6.5.3: How to Do a Competitive Analysis: A Step-by-Step Guide Flashcards
6.5.3. Original Link
https://cxl.com/blog/competitive-analysis/
Napoleon Bonaparte
“Never Interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.”
Link to study about 74% agreed that competitive analysis is important or very important, 57% admitted that they weren’t very good at it.
https://web.archive.org/web/20180819234411/https://www.conductor.com/press-room/competitive-analysis-search-linked-higher-conversions-data/
What is CRO (Conversion rate optimization).
https://cxl.com/conversion-optimization/
What questions are detrimental to beating a competitive analysis?
Link to value proposition and ideas for testing
https: //cxl.com/blog/value-proposition-examples-how-to-create/
https: //cxl.com/blog/how-to-come-up-with-more-winning-tests-using-data/
Peep Laja: “Competitor X is doing Y. We should do that too” or “X is the market leader, and they have Y, so we need Y” This is wrong for 2 reasons which are?
More Peep Laja: “It’s the blind leading the blind! So instead of just copying something, have the mindset of experimentation. The thing you copy is hypothesis–and you need to test it. Run it against your current site and see if it makes a difference. Then either implement or discard.”
What are the 8 steps to run a great competitor analysis? Explain each in the next 8 cards
- Set your goals
What is competitive intelligence?
https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol.-55-no.-1/pdfs/CleanedPetersen-What%20I%20Learned-20Apr2011.pdf
- Identify your competition
Link to “ask your customers”
https://cxl.com/blog/good-survey-questions/
- Conduct a Competitive Usability Investigation
Link to People comparison shop and user testing
https: //cxl.com/blog/people-comparison-shop-stupid/
https: //cxl.com/blog/user-experience-testing/
Usability study with a sample similar to your target customers
Let the participants enter a query into Google. See what words they would naturally use when looking for a product or service you offer
Link to 5 seconds impression test
http://fivesecondtest.com/
Karl Gilis, big fan of comparative user testing
https://twitter.com/AGConsult
Link to Heuristic homework
https://cxl.com/institute/online-course/conversion-optimization-audits/
What are things to pay attention to when conducting competitive usability investigation? (3 things in the article)
Terms: Jaime Levy
https://twitter.com/JaimeRLevy
suggests looking at content types, personalization features and community features on competitor’s websites.
Go beyond main competitors, look at websites in different countries, similar pages out of your business area
“If you sell something online, every shopping cart or checkout procedure can be an inspiration”
Link on personalization: https://cxl.com/blog/personalization/
- Compare Competitor Value Propositions
After experiencing your product, most people remember one reasons to sign up for your service – that should be the main selling point
Value Propositions
https://cxl.com/value-proposition-examples-how-to-create/
Chris Goward (WiderFunnel) Venn Diagram - What are the 3 ‘P’ aspects)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cgoward/
Why does Chris Goward give a word of caution on PODs?
Tony DeYoung
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonydeyoung
“Most companies try to be everything to everyone and don’t create value propositions that define/target specific ideal customers. The lean, aggressive ones do.”
“Reliable lifts come from knowing your customer and tailoring the value proposition to match that customer’s motivations in a way that no other website will”
- Interview your competitors’ customers
What is “snowball recruiting”?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowball_sampling
Sean Campbell
https://www.linkedin.com/in/seancampbell/
recommends asking competitors’ customers these questions:
NPS Survey can also come in handy:
https://cxl.com/blog/nps/
- Run a competitive analysis for design
Katya Lombrozo
https://www.linkedin.com/in/katyalombrozo/
“Sometimes, all I need is a better visual design than a competitor, but, often, it’s a matter of better explaining the value proposition of the service/product and putting together a more logical flow of elements”
What are PPC ads?
Khattaab Khan
https://www.linkedin.com/in/khattaab/
“You’re competing for mindshare with your direct competitors”
- Make a quantitative competitive investigation
Similar Web, Spyfu, iSpionage, SEMrush:
https://similarweb.com/
gives traffic volume, key traffic sources, and organic and paid keywords
http://semrush.com/
keywords
strategies in display advertising, organic and paid search, and link building
https://cxl.com/blog/link-building-
strategy/
https: //www.spyfu.com/?c=1&g=300&a=2&gclid=CjwKEAjw_6XIBRCisIGIrJeQ93oSJAA2cNtMxz9n0uA1V-g-n8z-uM6jsaxfoSLr4pNnnshJXqGYkhoCNQjw_wcB
https: //www.ispionage.com/
8 Run a functional investigation
BuiltWith, Ghostery
https://builtwith.com
takes a peek what software was used for the website
https://www.ghostery.com/
examines tags that live on the website
Brian Massey, Conversion Sciences
https: //conversionsciences.com/
https: //twitter.com/bmassey
score your competitors on a scale from “Rookies” to “MVPs”
test ideas on competitors who score 7-9 points first
3-6, test them second
less, consider the ideas with great skepticism
