Competitor Analysis Template

Competitor analysis template

This easy-to-use, downloadable competitor analysis tool will help you identify competitors in your industry and evaluate areas of strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat (SWOT) for your business. Use this template to kick off your competitive strategy to stand out with your target audience.

This competitor analysis tool offers:

• A clear way to track your competition and learn about your customers. 
• A free, downloadable template that will help you understand the competitive landscape and how your business can excel.

Why conduct a competitor analysis? 

A competitor analysis helps businesses collect and organize data around their competitors to understand where their strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats lie. Understanding how your competitors position their products and brand to customers provides inspiration and insights into the latest trends, and it sheds light on which strategies work best for similar brands. Understanding your competition can also help your business avoid pitfalls. 

Completing a competitor analysis will help you grasp the market, the competitive landscape within it, and the one-of-a-kind value your business can provide. With a competitive analysis tool you can organize your research to inform where your brand has unique opportunities to excel.

How to conduct a competitor analysis

Here are the steps to keep in mind when using the competitive analysis tool:

1. Consider your objectives. Understanding the desired outcome of the analysis before you use the template will help make it more actionable. Is your business product, operations, or marketing led? This may inform natural areas where your business can excel more easily. 
2. Identify your competitors. Search Google for keywords related to your business to see which brands are returned on page one of the search engine results. For example, if your brand sells women’s loafers, search “women’s loafers” to see which brands you’re competing against. While you can include larger brands within your competitor set if you want to compete for share of voice on search or social, also consider smaller, emerging companies that may leverage innovative tactics. If you have access to SEO tools (like Semrush, Moz, or Ahrefs) or social listening tools (like Sprout Social, Meltwater, or BuzzSumo), they can expedite your research process by showing you exactly who you’re competing against for share of voice — even if they’re not in your industry. 
3. Do your research. Once you’ve narrowed down your competitor list, review their company website, read their reviews, explore their LinkedIn and other social handles, subscribe to their newsletter, etc. If you can visit their stores in person, make a point to do so and document your experience. 
4. Collect your insights. Using the competitive analysis template, organize your insights and perform a SWOT analysis. The insights from your competitor and SWOT analysis will help inform your business plan moving forward, including new marketing strategies, introducing or eliminating products, and more. 

Download template