How to Perform Desktop Competitor Research

As part of every client engagement, we undertake some sort of research initiative.

In fact, it’s a non-negotiable aspect of every project we take on as a brand and marketing agency.

The scope of that research varies from client to client and project to project, but it’s a crucial phase that can’t be skipped, and it’s the key to leading a successful engagement all the way to completion.

The reasons why research and discovery are important are myriad—to reveal opportunities, to discover threats, to surface critical insights, to validate assumptions, to understand customer needs, to ensure alignment with business objectives, to benchmark against competitors.

The list goes on and on.

There’s almost never a time when you won’t want to engage in some sort of research, even if the scale and scope of that research is small.

However, there’s one type of research initiative that almost all companies will engage in at some point or another during their tenure—competitor research.

Understanding the competition

It’s human nature, not to mention good business, to have at least a cursory understanding of what your competitors are up to.

But there’s a small nuance here that I want to point out, which is that there’s a difference between “competitor research” and “desktop competitor research.”

It’s minor, but desktop competitor research is a specific type of competitor research that focuses on analyzing and evaluating your competitors’ online presence, primarily through their websites and other digital channels.

It involves gathering information about your competitors without direct interaction or communication with them, using only the data available through online sources.

In contrast, competitor research is a broader term that encompasses various methods of gathering and analyzing information about your competitors.

This can include desktop research, but it may also involve other techniques like field research, where you might visit a competitor’s physical location, attend their trade show or industry event, or engage with their products or services directly.

You might also conduct surveys or interviews with their customers, former employees, or suppliers to gather insider insights about them.

Competitor research can even include examining and analyzing your competitors’ financial reports (annual reports, SEC filings, etc.,) in order to assess their financial health and performance.

For most companies, though, desktop competitor research is more than sufficient.

There’s lots of publicly available information that you can access, and once you understand how to approach your research, and what it is that you’re looking for, you’ll be in a great position to make some decisions.

So, in an effort to shed some light on how we approach desktop competitor research here at Thrive, and how you can too, here’s a roadmap you can adapt and use.

Audit and assess

While you may not know exactly what you’re looking for when you begin, it’s important that you have a way to frame your approach.

Once you have your list of competitors, your desktop competitor research is comprised of two primary actions: audit and assess.

You’re going to audit your competitor’s website (and maybe their social channels) and subsequently assess your findings.

First, let’s break down the audit.

Audit

Before you can audit anything, you need to know what you’re auditing, and you need to define your auditing criteria.

Since our projects often have to do with either building or rebuilding a brand, and since there’s often a web-design piece associated with the initiative, we find it helpful to break the audit down into two main categories, in this case brand and web.

When auditing a competitor’s brand, there are lots of brand components you can look at, but here are some that we tend to focus on.

Brand Story and Messaging

• Narrative: Evaluate the effectiveness of the brand story. Is it compelling and well-articulated
• Consistency: Check for consistency in messaging across different platforms (website, social media, email campaigns).
• Clarity: Assess how clearly the brand’s mission, vision, and values are communicated.

Brand Visual Identity

• Logo and Branding Elements: Examine the design and consistency of logos, color schemes, and other visual elements.
• Imagery and Photography: Evaluate the quality and relevance of imagery used. Is it professional, consistent, and aligned with the brand’s message?
• Typography: Assess the use of fonts and typographic styles. Are they consistent and reflective of the brand’s identity?

Brand Voice and Tone

• Tone of Voice: Analyze the tone and style of content. Is it formal, casual, authoritative, friendly, etc.?
  Audience Alignment: Determine if the tone of voice aligns with the target audience’s expectations and preferences.

On the web side of the equation, here are some things you might look at.

User Experience (UX)

• Navigation: Assess the clarity and intuitiveness of the site navigation. Are menus and links easy to find and use?
• Content Hierarchy: Evaluate the organization and prioritization of content. Is important information easily accessible?
• User Pathways: Analyze the pathways users take to complete key actions (e.g., making a purchase, filling out a form). Are they straightforward and efficient?

Content Strategy

• Quality of Content: Assess the quality, relevance, and engagement level of the content.
• Content Freshness: Evaluate how frequently content is updated. Are there regular blog posts, news updates, or other new content?
• Multimedia Usage: Examine the use of videos, infographics, podcasts, and other multimedia elements.

Conversion Optimization

• Call-to-Actions (CTAs): Evaluate the effectiveness, visibility, and placement of CTAs.
• Landing Pages: Assess the design and content of landing pages. Are they optimized for conversions
• Form Usability: Analyze the design and functionality of forms used for lead generation and inquiries.

Assess

Once you’ve completed your audit and logged your findings, you’ll want to start your assessment.

This is more art than science, but the key here is to look for any themes and patterns that emerge.

You’ll notice that your competitors do some things well, and other things not so well—and both of those findings can lead to opportunities for you.

For example, you might find that a competitor’s brand narrative is particularly compelling, which gives you a chance to break down what, exactly, about the story is interesting to you.

Is it the way they talk about their legacy?

Do they communicate their values in novel terms?

And how does that make you think about your own legacy and your own values? Can you reimagine your story so that it pulls people in with same the narrative gravity?

On the web side, as you looked at their content during your audit, what did you notice?

Do they publish regularly?

Is what they publish positioning them as an expert? Are they writing about topics that you could be writing about?

Are there content gaps, meaning topics that they’re not regularly writing about that you could?

Ultimately, when you assess your findings, you’re looking to translate your insights into actionable opportunities.

Be better, be different

It’s not good enough to simply be aware of what your competitors are doing, you want to know what they’re doing, so you can do it better or differently.

You want to use your audit and assessment to develop a clear roadmap for how you can continue carving out your own competitive advantage.

This isn’t to say that you should develop your identity in opposition to your competitors, or that you should try to be exactly like them, but you do want to know where you exist in relation to them.

From your customers’ perspective, you and your competitors are part of a solution ecosystem and it’s important to know where in that system you’re currently situated.

There’s an optimal position for you, and you can only figure out where you’re going if you know where you are.

So, the next time you engage in desktop competitive research, remember the fundamentals.

Audit, assess, and take action.

By systematically analyzing your competitors and translating your findings into strategic opportunities, you’ll be well on your way to carving out a unique and compelling position in your market.