Knowing what the competition is up to is essential in business. The only way to get ahead is to offer a unique product that nobody else is. You also need to keep pace with rival companies and make sure that you’re matching their level of service.

You’re never going to be able to do that if you don’t know what your rivals are doing in the first place. Keeping on top of your competitors can be difficult and there is a whole load of information to deal with. Here are some handy tips to help make it easier for you.

Check Their Website

One of the easiest ways to get a bit of initial information about your competitors is to have a look at their website. It gives you a good indication of what their branding and marketing strategy is and what kind of demographic they’re trying to sell to. It’s also an easy way to have a look at their pricing as well.

While you’re on the website, be sure to check out their customer reviews. Offering better customer service than your competitors is a great way to get ahead so look at the good reviews to see what they’re getting right and the bad ones to see where they’re falling down. If you can identify areas where there are gaps in their customer service, you can capitalize on that and beat them on service.

Keep Up With The Media

The media is often a good source of information about how well a company is doing. Any big events like a change in management or a new product launch could affect the success of your rival companies so you need to know about it.

There are some great pieces of business analysis software like Newsdesk that can help you to analyse all of the information in the media and compile a report on it. By keeping up with developments in your rival companies, you can make sure that you don’t get left behind.

Newsletters

Businesses give out a lot of information about themselves in their newsletters which is why you need to sign up to all of your competitor’s ones. It’s important that you understand exactly what it is that customers like about your rivals. Are they offering a better service, a better product or a better price?

You’ll be able to get a sense of what the core of their business is and how they appeal to their customers. It’s also an easy way to find out news about upcoming product launches or new marketing campaigns etc. Just be aware that they’re not going to put any confidential information on there so you won’t get everything from the newsletter.

Buy A Product

Giving money to your competitors isn’t ideal but you should consider it if you want to get to know them. Buy a product and then take note of how long it takes to arrive, what the packaging is like and, most importantly, how the product compares with yours. This is absolutely the best way to get a better idea of what your rivals are up to.

Use these simple methods to keep an eye on your competitors and make sure that you’re one step ahead of them at all times.