This article provides general educational information. Adapt the suggestions to your business, audience, resources, and applicable rules.
1. Pick a realistic comparison set
Choose a few direct competitors that serve similar customers, plus one or two alternatives customers might choose instead. Comparing only the largest brands may not reveal what matters to your own audience or market.
2. Study information that is public
Review published service pages, public pricing, visible content themes, customer-facing FAQs, public reviews, and the way businesses explain their process. Do not attempt to access private accounts, confidential documents, or systems you are not authorised to use.
3. Compare useful categories
Create a table covering audience, offer, pricing model, service boundaries, proof, content, customer journey, and apparent strengths. Separate facts you verified from your own interpretation, and add the date you checked the information.
4. Look for unmet questions
Public reviews and FAQs may reveal issues customers repeatedly ask about, such as unclear scope, confusing onboarding, or missing explanations. Treat these as clues, not proof about every customer. Validate the pattern through your own customer conversations and research.
5. Define your difference
Your distinction could be a clearer process, a narrower audience, faster communication, better documentation, a specialist service, or a more suitable package. Choose a difference your team can genuinely deliver and demonstrate.
6. Do not copy protected work
Do not copy another business's logo, wording, photographs, case studies, brand identity, or proprietary materials. Create original content, use images you have rights to use, and seek professional advice if you are uncertain about legal restrictions.
A small research brief
- Which customer group are we trying to serve?
- What alternatives are they considering?
- What do competitors explain clearly?
- What appears confusing or underserved?
- What can we provide differently, honestly, and consistently?