Conducting a competitive analysis has been a thing since I became a part of this industry. I see so many businesses doing this ineffectively because they believe if they copy their competitors’ messaging, website, social media posts, etc, they will have the success their competitors seemingly have attained.

This idea is subtly dangerous. It’s possible for this idealogy to lead us down a road where we’ve forgotten why we started our company and what our vision was for the company to fulfill in the first place. When you are driving a car and you gaze at another car for too long instead of your own lane, where do you end up? With a totaled car. Don’t wreck your business by making the mistake of gazing at your competition too long. Stay in your lane. Mostly.

So, why do we do competitive analysis?

Well, don’t throw the proverbial “baby out with the bath” water just yet. Competitive analyses are still important, because we can gain insight into consumer expectations of the industry we are in and re-strategize to blow their minds. It gives us an opportunity to take an honest look into the heart of the community of people our company is serving and ask, “Are we fulfilling and exceeding the expectations of our people? What is the unique way our company could fulfill that need?”

This way, we aren’t just looking at our competitors to copy them and not stand out in any way. We are truly catching a glimpse into the needs of the people we serve, and that is what will ultimately set us apart, or Mark’d us by design, and help us gain the competitive advantage we so desire over our competitors. How can we be of service without losing our identity in the process? Let the best service provider win.