KNOW YOUR COMPETITION
By Margaret T. Wright

The marketplace is becoming even more competitive. To outflank your competition, it is important to understand their marketing strategies and game plans. We've created a checklist of questions to help you "size up" the competition:

1. Who are my brand's major competitors and how are they perceived by the consumer to be different from my business?
2. What segments are they pursuing? What are their market shares? Are they growing or declining?
3. How do their messages compare to my brand's strategy: packaging, pricing, promotion and the advertising message?
4. How close are their positionings to the "ideal profile?" What needs are they meeting?
5. What are the philosophies behind their marketing strategies? Aggressive or reactive? State-of-the-art or me-too? Volume mix? How do their companies view their products? Do they "milk" them to place marketing emphasis elsewhere or do they have a history of investment spending and brand building?
6. What are their historical trends: Marketing spending patterns? Pricing strategies? New product introductions?
7. What have they done right and wrong? What can I learn from them?
8. What advantages do they have over my brand? Image? Geographic? Product quality? Pricing? Production effectiveness?
9. What advantages does my brand have over them?
10. Based on their behavior, where will they go within the near future? How will this affect my brand? What strategies do I need to employ to protect and grow my business?

Margaret T. Wright is President of The Wright Marketing Blueprint, Inc. ( www.WrightMarketingBlueprint.com ). She helps clients build strong emotional connections between their brands and consumers.