see a picture begin to emerge. While everlytics will face strong competition, none of it is overwhelming. The analysis recognizes our prime positioning for success, but it does this with a cautionary eye towards market forces in the business environment. Again, the very practice of going through and building out these slides helps us to think about where to play and how to play. Thanks for watching.