Analyzing your competitors and spotting them in your area… this sounds straightforward, but in fact this is a real time-consuming task, right?! 😅
Yet it’s essential for several reasons :
- Assessment of area potential and market research: that necessarily involves analysis of local competitors
- Understanding the economic tissue and searching for POI’s (points of interest) for your business location
Smappen makes it so easy ! Visualize your competitors and generate a data extraction in a few clicks 🖱️
Create lists of competitors based on your keys to success. Then spot and analyze it on a map or in your area and by data extraction.
Let’s see it 😉
Spot your competitors by type of business
Maybe the best way to find out your competitors would be by type of business.
For example : I conduct my own market research in order to open a fitness center around Worcester, MA, USA.
I have built a 10-minute drive time catchment area. I spot my competitors on the map, searching by categories using keywords “Physical fitness program”, “fitness center” and “sports activity location”. I know I’ll have 178 competitors in the area, mainly based/located on the main roads.
Smappen allows you to group competitor types into separate folders, to help you identify the different lines of business in your catchment area.
Let’s imagine that I want to include yoga classes in my fitness center project. I would like to know if some of my competitors also offer it. If so, how many of them, and where.
Here, I can spot 19 of them.
Spot competitors by company name
If you know your competitors well, or if you know a common key-word for their type of business, you can do your research in this way. Even if your search by type of business is not precise enough.
Targeting by company name is another way to track them.
In my study case, let’s say my direct competitors would be “Planet Fitness” and “OrangeTheory Fitness” clubs. These franchises are considered a threat to my business, I want to spot and track them down.
It’s then up to you to make a decision. Does this area have potential? Not enough? Does this market research fit my keys to success to set up my business here?
What about indirect competitors ?
Direct competitors are the first intention when you do market research.
Indirect ones are just as interesting to spot and study.
But why this? 🤔
Just because understanding the economic tissue of your catchment area is the best way to success ! You’ll have better control of your environment and better be able to make upstream actions and decisions.
Indirect competition means some businesses are targeting the same client needs in the same market but with different offers, products and services. Your common goal is satisfying the same customer need, with different ways to.
Then if you want to be the market research GOAT, we can also include prescribers and spot the most attractive areas to measure flow capture.
Still on my example, let’s say that I consider “sports coaching”, “life coaching” and “personal trainers” as potential prescribers for my business. With 55 of them, I can see opportunities to face direct and indirect competition. Managing a mutually beneficial partnership could be interesting.
Precisely, to help you in this way :
Once you have created a complete list with the app, you can extract data :
- Company Name
- Phone number
- Website URL
- Address
It’s up to you now ! 😎
Let’s spot your own competitors and make the best decision for your business 🚀
