How to do a Competitor Analysis

There’s an old joke in marketing about Wendy’s approach to market research. They let McDonald’s do all the hard work of finding the best intersection, evaluating foot traffic, and optimizing location strategy. Then, once McDonald’s sets up shop, Wendy’s moves in right across the street.

It may be a joke, but there is real wisdom in it. Why start from scratch when your competitors have already invested time and money figuring out what works?

Competitor analysis gives you access to insights that took others months or even years to discover. Instead of guessing, you can learn from their successes and mistakes, then fine-tune your own strategy to get ahead faster.

What is a Competitor Analysis (and why it matters for Startups)

A competitor analysis is like scoping out the battlefield before charging in.

If you're running a tech or SaaS startup, you need to know who you're up against. What are they doing right? Where are they weak? What gaps can you fill? It’s not just about copying... it's about finding your edge.

A solid competitor analysis helps you refine your product, pricing, and marketing so you don’t waste time guessing. Know your rivals, play smarter, and position your startup to win. Because in the fast-moving world of SaaS, the best strategy wins the game.

How to do a Competitor Analysis?

Performing regular competitor analysis can keep you ahead of the curve, allowing you to anticipate changes and adjust your strategies accordingly. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of conducting a competitor analysis with easy-to-follow steps.

1. Identify Your Competitors

Before you can analyze your competitors, you need to know who they are. Start by identifying businesses offering products or services similar to yours. These are your direct competitors, and they should be your primary focus. If you're unsure where to start, think like a customer. Search for your business type or relevant keywords online. Social media platforms and search engines like Google are great tools to find your competition. Other tools include the following:

• Crunchbase – Provides financial, funding, and company growth data.
• Owler – Tracks competitor company size, revenue, funding, and latest news.

2. Understand What Your Competitors Offer

Once you’ve identified your competitors, it's time to explore what they offer. Visit their websites, browse their products or services, and read their blogs and social media posts. Look for key details like product offerings, pricing, shipping policies, and return policies. Also, pay attention to any special promotions or freebies they provide.

Understanding what your competitors offer helps you identify what sets your business apart and where you might have opportunities to improve.

3. Analyze Their Sales and Pricing

Once you know what your competitors offer, take the next step and see how they sell. Walk through their sales process like a customer would. Add items to your cart, start checkout, and pay close attention to the details. Look at product descriptions, shipping costs, and follow-up emails. Every touchpoint gives you insight into their strategy.

Pricing plays a huge role in any business. While browsing their product pages, look at how they position their prices. Check if they offer discounts, bundle deals, or promotions. Compare their pricing to yours and see how competitive you are.

Here are a few tools to help you get pricing info:

• Prisync – Tracks competitors' pricing and helps with dynamic pricing strategies.
• Price2Spy – Monitors competitor pricing changes in real time.
• CamelCamelCamel – Price tracking for Amazon products.
• Panjiva – Analyzes supply chain and import/export data to track competitors’ products.

4. Examine Their Digital Marketing Efforts

Digital marketing plays a significant role in attracting customers. Examine your competitors' online presence, including their social media activity, paid ads, and organic content. List all the platforms they are active on, how often they post, and what type of content they share (e.g., videos, stories, blog posts).

Also, pay attention to the time of day they post, the engagement they receive, and how they respond to comments. Understanding their digital marketing efforts can help you identify opportunities to differentiate your business and improve your online presence.

• SimilarWeb – Provides website traffic, audience insights, and marketing channels.
• SEMrush – SEO, PPC, and traffic insights with competitor keyword tracking.
• Ahrefs – Analyzes backlinks, search traffic, and keyword rankings.
• SpyFu – Competitor keyword research and PPC strategy analysis.
• Facebook Ad Library – Shows active ads competitors are running on Facebook and Instagram.
• Moat – Provides insights into display ads and creative strategies of competitors.
• BigSpy – Tracks competitor ad creatives across multiple ad networks.

5. Read Customer Feedback

Customer feedback is a goldmine of information. Read through the reviews and comments on your competitors' websites, social media channels, and other platforms. What are customers saying about their products or services? Are there recurring complaints or praises?

For instance, if customers frequently mention that a competitor closes too early on weekends, you could extend your hours to capture those customers. Listening to customer feedback can help you identify gaps in the market that your business can fill.

• G2 – Aggregates customer reviews and feature comparisons for software products.
• Trustpilot – Tracks customer sentiment through user-generated reviews.

6. Conduct a SWOT Analysis

Finally, after gathering all this information, conduct a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. This analysis helps you combine the information you've collected with specifics about your own business.

Identify your strengths and weaknesses compared to your competitors, look for opportunities to capitalize on, and be aware of potential threats that could impact your business. A SWOT analysis will guide you in developing new strategies, whether for marketing, product development, or overall business growth.

Pitfalls and Challenges to Avoid 

Using competitor analysis effectively can sharpen your strategy, but startups often fall into common traps. Here’s what to watch out for:

🚧 Overanalyzing and Losing Focus – Too much data can lead to analysis paralysis. Focus on actionable insights instead of drowning in endless comparisons.

🚨 Copying Instead of Differentiating – Learning from competitors is smart, but blindly replicating their strategies won’t set you apart. Use insights to innovate, not imitate.

🔍 Ignoring Indirect Competitors – Startups often focus only on direct rivals. Watch for adjacent players and industry disruptors that could impact your market.

📉 Neglecting Your Own Strengths – A competitor’s success doesn’t mean you should abandon your core value proposition. Play to your strengths while adapting strategically.

⚠️ Outdated Data and Missed Trends – Markets shift fast. Regularly update your analysis to keep your strategy fresh and relevant.

By avoiding these pitfalls, you can turn competitor analysis into a powerful tool for growth rather than a distraction from your startup’s vision.

Make Competitor Analysis your Core

Competitor analysis isn’t a one-and-done task, it’s a continuous process. Regularly tracking your competitors and refining your strategies keeps your startup agile, relevant, and ahead of the curve.

Staying informed doesn’t just help you keep up—it gives you the edge to outmaneuver the competition. By following these steps, you’ll turn insights into action and position your business for long-term success.