Wondering how your business holds up against the competition? A competitive analysis allows you to compare your brand against competitors to see how their selling points (USPs), products, strengths and weaknesses compare to yours. It can give you some pointers on what top-performing companies in your industry are doing well, offering learnings for your own company.

With Adobe Express, you can create a custom competitive analysis presentation in minutes. Read on to learn more about what a competitive analysis is and how to get started building out your own.

What is a competitive analysis?

A competitive analysis is one way of gathering data and insights about your direct competition, including its products, sales and marketing strategies. Analysing what your competitors are doing is important as it can give you a better insight into how your own business compares in these areas.

This competitive analysis can also help you identify opportunities or gaps in the market for your business to capitalise on and gage a better understanding as to what your competitors may be doing that pose a potential threat to your business.

These insights can help you learn what you are doing well and where you need to improve to stay ahead of the curve. You can also present these findings as part of a wider business overview or marketing strategy.

What should I include in a competitive analysis?

There are several elements you can cover in a competitive analysis. These include:

• Overview. A summary of the competitor company, including where it is located, who their target market is, how long they’ve been a competitor, etc.
• Products and services. A breakdown of what products or services they offer and how they compare against your own.
• Pricing. A comparison between their pricing and your own, including any additional perks or features they might offer. Things like free delivery models or loyalty schemes.
• Marketing strategies. What they are currently doing well on their different marketing channels. For example, how do their social media channels compare to your own? What is the digital experience like on their website or app? Do they use other advertising channels? Or do they have a newsletter?
• Customer ratings. What customers are saying about their brand versus your own. Online reviews, trust websites and social media can usually be good sources of information for what people are saying.

Benefits of a competitive analysis.

There are multiple benefits you can get from performing a competitive analysis. For instance, it can help you:

• Analyse competitor marketing strategies to help boost your own.
• Identify gaps in the market where your business might be able to dominate.
• Stay up to date with the latest industry trends.
• Strengthen your business offerings by being more aware of what’s already out there.
• Establish benchmarks for your own goals and performance.

Ultimately, a competitor analysis can provide valuable insights to help you make informed decisions about your own business and offerings. For example, comparing your brand to the competition can help you capitalise on their weaknesses. It can also help you build a stronger brand, which is essential for long-term success.

6 editable competitor analysis presentation examples.

How can I conduct a competitive analysis?

Not sure how to conduct a competitive analysis? No problem. This step-by-step guide will help you navigate the process and create a clear presentation of your competitors.

1. Draw up a list of your key competitors.

The first step to a competitive analysis is to identify your competitors. It may help to categorise your competitors into direct and indirect competitors.

Direct competitors are companies who sell the same product to the same audience as you. Indirect competitors can be companies who sell the same product to a different audience, or a slightly different product to a similar audience.

An example of direct competitors might be two coffee shops located in your local train station. Whereas an example of indirect competition might be a coffee shop and a supermarket in the same train station – both offer lunch options, but with slightly different products and price points. The same logic applies for eCommerce businesses too.

2. Conduct your market research.

The next step is to conduct market research to examine your competitors closely. This can involve analysing market share to understand which competitors have the biggest influence over your audience.

You may want to combine primary and secondary research tactics here. For example, primary research may involve purchasing competitors’ products or services, interviewing customers, or conducting online surveys. While secondary research may include examining competitors’ websites and reading company records.

3. Review their products, pricing and promotions.

Next, it’s time to compare your products or services against competitor offerings. This can include analysing key features such as:

• Price
• Style and design
• Ease of use
• Product quality
• Cost
• Product benefits.

4. Explore their marketing channels and how they reach customers.

The next step of your competitor analysis will involve analysing the marketing efforts of your competitors. Key areas to focus on here include:

• Social media
• Website (design, SEO & copy)
• Paid advertisements
• Press releases
• Product copy.

5. Conduct a SWOT analysis.

A SWOT analysis can help you turn the focus of your analysis back to your own company. It can help you to identify strengths and weaknesses within your business and any threats you may face from your competition. Key things to ask yourself when conducting a SWOT analysis include:

• What are you doing well?
• Are there any areas you can improve on?
• Are there any gaps in the services / products you offer?
• Are there any market trends you need to be aware of?

Learn how to do a SWOT analysis.

6. Identify your position in the marketplace.

The final step is to identify where you currently stand in the market landscape. You can use a graph to do this by creating two axes that represent the most important factors for being competitive in your market.

You can then plot each competitor on the graph and add your own company to the chart. This should give you a better idea of where you currently stand in relation to your competitors.

7. Present your findings to colleagues and key stakeholders.

Once you’ve completed your competitive analysis, it’s time to showcase your research. Compile your data into a selection of simple slides that outline the highlights of your analysis. You can use charts, infographics and other design elements to bring the findings to life. This will also make it easier for stakeholders, investors or other internal teams to digest the information.

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Good to know.

Is a SWOT analysis the same as a competitive analysis?

Both a competitive analysis and a SWOT analysis are effective strategic planning tools. However, there are key differences between the two. For example, a SWOT analysis looks at both internal and external factors affecting a business. However, a competitive analysis is more focused on the external environment like competitors’ strategies and tactics.

What is a competitor analysis presentation?

A competitor analysis presentation or PowerPoint is usually the end result or final deliverable of your competitive analysis. It focuses on key areas of the competitive analysis research, such as pricing, products and strategies – with succinct summaries and takeaways for any relevant stakeholders.

How can I create competitor analysis slides?

You can easily create competitor analysis slides with Adobe Express in minutes. Simply choose from a range of presentation templates or import your slides into the presentation maker to edit. You can also customise your slides with your own brand assets and powerful generative AI tools.

Is Adobe Express free?

Yes, our free plan offers many core features including thousands of templates, photo editing and effects, animation, and 2GB of storage. See our  pricing page for details and to compare plans.