Six Components You Should Include In Any Competitive Landscape Review

A competitive landscape review helps companies improve their strategy and decision-making. By analyzing competitors’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, companies can identify areas where they can differentiate themselves, build a competitive advantage, and improve their market position. This information helps companies make informed decisions about product development, pricing, marketing, and other critical areas.

In this post, we’ll review the key components you should include in any competitive landscape review.

1. Market Definition & Segmentation

One of the primary components to include is a review of the market and the distinct segments within it. This involves identifying the specific product or service that the company is offering, as well as the broader market in which it operates. This includes understanding the market size, growth rate, and trends, as well as identifying the key customer segments and their needs.

Market segmentation involves dividing the market into different segments based on factors such as customer demographics, behavior, and psychographics. This allows the company to better understand the needs and preferences of different customer groups and to tailor their marketing and sales strategies accordingly.

Once the segmentation is finalized, the review should also home in on the target market, or the specific customer segment that the company is focusing on. This may be based on factors such as customer size, profitability, or growth potential. The target market should be clearly defined and aligned with the company’s overall strategic objectives.

2. Competitive Landscape Analysis

Of course, no review would be complete without identifying key competitors in the market and reviewing them against each other. A Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) analysis should be conducted for each one. Strengths and weaknesses may include factors such as product offerings, pricing strategies, distribution channels, and customer service. Opportunities and threats may include factors such as emerging technologies, changing customer preferences, and shifts in the competitive landscape.

Also include Competitive positioning which involves understanding the relative position of each competitor in the market. This includes analyzing factors such as market share, customer perception, and brand recognition. Implicit in this is market differentiation. This may include unique product features, a strong brand reputation, or a superior customer experience. Understanding these factors is critical for developing a successful marketing and sales strategy.

3. Market Share Analysis

A market share analysis is an important component of a competitive landscape review, as it provides insight into the relative position of a company within its market. The first step in a market share analysis is to understand the size of the overall market and its growth rate. Next, the key competitors in the market should be identified, along with their relative shares. This includes both direct and indirect competitors, as well as potential new entrants and substitutes.

The factors that affect the company’s market share should also be analyzed. This may include factors such as product quality, pricing, customer service, and distribution channels. Understanding these factors is critical for identifying potential opportunities for growth. Finally, the market share analysis should be used to forecast the company’s future market share. This involves taking into account potential changes in the market and the company’s competitive landscape.

4. Customer Analysis

The customer analysis involves understanding the needs and preferences of the target customers, as well as their attitudes towards the different competitors in the market. 

The first step in a customer analysis is to understand the demographics of the target customers. This may include factors such as age, gender, income, education level, and geographic location. In addition to demographics, psychographics should also be analyzed. This involves understanding the attitudes, values, and lifestyles of the target customers. This information helps identify potential opportunities for segmentation and targeting.

The buying behaviors of the target customers should also be analyzed. This may include factors such as purchasing frequency, purchase size, and purchase decision-making process. With this should be information on customer needs and preferences. This includes understanding the specific features, benefits, and solutions that the customers are looking for in a product or service. 

5. Technology Analysis

An often missed component of competitive landscape reviews is a technology analysis. This can help identify the latest technological advancements that are shaping the industry which may include new materials, manufacturing processes, or digital technologies. 

Additionally, a technology analysis can also provide insights into the technologies that are being used by competitors to see what strengths or weaknesses they may have. It can also help identify potential disruptive technologies that may threaten the company’s position in the market. 

6. Regulatory Analysis

Lastly, a regulatory analysis is a critical component of a competitive landscape review as it provides insight into the legal and regulatory environment in which the company operates. 

Regulatory analysis can help identify the regulatory constraints that may limit the company’s ability to operate and compete in the market. This includes regulations related to product safety, labeling, marketing, and distribution. It can also help assess the company’s regulatory compliance and identify potential gaps or weaknesses. Additionally, adding this component lets organizations monitor regulatory changes that may impact the industry and the company’s operations.

How To Perform An Holistic Competitive Landscape Review

In essence, effective and complete competitive landscape reviews are comprehensive documents. While many organizations may aim to complete these in-house, those looking for objective reviews often engage a market research firm to complete the work. As independent third parties, market research firms are adept at working with multiple clients and have a broad view of the industry that can help provide a clean analysis. Their access to a wide range of data sources and tools allows them to ramp up on analysis faster, and their trained staff ensure that the project is completed quickly and efficiently.