The starting step towards analysing your competition begins with defining the industry you work in. Within your industry you should be able to identify who your competitors are by performing a search online for your industry, products or services. Industry news sites or blogs should also provide an insight into existing or emerging brands which you should be aware of. Alternatively, approaching your existing customers or clients to ask them a few questions about where they shop or their different suppliers may provide some insightful information.
Look at your existing customers; who are they, what is their demographic and what do they expect from your customer. If you cannot answer some of these questions then the best source to get the information is the customer themselves. Ask for a few moments of their time to complete a survey and perhaps offer them a gift in return; within your survey ask questions that will help you understand who your typical customer is and how they shop.
At this stage it is worth having a look at your brand and considering what benefits your product or services can offer customers.
Determining what the key success factors within your industry are would be the next step in your competitor analysis. An industry specific success factor will be dependent upon the industry with which your brand operates in and may relate to common challenges within said industry. Once the key success factors have been decided then rank each for your own brand then rate your competitors for each key success factors.
Once your competitor analysis has been completed then you are a step closer towards building your online marketing campaign. As with a SWOT analysis knowing your own and your competitor's strengths and weaknesses enables you to evolve your company, be prepared for any change and helps to take advantage of any gaps in the market.