Mayo and Cheese Brands Outsmart the Competition
Two competitor analysis examples show how these brands teased out winning sales and marketing strategies.
A competitor analysis can provide foundational information necessary to outpace your competition and drive brand differentiation. There are many benefits to doing a competitor analysis. Below are just a few of the insights that can be garnered from a competitor analysis due diligence project:
- Branding opportunities
- New product opportunities
- Go-to-market strategies
- Gaps in the marketplace
- Market and consumer trends, etc.
Competitor Analysis Examples 1: Developing a Winning Defensive Sales Strategy
A leading brand in mayonnaise was concerned that a regional player was expanding distribution and gaining traction in major stronghold markets. The goal of the competitor analysis was to better understand the strategies employed by the regional player and block further distribution and share gains.
The competitive analysis looked at:
- Overall brand positioning and consumer target
- Share and distribution gains by region and retailer
- Product offerings, pricing and promotion tactics
- Velocity, brand loyalty and incrementality at key retailer accounts
- General brand awareness, purchase penetration, estimated marketing, and digital spend
We analyzed the results to tease out opportunities and develop a winning defensive strategy grounded on data. Through the competitor analysis, we were able to identify retail accounts to focus on and pricing/promotional strategies to employ. Not only was the leading brand able to stem further share losses, but they were also able to win back distribution at key retail accounts, solidifying their #1 market position.
Competitor Analysis Examples 2: Driving Brand Differentiation
A leading cheese brand needed to reinvent itself by identifying a compelling value proposition that would drive differentiation in market. The goal was to conduct a competitor analysis of key cheese brands, how they were positioned in the market and key associations, and/or strengths that the brand could build upon to win against key competitors.
The competitive analysis included an assessment of:
- Overall brand positioning and consumer target
- Estimated marketing and digital spend
- Brand imagery ratings against key competitors
- Purchase drivers
- Brand’s stated and indirect performance on key purchase drivers
We used the results to identify the clients’ key strengths versus key competitors, along with starting positioning areas to explore. Positioning was further refined in subsequent qualitative and quantitative studies, but the competitive study was foundational in understanding key associations the brand could own to drive brand differentiation versus key competitors.
According to competitive intelligence expert Babette Bensoussan:
“Competitive analysis is the process of analyzing all collected information to derive some insight for reducing risk and making better decisions.”
The two competitive analysis examples above illustrate how this can be done to both defend a market position and grow new opportunity.
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