Identifying Your Competition

Identifying the market share of your product or service is crucial for any small business owner. Having many competitors will lead to an over saturation of products in your market segment and a reduction in profit margins for your business. In this post we'll go over how to research competitors in your market and what you can do to improve your products or service over competitors.

When researching if a product is over saturated in your market, write down a few keywords that accurately describe your product. Then, we'll use Google Trends and Google Ads Keyword Analyzer to get data on the number of people searching for this item, and how an item has trended over time.



We can similarly find competitors by using those same keywords in the Google, Amazon or Ebay search bars. Then, you'll click the seller page of the products that you searched for and analyze their prices, branding, keywords or any other relevant information. Its important to think about the volume of similar products that are in your market segment and how you will be able to stand out.

Once you have your list of competitors, Compare their products to your own and think about any strengths or weaknesses that your own product might have. Ask yourself how your product can give you an edge over competitors. Some categories to think about while researching could be:

• Quality of product
• Branding of the product or store
• Keywords and descriptions used
• Location of the product (Sold online or in store)
• Price and cost associated with product

Compare the prices between competitors products to your own products. Think about what differentiates your products from others. Will you be able to manufacture a product cheaper or could you charge a premium price for a higher quality product? See if your competitors have any reviews on their storefronts. Look at both positive and negative reviews to get an idea of what customers want. You can also ask customers directly about their want/needs and why they bought a product. This can be done individually, or you can create a survey to get valuable feedback from multiple people. Think about other ways you can stand out such as having a unique skill-set, an untapped location or a quality manufacturing or distribution opportunity.

You'll want to compare where in the world products similar to yours are being sold. Due to the internet, the number of competitors you have will increase and they will not be limited to a local geographic area. However, there may still be untapped potential in your local area. Use business directories like Yelp, Yellow Pages and Angi (formerly known as Angie's List) to get an idea of local competitors in your area. Google Maps will also help in identifying local businesses. The key is to look for area's that are under served by your products or services.

If you think that your product will be in an over saturated market and your market share will be low, it's worth thinking about pivoting your product in a direction with less competitors. If pivoting doesn't change anything, then you might want to consider finding another product to sell entirely. Ultimately, you want your products to stand out and offer something that none of your other competitors can offer. A unique product or service can give you a advantage and a head start from competitors. In the next blog post we'll talk about how you can build a unique product.

Once you have your product ready to sell, you can use Casicrane to upload images of that product, set a description and add a price. It's a simple an easy process, all you need is an account on Casicrane.



Thank you for reading and if you have any questions you can contact me here.