How to Conduct Competitor Research to Find the Gap in the Market
In today’s crowded marketplace, finding your unique space can be the difference between a thriving business and one that struggles to gain traction. One of the most effective ways to identify opportunities is by conducting thorough competitor research. By understanding what your competitors offer—and more importantly, what they don’t—you can discover the gaps in the market and create strategies that differentiate your business.
But how do you go beyond surface-level research and find the real opportunities to stand out? Here’s how to conduct competitor research that reveals valuable market gaps.
Step 1: Identify Your Competitors
The first step in conducting effective competitor research is knowing exactly who you’re competing against. Competitors can be classified into three categories:
Direct Competitors: Businesses offering the same products or services as you. For example, if you’re running a coffee shop, another coffee shop down the street is a direct competitor.
Indirect Competitors: Companies that offer different products but serve the same customer needs. For instance, a smoothie bar could be considered an indirect competitor to a coffee shop.
Tertiary Competitors: Businesses that may not compete with you now but could pose a threat in the future due to market shifts.
Once you’ve identified your competitors, you can begin gathering information about them.
Step 2: Gather Information on Competitors
Competitor research starts with collecting as much information as possible about what your competitors offer. Key areas to focus on include:
Products and Services
What are your competitors selling? What are their most popular products or services?
Look for details like pricing, packaging, and quality. Is there something they do particularly well, or areas where they fall short?
Target Audience
Who is their target audience? Are they serving a specific demographic, industry, or niche?
This helps you understand not only who they’re serving, but also if there are underserved segments of the market.
Marketing Strategies
How do your competitors market themselves? What platforms are they using—social media, email, blogs, or paid ads?
Look at their messaging and tone. Are they positioning themselves as experts, disruptors, or trusted partners?
Customer Experience
Evaluate their customer service, delivery options, and overall customer experience. Are there gaps in how they engage or support their customers?
This information forms the foundation for identifying gaps in the market.
Step 3: Analyze Competitor Strengths and Weaknesses
After gathering information, it’s time to break down your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. This process helps you pinpoint areas where you can outperform them.
Strengths: What do your competitors do exceptionally well? For example, they may have a strong social media presence or excellent customer reviews for a particular service. Understanding these strengths helps you gauge where you need to be competitive.
Weaknesses: What are your competitors not doing well, or where are they underperforming? Look for patterns like poor customer service reviews, complaints about pricing, or gaps in their product offerings. These weaknesses can often be your greatest opportunity to differentiate.
Competitors’ weaknesses could reveal potential market gaps, like underserved customer segments, product features that aren’t fully addressed, or pricing structures that leave some customers dissatisfied.
Step 4: Find the Gaps in the Market
Here’s where you begin to see where the real opportunities lie. Finding the gap means looking for what your competitors aren’t doing that your target market wants or needs.
Ways to Find Market Gaps:
Underserved Audiences
Are there customer segments that your competitors aren’t targeting? For example, if most of your competitors are focused on high-end clients, there may be an opportunity to serve budget-conscious consumers or niche markets that are overlooked.
Product and Service Gaps
Are there products or features that customers are asking for but your competitors aren’t offering? Customer reviews can be an invaluable resource for discovering what people want but can’t find.
Customer Experience
How can you improve the overall customer journey? If your competitors have slow delivery times or lack personalized customer service, this could be a space for you to differentiate your brand by focusing on exceptional customer experiences.
Price Gaps
Is there a gap in pricing? If all your competitors are pricing their products at the higher end, there may be an opportunity to introduce a more affordable option—or vice versa, if the market is saturated with low-cost offerings.
Marketing and Positioning
How are your competitors positioning themselves, and is there an angle they’re missing? If all the competitors are marketing themselves as premium products, there could be an opportunity to position yourself as accessible or relatable.
Step 5: Leverage the Gap to Position Your Business
Once you’ve identified the gaps in the market, you can start building strategies to fill them. Here’s how:
Differentiate Your Offering: Tailor your products, services, or pricing to meet the unmet needs you’ve identified. For example, if there’s a gap in fast, responsive customer service, you can position yourself as the brand that prioritizes speed and support.
Refine Your Target Audience: Focus on the underserved segments that your competitors are ignoring. Building your brand around their needs helps you create a loyal customer base that feels overlooked by others.
Improve Customer Experience: Address the weaknesses in competitor services by providing a better, more engaging customer experience. Whether it’s offering faster shipping or more personalized service, improving the customer journey is a powerful differentiator.
Stand Out in Marketing: Position your brand in a way that highlights how you’re filling the gaps in the market. Use your competitors’ weaknesses to shape your messaging and show potential customers why your brand is different.
Gaps Aren’t Always Obvious—But They’re Always There
Finding the gap in the market requires thorough research, critical analysis, and creativity. It’s not about competing head-on with others; it’s about identifying what’s missing in the marketplace and tailoring your offerings to meet those needs. By conducting comprehensive competitor research and finding the gaps, you can build a business that not only stands out but also serves your customers in ways your competitors simply aren’t.
In the long run, filling the gap means being in tune with your market—and that’s what drives sustainable growth and success.
If you would like help with Competitor Research, reach out to us to get the conversation started.
