Devoting time to competitor analysis is critical for marketing teams seeking B2B business. By keeping tabs on the success history of their rivals and developing an advanced ICP builder, they can have a powerful sales intel. It produces a valued competitive edge. Today, a successful brand needs to generate traffic and leads and break market trends.

We presume you lack a sustainable marketing advantage. Build an ICP by knowing your fiercest competitor. Consider this blog as a valued source to develop a high-octane customer profile.

Keep tabs: market study and online tracking

 The last thing any marketing project head wants is to lose their customers to rivals. Admittedly, it is challenging to tend the flock together when competitors lower profit margins and grab your customers. Keeping tabs on such breaking points is a part of the research activity to prevent unpleasant surprises.

Are rivals offering anything to your customers to bait them? Are they lowering their share of the margin and/or compromising on the quality of the products? Some of your customers could prove to be a tenuous link by switching loyalties. Make sure your targeted email lists or business contacts database comprise of organizations that match your ideal customer profile, not any random assortment of all companies that could buy your products and services.

Tip 1: When you create the ideal customer profile, make a note of them who are willing to compromise. You would also like to find out why they are shifting their business to others? This calls for making a list of people who will not succumb to competition. What makes them so loyal? It may be the key to hold on and offer freebies as a gesture of goodwill.

 There are several tools and techniques that can be used like google alerts, online trackers or even outsourcing the work to an efficient firm. If you are certain of your offerings, there is no need to steal customers from others. It will prove that you are ethical in business dealings and gain buyers’ trust.

Do you understand the competitors? Activate your sales intel

When you conduct research, a coherent pattern will emerge to interpret the competition. You may have more than one rival who is out there waiting to lunge and grab your hard-earned B2B accounts.

The business is under threat also from modern companies who offer substitutes for your products to similar customers. They may come from other geographical regions and enter your territory. They are opposed to historical rivals. New competition inevitably comes with a threat of displacing old established brands.

Tip 2: Act on the competitive knowledge of innovative products. From the existing ICP your team can fan out to know more about licensing substitutes and including an imaginative element to your portfolio. Your customers may remain loyal as they would prefer to deal with a familiar devil rather than an unknown one. 

 The new ICP strategy will need to still create:

• segments for different verticals
• run competitor analysis for each segment
• possibly create a USP for every targeted audience
• create a buyer journey for prospects to know who can afford your products

Gathering further insights and Intel to make a customer profile will depend on who needs your valued offerings without compromising on the quality, pricing and deliverables.

Tweets

What do you know about your competitor’s market position? Will you follow their path or create a new sales intel? Find clues here.

The post What do you know about your competitor’s market position? Will you follow their path or create a new sales intel? appeared first on Blog.