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Benefits of competitor analysis
Competitor analysis can sometimes be viewed as unnecessary or obvious. But the famous aphorism - know thyself 1 - applies equally well to competitors as yourself. So take some time to make sure you know your competition, their offering(s) and how good they are.
- Discovery of the strengths and weaknesses of competing products or services
- Development of a list of issues that need to be addressed in order to compete effectively
- The gaining of consensus among a group of project stakeholders
This method may also result in a list of desirable features that the new product could include.
Look out for...
The first question is always: what is a competitor? A context of use analysis of the intended product is important, as it will identify the users, the tasks, and the context in which the product will be used.
- Focus on the user need that the product or service should be meeting, not on the enabling technology
- Don't get distracted by marketing messages or the quality of promotional material
- Adopt a holistic view of the offering taking in the functional and the aesthetic
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Good resources |
Nielsen, J. & Mack, R.L. (1994) Usability Inspection Methods. John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY, 1994 |
Alternative methods
Problems of access to competitor products are usually the over-riding consideration in deciding how competitor analysis is carried out.
If you have access to marketing survey expertise, then a market survey involving questionnaires, interviews etc., is a good alternative method. The survey should seek to find out (a) what are the most popular products, (b) why are these products popular, and (c) what are the issues the popular products do not address.
If you have access to a sample of established users of a good representative range of competitor products, then a usability survey, including a standardised user satisfaction questionnaire, is recommended. It is possible to do formal usability tests of competitor products that will also establish baseline usability requirements, but as this is resource intensive it is usually only possible to test a limited number of competitor products.
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