Competitor analysis
Competitor analysis or the monitoring of
competitor use of e‑commerce to acquire and retain customers is especially
important in the digital marketplace due to the dynamic nature Of the Internet
medium. This enables new services to be launched and promotions changed much
more rapidly than through print communications. The implications of this
dynamism are that competitor benchmarking is not an Off Activity while
developing a strategy but needs to be continuous.
Benchmarking
of competitors’ online services and strategy is a key part of planning activity
and should also occur on an ongoing basis in order to respond to new marketing
approaches Such as price or promotions. According to Chaffey et al. (2009), competitor benchmarking has different perspectives
which serve different purposes:
1 Review of internal capabilities:
2 From core proposition through branding to online value proposition (OVP).
3 Different aspects of the customer life cycle:
4 Qualitative to quantitative:
from qualitative assessments by customers through surveys and focus groups to quantitative analysis by independent auditors of data across Customer acquisition (e.g., number of site visitors or reach within the market, cost of acquisition, Number of customers, sales volumes, and revenues and market share); conversion (Average conversion rates) and retention such as repeat conversion and number of active Customers.
5 In‑sector and out‑of‑sector:
benchmarking against similar sites within the sector and reviewing sectors that tend to be more advanced, e.g., online publishers, social networks, and brand sites. Benchmarking services are available from analysts such as Bowen Crags & Co (www.bowencraggs.com). An example of one of their benchmark reports is Shown in Figure 8.11. You can see that this is based on the expert evaluation of the suitability of the site for different audiences as well as measures under the overall construction (Which includes usability and accessibility), message (which covers key brand messages and suitability for international audiences) and contact (which shows integration between Different audiences). The methodology states: ‘it is not a “tick box”: every metric is Judged by its existence, its quality, and its utility to the client, rather than “Is it there or is it not?’”
6 Financial to non-Financial Measures:
Through reviewing competitive intelligence sources Such as company reports, or tax submissions additional information may be available on Turnover and profit generated by digital channels. But other forward-Looking Aspects of
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The company’s capabilities which are incorporated into the balanced scorecard measurement Framework should also be considered, including resourcing, innovation, and learning.
