Knowing what your competitors are doing is essential for you to keep ahead of them. But how can you track what the competition is doing? Here are six ways.
1. Visit regularly
Visiting your competitor’s website is the most obvious route to find out what they are up to. A website offers a wealth of information on what they sell, how they sell, who they employ, and much more. So make sure you visit regularly.
2. Sign up
Do your main competitors offer a loyalty programme or membership? Do they sent out a regular email newsletter or special deals? If so, sign up! This is your chance to know what they are offering their customers.
3. Be a customer
Even better, why not play the part of being a customer? This will allow you to see how the competition communicates with customers – what is in their confirmation email, do they follow up, etc. This also allows you to see how their products and customer service compares to your own.
4. Network
Whenever you meet other industry peers, or when you’re speaking to your own employees or colleagues, ask them a few questions about your competitors: do they know them? Have they used them? What are their thoughts on them?
By finding out what’s on the grapevine, you may learn a nugget of information that will help you keep ahead, or give you an idea to improve your own ecommerce business.
5. Pay attention to their marketing and social media
How does the competition use social media? Follow them on Twitter and “Like” them on Facebook to see how they interact with customers and the general public. Read their blog posts to see what interesting information they have.
Look out for any advertising they may have (you can do this by searching for key words in Google and seeing what ads show up, for example).
By keeping your ear to the ground and following your competitors’ activities, you will help your own business stay ahead and knowledgeable about the industry.
