What are the best tools and methods for tracking and analyzing your competitors' activities and performance?

1 Identify your key competitors

Before you start tracking and analyzing your competitors, you need to know who they are and how they compare to you. You can use various sources to identify your key competitors, such as industry reports, customer feedback, online reviews, social media, and web analytics. You should also consider both direct and indirect competitors, as well as emerging or potential ones. Once you have a list of your main competitors, you can segment them by criteria such as size, market share, value proposition, target audience, and product features.

2 Monitor their online presence

One of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to track your competitors' activities and performance is to monitor their online presence. You can use tools like Google Alerts, Mention, or Feedly to get notified whenever your competitors publish new content, launch new products, announce new partnerships, or receive media coverage. You can also follow their social media accounts, blogs, newsletters, podcasts, and webinars to see what they are talking about, how they engage with their audience, and what kind of feedback they receive.

3 Analyze their sales process

Another important aspect of competitive analysis is to understand how your competitors sell their products or services, and how you can differentiate yourself from them. You can use tools like SimilarWeb, SpyFu, or SEMrush to analyze their website traffic, keywords, ads, and landing pages, and see how they attract, convert, and retain customers. You can also use tools like Crayon, Kompyte, or Klue to compare their pricing, offers, discounts, and testimonials, and see how they position themselves in the market.

4 Evaluate their strengths and weaknesses

Once you have gathered enough information about your competitors' activities and performance, you need to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, and how they affect your own sales opportunities. You can use tools like SWOT analysis, Porter's five forces, or perceptual mapping to assess your competitors' internal and external factors, such as resources, capabilities, customers, suppliers, substitutes, and new entrants. You can also use tools like benchmarking, gap analysis, or win-loss analysis to measure your competitors' performance against industry standards, customer expectations, and your own results.

5 Learn from their best practices

The purpose of competitive analysis is not to copy your competitors, but to learn from their best practices and avoid their mistakes. By tracking and analyzing your competitors' activities and performance, you can discover what works and what doesn't in your industry, and use that knowledge to improve your own sales process and tactics. You can use tools like case studies, customer reviews, testimonials, or referrals to identify your competitors' success stories, customer satisfaction, and loyalty, and see how you can emulate or exceed them.

6 Update your competitive analysis regularly

Finally, competitive analysis is not a one-time activity, but an ongoing process that requires constant monitoring and updating. Your competitors are not static, but dynamic and evolving, and so should you. You should review your competitive analysis at least once a quarter, or whenever there is a significant change in the market, such as a new product launch, a merger or acquisition, or a regulatory change. You should also communicate your competitive analysis findings and recommendations to your sales team and stakeholders, and use them to inform your sales strategy and goals.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?