While competition may be worrisome, it’s inevitable. Plus it can be a tremendous motivator for your business.
Conducting market research on your competitors will help your business overcome customer churn and industry obstacles to ensure a successful future.
Understanding the competitive landscape will provide you a unique perspective on how competitors operate and what you can do to stay ahead.
This blog post will discuss the various benefits and types of market research methods perfect for gaining a leg up against the competition. Looking for something more in-depth? Read our Ultimate Guide to Conducting a Competitor Analysis.
A market research competitor analysis looks at identifying competition and specific competitors in your industry/market and understanding their current business or marketing strategies. It can involve looking at different types of available data like social media profiles, competitors’ websites, nearly released information about the competitors, and more. The goal is to learn and understand what competitors are doing compared to what your brand is doing in the market.
The most common methodologies to utilize for your competitive research project are desk research, online surveys, in-depth interviews, and mystery shopping.
Let’s go over the basics for each of these options.
Competitive Research #1: Desk Research
The simplest of all the options, desk research entails conducting Google searches or analyzing Census data to gather and organize market data.
These sources can provide with you key competitive and market data such as the number of nearby competitors or the income level of certain zip codes.
Competitive Research #2: Online Surveys
An easy and cost-effective research option, online surveys offer a customizable approach that can measure competitor metrics such as:
Our market research firm recommends brand awareness or brand equity surveys to accomplish this.
A brand awareness survey measures the awareness of your brand against competitors.
Depending on the scope of the study, it may also address the perception and usage of the brands as well as demographics. These surveys typically contain between 10 to 15 questions.
Similarly, brand equity surveys also evaluate awareness, perception, and usage. However, they tend to be a little more involved and therefore are somewhat longer (usually 15 to 25 questions). We share some examples in Brand Equity Surveys: 4 Questions You Need to Be Asking.
Other brand equity survey topics include brand satisfaction, likelihood to recommend, as well as decision-making factors when choosing between brands.
Competitive Research #3: In-depth interviews (IDIs)
To gather deeper or more involved responses, in-depth interviews (IDIs) are the preferred method.
A market researcher will have a guided conversation with an interviewee to gather their thoughts on the topics at hand.
IDIs can either be an independent competitive study or serve as an add-on to an online survey.
Competitive Research #4: Mystery Shopping
You may have heard that a great way to know how your competitors treat their customers is to become one! Mystery shopping can accomplish this for you and provide you several additional details.
Mystery shoppers will be recruited and asked to follow a guide and complete various shopping tasks. The guide will focus on shopping experiences including pricing strategies and customer rewards programs.
Shoppers will take notes and rate their shopping experiences such as the ease of purchase and customer service.
Competitive Research #5: Competitive Pricing Analysis
Another research tool that can be utilized through a mystery shopping study is a competitive pricing analysis.
Mystery shoppers can collect competitor prices or fees that are not obtainable on the competitor’s website or advertisements.
When all of the data has been collected, all of the prices can be charted to provide you with a visual comparison.
As we touched on earlier, competitive research doesn’t just give you an edge over your rivals — it also uncovers valuable insights about your own company and the market landscape you operate in.
At its core, the biggest advantage of competitive research is the ability to make data-driven decisions that identify new opportunities and alert you to potential threats. This foresight positions your business to adapt quickly and confidently to whatever the future holds.
Let’s break down how each of these benefits can have a direct, positive impact on your business growth and strategy.
Competitive research provides a detailed, bird’s-eye view of your entire industry. Instead of guessing or relying on assumptions, you gain hard data about:
With this knowledge, you can spot shifts early, understand the forces driving your market, and position your company to capitalize on growth areas — or pivot away from shrinking segments before it’s too late.
Knowing what marketing strategies your competitors are investing in — and how well those tactics work — is a powerful tool. Competitive research reveals:
It also helps you benchmark your own marketing performance against the competition, giving you a reality check on where to double down and where to improve.
One of the smartest uses of competitive research is uncovering market gaps. By analyzing who your competitors are targeting — and who they’re missing — you can:
This strategic move often leads to increased market share and opens new revenue streams with less direct competition.
Competitive research isn’t just for marketing teams — its impact ripples through every part of your organization. Armed with insights about competitors and the industry, you can:
In essence, competitive research acts like a compass for your entire business, helping you chart a course that maximizes strengths and minimizes risks.
By investing time and resources in competitive research, you’re equipping your business with a comprehensive understanding of the landscape — your competitors, your customers, and your own position. This knowledge lets you move beyond reactive decision-making to a more proactive, strategic approach that fuels growth, innovation, and resilience.
If you want to build a competitive research program that truly drives results, it starts with asking the right questions, gathering robust data, and translating insights into action.
Drive Research is a full-service market research company specializing in competitive assessments. Our team of certified research professionals partners with organizations across the country to recommend and execute the best type of research study that will successfully meet the goals of our clients.
To learn more about our services, or to receive a quote – contact our team today!
