How to monitor competitive brand products?
- 24 March 2020
Monitoring the prices of own products is a natural activity for brands. However, many of them still forget that to get a full picture of the situation, you also need to track the competition. Thanks to this, it’s possible to gain valuable knowledge about your position on the market and take actions to optimize your offer and maximize profit, such as changing suggested prices or re-categorizing products. So how to effectively monitor products of competing brands?
What competition products to monitor?
When deciding to monitor competition, it’s best to determine which products are most important to us, e.g. because they are the most popular or competitively priced with comparable or the same specifications. On this basis, we can define which elements of the competitors’ offer are worth following. Should they have equivalents in our offer? Is it worth monitoring the categories in which we are inactive?
Competition monitoring should always start with product specifications and determining which ones are the most competitive for us. The next step is to observe their promotions and analyse sales in popular sites, e.g. on Amazon, which are often an indicator of the attractiveness of given products. You can for example do that by tracking the number of offers and how frequently and at what pace products sell out. It is also worth reaching for the data of companies such as GfK, which help to learn about consumer preferences and to specify the characteristics of the target group in detail.
An important point is also monitoring of substitution products, i.e. those whose specifications do not fully align with our offer, but which may be considered an alternative. Recognizing them allows you to gain valuable knowledge about consumer behavior and highlight the advantages of your products, and increase sales.
If we plan to introduce new products to specific categories or price segments in which we are currently inactive, it is also worth starting to monitor the competition before launching our products. Read about e-commerce monitoring before quoting and introducing new products in a dedicated blog next week – stay tuned!
Competition monitoring – why is it worth it?
Competently conducted monitoring of competition brings measurable benefits, such as real profits and attractive returns on investment. How?
Reliable monitoring of competitors’ steps and offers allows you to identify any news and changes on the market. Thus, it is possible to adapt your strategy to them – both in terms of changes in recommended prices or pricing policy, as well as the choice of target group or promotion planning. It also creates an opportunity to extend the offer with new products that may be looked for by current or potential customers.
Monitoring data also allows a closer look at the cooperation of competitive brands with their retailers. This is particularly important information because a jointly conducted promotional campaign can significantly affect the results in a given sales channel. This knowledge can also verify which sellers are open to cooperation and new market opportunities.
Reliable monitoring of competitive brands doesn’t only bring valuable market knowledge, but also helps predict competition steps and customize your own strategy. Appropriate use of obtained information translates into real increase in revenues and market shares. So if you are wondering how to effectively monitor competition in your industry, please contact us. Every day we provide manufacturers with intuitive tools that help them gain knowledge about the market and optimize their income. We will select the right solutions for you that will bring the greatest benefits to your business.