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To gain that all-important competitive edge, it is vital to have a firm grasp on your competitors – not only their products and services, but how they market and conduct business.
Here are some ideas for gaining information on your competition:
Scrutinize their website. You might be surprised about how much information you will be able to gather on a company from their website – personnel, clients, marketing materials and more.
Request information. Call the company and ask them to send you more information about their firm. The type of marketing materials they send you – and how quickly or if they follow up -- will tell you a lot about how they conduct business.
Sign up for any online materials or newsletters (using a different email address than your work email address).
Do an online search. Search for the keywords and phrases a potential client would use to find your services, and then spend some time reviewing the sites on the first page of your search results. These are the competitors you need to pay special attention to, since they are making the right decisions and investments in online marketing.
Review online and off-line media to see how 'visible' they are. In addition, you can create a Google Alert for your competitors by name, which will provide you with news feeds about them.
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