How to Write a Competitive Analysis by Michael Knowles

There are few documents that get the attention of product planners and marketers the way that a competitive analysis does. A good competitive analysis is a scouting report of the actual market terrain that your company must navigate in order to be successful. And there is no person better equipped to write one than a market-savvy technical writer.

To write a good competitive analysis, you must:

Be objective.
Conduct fearless and thorough research.
Write well.
If you're like most successful technical writers I know, you have these skills already. So, how do you put these skills together to do the job?

A competitive analysis covers five key topics:
Your company's competitors.
Competitor product summaries.
Competitor strengths and weaknesses.
The strategies used by each competitor to achieve their objectives.
The market outlook.
A List of Competitors

The analysis begins with a list of your company's competitors. Most of the time, such a list is comprised of what your company cconsiders to be its chief competitors. However, there may be other companies that indirectly compete with yours, ones that offer products or services that are aiming for the same customer capital.

You will also want to include information on companies that may be entering your market in the coming year. Once you have compiled the list, you can highlight those companies that will be the greatest challenge.

Competitor Product Summary

Analyze the competition's products and services in terms of features, value, and targets. How do your competitor's sell their wares? How do they market them? Customer satisfaction surveys conducted by the trade press can help you tremendously. How do customers see your competition? Ask your sales force for information -- they can be your best source of information about your competitor's customers.

It's likewise important to include information on how competitors distribute and advertise their products. You will want to talk about product quality and, where possible, find out how they are staffed.

Competitor Strengths and Weaknesses

As you put together the list of competitor strengths and weaknesses, be objective. You'll do your company no good if you allow bias toward your own products and services to cloud your judgment. Try to see the competition's products as though you were the competitor. What makes their products so great? If they are growing rapidly, what is it about their product or service that's promoting that growth?

You can find this information in a variety of ways. Certainly there are numerous Internet resources you can use -- the competitor's Web site is always a good start. The trade press is an invaluable resource, but don't do all your research through the Internet. Make some phone calls, talk to the journalists and consultants who are active in the industry. These people are a lot easier to find than you'd think, and they are