Creating a strong brand for your independent business
Module 4: Know your competitors
Who else is trying to win your best customers?
Know your competitors
Now that you’ve researched your best customers, you have to dig in to understand what other businesses are trying to win their business or what other companies they may choose in your place. In this lesson, you’ll gain tools on competitor research to assess the full view of your market and prioritize the companies most likely to compete for the customer you’ve selected for your brand.
At the end of this module, you will know who you are truly competing with for the business and loyalty of your best customers, and beginning to see the possibilities for your brand.
Video lesson: Know your competitors
Worksheet 3.1 Competitors
Write down all the businesses you know that do the same thing you do, in your trade area. Then think about other types of businesses that are selling a replacement for what you provide.
Worksheet 3.2 Key competitors
Examine the list you made in Worksheet 3.1. Which of the competitors do you think would most appeal to your best customer, now that you know them better?
Worksheet 3.3 Obstacles
This one takes some courage. What you see that competitive companies may do better than you, that would make a difference to your best customer that you defined in your persona worksheet.
Resources for this unit:
Competitor research tools – download the PDF here.
Audience
Your best customer. Do you know who it is? Do you know everything you need to know about them to serve them so well that your competitors can’t win them away from you? You’re in luck. Pulling insight from his books on brand marketing, Adam introduces concepts to research and understand your audience, so that you can shape your brand to them, specifically.
> Video (23 minutes)
> Worksheet: Best customer
> Video (18 minutes)
> Worksheet: Persona starter
> Sample brand survey
> Sample demographics survey
> Research tool: Tapestry
> Research tool: Census
> Research tool: SparkToro
> Worksheet: Persona 2
Know your competitors
Now that you’ve researched your best customers, you have to dig in to understand what other businesses are trying to win their business or what other companies they may choose in your place. In this lesson, you’ll gain tools on competitor research to assess the full view of your market and prioritize the companies most likely to compete for the customer you’ve selected for your brand.
> Video (24 minutes)
> Resource list: Competitor tools
> Worksheet: Competitors
> Worksheet: Key competitors
> Worksheet: Obstacles
Positioning your brand
What do your best customers think about your brand? What do you want them to think? An amazing thing about the journey you’ve started to build your brand is that you get to choose what you want your best customers think about your business and brand. Positioning is all about assessing what your best customers think about their other options, and finding a space that only you can fill, in their minds.
> Video (23 minutes)
> Worksheet: Perceptual maps
> Video (20 minutes)
What? I might need some help.
Have questions? That’s okay. This course combines tools and techniques used by Adam and professional brand consultants and agencies around the world. Videos to set the lesson for each module along with rigorous worksheets formatted for the way you work best.
Adam’s also provided links to research tools you can use at little to no cost to make sure your brand is based on sound logic.
You can reach out here. For technical or basic questions, Adam or a member of the team will get back to you no problem. For brand related questions, or coaching, let’s set an appointment to talk.
Your instructor and coach.
This course was developed and is taught by Adam Pierno, award-winning brand marketer and author. He’s worked with brands you know, like Bona, Domino’s, Dunkin’, Mercedes-Benz, Pocky, State Farm and Verizon, for more than 20 years. His books on brand and marketing strategy are taught at ad agencies, universities and Fortune 500 companies to make marketing simpler to understand and execute.
All of the brand expertise, none of the hassles
If you’ve worked with advertising and brand agencies, you know how much work falls on you and how much it all costs. Brand positioning can cost thousands or more. This course gives you the same tools for a fraction of that investment. With no sacrifice to your results.
This course is based on Adam’s book, Specific. It’s a straight-forward method to build your brand by putting your customers first.
