As business owners, we are constantly looking forward by setting goals and tracking sales targets. We also do a lot of looking backwards to compare current performance against the same time last year or a previous period.
But there’s a direction we frequently forget to notice, and that’s sideways. We need to track what our competitors are doing so:
- We don’t get left behind and
- Importantly, we know exactly what potential new customers are seeing
So what do you look at?
1. What are your competitors saying on their website?
Before meeting a client to discuss their website content, I always do a search to see what their competitors are saying. This provides essential information on:
- The sort of information new customers are likely to see
- Any common information competitors include (because we will need to include it too)
- Ways I can help my clients stand out from their competition through the messaging we use
2. What do your competitors post on social media (if anything)?
Not every industry uses social media but if you have competitors who use social media, we need to investigate:
- Which platform/s they use
- What they are saying
- How often they post
- And possibly, make a judgement call on if it’s working for them
You may choose to maintain your status quo – whether that’s using social media or not. The important thing is, you need to keep an eye on what others in your industry are doing and use that to formulate your own content decisions.
3. How do your competitors describe the products or services they offer?
This is where we usually find common content trends or phrases. This is important because if everyone is saying they do a certain thing and you don’t say it too, visitors to your website will assume you don’t offer it and leave your website.
Investigating what your competitors are saying, also provides an opportunity to help your business stand out from the crowd so you can better attract your ideal customers.
4. What are your competitors charging and how do they explain their pricing?
This can be tricky information to discover but it’s extremely beneficial in assessing how your products or services sit in the market. It also tells us how we need to describe your offering. For example:
- Do you offer premium products/services OR value for money?
- Should you consider offering discounts for bulk buys or loyalty incentives?
Like social media, you don’t need to follow the pack. But you do need to monitor the marketplace to make an informed decision on how you price and the way you describe the value you provide.
Writing Words that Sell begins by researching your competitors
When you run a business, there’s lots of things to monitor and it’s easy to overlook what potential customers will see when they begin their purchase enquiries. That’s why we do it for our clients as part of our pre-meeting research. It’s this level of detail and thought that differentiates us from other copywriters.
Best of all, our research on your competitors means we can help your business stand out from the crowd to attract your ideal customers.
If you are looking for copywriters who really care about your business and will sweat bullets to help your content stand out, get in touch with Karen.
