Competitive Analysis Is The Way to Understand and Outmaneuver Your Competition

Every startup, small business, and nonprofit has some type of competitor -whether direct or indirect. Below we explore more about what a competitive analysis is, how to get the data to develop a competitive analysis and how to share that information to the appropriate team.

Competitive Analysis Is A Team Game

When we worked with a company and talked to their sales team, we were asking them what questions they asked their prospects. One sales person raised her hand and said one of her go-to questions during early prospect conversations was:

“Why are you considering leaving your current vendor?”

It wasn’t just small talk—it was strategic. This question often opened the floodgates to stories of frustration, unmet expectations, and shifting priorities. The responses felt more like a breakup conversation than a business decision. Still, buried in that emotion was valuable insight—intel on pain points, competitor weaknesses, and unmet needs. Understanding the competition from the customer’s point of view helped us gain market share and position ourselves more effectively.

That one-on-one tactic is powerful, but to scale it across a business or team, you need a competitive analysis. This information is critical to all parts of the organization. In addition, all parts of the organization can contribute or add to the knowledge base about competitors.

What Is a Competitive Analysis?

A competitive analysis is the process of identifying, evaluating, and understanding your key competitors. A well done analysis will be able to answer:

What are they doing well?
Where are they vulnerable?
How do they attract and retain customers?
How are they positioning themselves?

A competitive analysis can also get practical information like pricing, service packages, specific messaging, features and solutions they offer.

By analyzing pricing, marketing, customer feedback, features, and strategy, you can uncover key opportunities to stand out and better serve your market. This kind of insight empowers you to refine your value proposition, differentiate your offerings, and build smarter go-to-market strategies.

Your Target Market, Segments And Target Audience Shapes Who Your Competitors Really Are

We worked with a company that provided case management and EHR software to nonprofits. When asked them about their competition, they always responded by saying:
“That depends—what segment are we talking about?”

Why? Because your competitors can vary greatly depending on your target market, market segment and target audience. A competitor in one vertical may not even be relevant in another. It was a great way to shape the conversation and provide the context needed.

Framing up competitors within this lens helps provide a different perspective and can be critical in developing a value proposition, market opportunity, and the strategic position of the company. It is also helpful to see if competitors are specific to your target audience or across market segments.

It also allows you to identify if your competitors are hyper-focused on your exact target audience or spread thin across multiple markets—valuable data when building out your strategic roadmap.

Why Competitive Analysis Is a Core Part of Your GTM Strategy

A competitive analysis isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s essential. It’s one of the most foundational components of any go-to-market (GTM) plan.

Here’s what it brings to the table:

Market context: Understand how the market is currently served and where gaps or opportunities exist.
Strategic clarity: Shape your pricing, positioning, and product based on customer expectations and competitor benchmarks.
Stronger execution: Equip your team with insights that drive better product development, sales enablement, and marketing campaigns.

Without it, you risk launching a product or service that’s duplicative, overpriced, or simply irrelevant—making it hard to gain traction or win mindshare.

How to Collect Competitive Intelligence (Without a Big Budget)

Competitive analysis can be as basic or sophisticated as your resources allow. For small businesses and nonprofits, here are practical, low-cost methods to get started:

Review social media content: Language, tone, and visuals give clues to current campaigns and strategic focus.
Use tools like SEMrush or SimilarWeb: Uncover competitor keyword strategies, traffic sources, and SEO positioning.
Talk to their customers: If you have access, nothing beats hearing firsthand why someone chose—or left—a competitor.
Leverage third-party vendors: Partners that serve both you and your competitor can be a goldmine of intel.
Use AI-powered research tools: Tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, or market insight platforms can speed up data gathering.
Hire A Company: Hire a company like Anuncier to help acquire this information.

Consider outreach: In niche industries, a direct conversation with a competitor (yes, it happens!) may lead to useful exchanges.

Pro Tip For Collecting Competitive Analysis Information

Centralize your findings. Whether it's a shared doc, CRM note, or internal wiki, create a place where your team can store and contribute to ongoing competitor insights. Make it simple to access and enter the information, you can pull out what you need later

Strategic Competitive Analysis

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Battle Card Example

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What to Do With the Data Once You Have It

The true value of a competitive analysis lies in how the information is applied across your organization. While the data itself is useful, its power comes from the insights it generates and the decisions it drives. Typically, competitive intelligence supports three core functions: strategic planning, product and service development, and sales and marketing execution.

Strategic teams can use competitive analysis to guide big-picture decisions about where to focus, how to grow, and where to differentiate. Understanding a competitor’s focus areas, business model, trajectory, and market share offers critical context for refining your own strategy. This information also plays a key role in shaping SWOT analyses and long-term planning efforts.
Product and service teams rely on this data to understand where your organization can create a better offering. By analyzing where competitors fall short or what needs remain unmet in the market, your team can design features, set pricing, and shape solutions that stand out. This insight ensures your offerings are not only innovative, but also relevant and market-aligned.
Sales and marketing teams benefit from the analysis by turning it into actionable resources. One of the most effective formats is the creation of “battle cards”—quick-reference tools that help teams anticipate objections, highlight differentiators, and respond to competitive pressures in real time. While strategic and product teams may need a more high-level view, sales and marketing require insights that are highly tactical and immediately usable in their daily efforts.

Ultimately, a well-executed competitive analysis shouldn’t live in a silo or get shelved after one presentation. It should be a working resource that different teams revisit, refine, and apply as your organization evolves and new opportunities emerge.

Understanding Different Types of Competitors

Not all competitors are created equal. Here’s how to think about them:

Direct Competitors

These offer similar products or services to the same audience, often in the same region. You’ll want a deep understanding of their offerings, strengths, and weaknesses. Direct competitors are usually your starting point for any comeptive analysis

Indirect Competitors

These provide substitute solutions or operate in adjacent markets but still impact your business. They fall into a few categories:

Market Expanders: Businesses in related markets looking to move into your space.
Disruptors: New solutions that change the way people solve a problem—potentially making your offering obsolete.
Alternatives: Different solutions competing for the same dollars or attention in your market.

The “No Decision” Competitor

This might be your biggest competitor of all: status quo.
People often prefer to do nothing rather than make a change—especially if switching feels risky or complicated. Make sure your analysis accounts for this inertia and finds ways to overcome it.

Let's Leave You With This - Make Competitive Analysis an Ongoing Practice

Your market is always evolving—and so are your competitors. That’s why competitive analysis shouldn’t be a one-time project but a continuous process.

By regularly updating your competitive intel and baking it into your sales, marketing, product, and strategic planning efforts, you’ll stay ahead of shifts in the market and position your organization for long-term growth.

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