Detailed competitor analyses reveal strengths and weaknesses. (Photo: © Marcel de Grijs/123RF.com)
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Digital Crafts - Theme specials
September 2021
Crafts 4.0: How successful is your online marketing compared to your competitors? A detailed competitor analysis provides the answer, revealing all strengths and weaknesses.
But how do you conduct such an analysis? And how can the results be used for your own competitive advantage? The Internet is now the most important medium for acquiring new customers: According to a study by DigitasLBi AG In 2020, around 87 percent of consumers before making purchase decisions on the Internet, at the same time used 82 percent online reviews, Also the Job market is increasingly shifting to the Internet: Almost every second job offer from companies in all sectors was published in 2020 in Online job markets, according to an evaluation of the Federal Employers Association of Personnel Service Providers.
The Online visibility of your own business has therefore direct impact on your own success - In search engines, Job boards and social mediaA promising strategy for optimizing marketing measures is Online competitor analysis. Many questions need to be answered, for example: Which search terms do competitors use? Which social media activities do competitors use? And how do others Companies with online ads and Google positioning a head start? Only those who actively monitor the online activities of their most important competitors can optimize their own strategy so that In the future, more customers and specialists will find their own company on the Internet.
An online competitor analysis helps to to examine the current market environment and the main competitors to identify – both locally and nationally. Because only those who truly know their competitors can analyze their strategies. The key question is always: Where are competitors better positioned than your own company? To find out, craftsmen should Carefully examine your competitors’ online marketing efforts: Which keywords do other companies use to be found on Google? Which Google rankings do they achieve with this? Do competitors place supporting online ads to land before the actual search results for certain keywords? And in which social networks Are competitors active – and which Target groups do you speak there?
Most questions can be answered with a short research of your own, and even more detailed information can be obtained with special online services and tools, many of which are even available free of charge on the Internet (see table below). In this way, companies can, for example, technical details or visitor numbers from any website Also important is the number of high-quality "backlinks" – these are links from external sites to your own or competitors' websites.
Craft policy
Operations management
Operations management
After analyzing the competitors, the most important work begins: With the knowledge gained, Companies their own online marketing optimize so that competitive advantages For example, if a competitor is particularly strong in a particular industry topic, you can try to outdo them – or specialize in another important topic that the competition has not yet covered so much. Companies easily turn competitors’ weaknesses into their own strengths convert.
If you don’t want to keep an eye on the competition yourself, you can outsource this task: For example, Strato or Pylot paid services that regularly compile and prepare important facts about self-selected competitors. Automatically monitor competitors' online activities and compare with your own successes.
In principle Is a competitor analysis worthwhile? not only for large, but especially also for small businesses: This means that craftsmen regularly receive new impulses and can perfect their own marketing measures in order to be one step ahead of the competition.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of your own company? How and where are you already successfully using online marketing? Where do you have room to improve? Which target customer groups do you want to reach? What are the means? Are you receiving enough applications from trainees and skilled workers for job postings?
What do you want to achieve with competitor analysis? For example: identify competitors, analyze strengths and weaknesses, compare online marketing measures and/or successes, achieve greater online visibility for customers and/or job postings.
Which online areas of your competitors do you want to analyze? For example: keywords used in search engines, website traffic, current online advertising measures, and social media usage.
What resources and tools do you want to use? For example, online services, full-service providers, or your own research.
Use the results of your online competitor analysis to specifically increase your online visibility. Depending on your goals, you can, for example, initiate measures to rank higher in search engines or to position your own online job postings ahead of your competitors.
Repeat the online competitor analysis regularly to respond to new market situations, seasonal effects or changes in competitors' strategies.
When conducting online competitor analyses, always consider all legal requirements, such as the GDPR, copyright law and the Telemedia Act.
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