Why Competitor Analysis in SaaS tech is essential for competitive advantage?

Why Competitor Analysis in SaaS tech is essential for competitive advantage?
If you are in the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business, you dont need us to tell you the industry is changing. Almost daily new competitors and new solutions are appearing, cancelling out the darlings of the SaaS industry. Here we ask why Competitor Analysis in SaaS tech is essential for competitive advantage.

You know you have to constantly develop better ways to stay ahead in the market and attract more customers. You need a strategy to keep moving forward within the sea of ever-changing rules. And most importantly, to find out what makes you stand out from your competitors. And once you stand out, you have to stay ahead and be aware of those sharp rocks which can stop your journey in its tracks.

To keep moving forward with your growth, you need to know how to do competitor analysis. SaaS business competitor analysis allows you to make the most of your potential. And gain insight to rise further in your industry.

Know Your Competitors
The first step in SaaS competitor analysis is understanding who your competitors are. You will, of course, be able to trot off a number of competitors straight away. That’s the easy bit, and it’s those new ones and those you have heard about but have yet to compete with directly. Don’t forget those you have never heard of. This competitor analysis is on top of your day job. You know the problems with a new bit of coding, networking, keeping your team happy and making sure the financials are good. And ensuring the investors are not getting cold feet.

The best place to start a fundamental competitor analysis is to think about the type of services you provide and how you deliver them. List them and define which ones are direct competitors. That’s those who offer the same services as your business. Put yourself in the shoes of your customer. A customer who will not know your tech inside out.

Why? Well, at all times, remember that you are selling your offering to humans. And most will not care about the bangs and whistles of the tech. They want to know how you are going to solve their problem. Understand this, and you will already have a competitive advantage over many of your rivals.

So think about your offering in the eyes of a customer.
If they are looking for a specific service, they will choose between you and others. These are the competitors you need to stand out to get them to pick you. So as a customer, what options do they have? You may think that you know all there is to know about your SaaS competitor. But our experience tells us that you have only scratched the surface.

Gather Data
There are many factors you need to consider when collecting competitor data. You must be open to as many options and sources as possible to get a fuller picture as possible.

But you have to be careful that you don’t try and get everything on everyone. You must determine a set of questions you need to answer about them. These questions will provide you with a purpose and focus and stop wasting time on “nice to know’s” and “need to know’s”.

What is Competitor Analysis?

Competitor Analysis evaluates your competitors. To understand and compare them to your way of doing things. To know their current and future direction, how they do business, their strengths and weaknesses, why customers buy from them to increase your competitive advantage.
We have seen reports where questions were not defined, and the only insight provided was a products list and their office address in Timbuktu. Getting a technology solution before finding what you really need will only disappoint. And looking at the standard of competitive analysis templates some providers send to prospects, be very careful. Zero analysis and lots of graphs will give you a completely false impression of Competitive Intelligence.

Where to first look?
The best places to start looking for competitive information can be the obvious ones like:

The customer journey. How easy is it to buy from them? (And you, of course)
Their website, how easy it is to use and how well have they SEO’d it
Their offerings and what customers think their featured and benefits
What do their customers feel about them? Look at online reviews and go beyond their features and benefits
Their pricing strategy
How well they do in search results
Their social media presence, what they are saying and to who
Gathering information for your competitor analysis is all about the questions you created and the SaaS competitor’s content and proclaimed service benefits. And their track record with current and past customers. Again think like a customer and not the tech-savvy genius you are. Mystery shopping is a great way to find information and talk to the people who work for your competitor. Signing up for free trials is good, but remember to have the customer mindset.

Organise and Analyse
So you have collected a lot of information about your competitors. The next thing to do is to collate the information into data and then analyse it. Avoid charts and graphs as much as possible. Only use them when comparing yourself and other competitors. Try putting information onto post-it notes. Moving them around to look for similarities and patterns. We are not saying don’t use graphs and charts. But never use them for the sake of it. We see reports where graphs and charts have been put in to make a report look pretty.

So you have analysed the competitor information:

What were the differences between them, you and each other?
Did you find any similarities?
Could you find any strengths and weaknesses
What and how can you do to exceed their strengths and exploit their weaknesses?
Most importantly, ask why to all the questions. After comparing competitors with your operations, write down the key findings, Then ask:

Where can your own business can improve,
Can you build on your strengths
Can you encourage efficiencies and remove inefficiencies
Why Competitor Analysis in SaaS tech is essential for competitive advantage?
So why Competitor Analysis in SaaS tech is essential for competitive advantage? If your SaaS business wants to expand, you need to get the better of your competitors, increase your market share and gain a competitive advantage. If you need detailed competitor analysis, we can help. Octopus Intelligence operates in your disruptive industry and more traditional sectors. We are here if and when you need us. Leaving no rock unturned to answer the what, the how, the now, and the next. We have a reputation as being distinctive, refreshing, creative, innovative and approachable.