Analysis of marketing competitors: how to structure a process with real data

Understand the importance of marketing competitor analysis and see how to do it step by step efficiently.

Conducting a marketing competitor analysis allows for a better understanding of the scenario in which a company is situated and to find references to make more strategic decisions.

But beyond just observing what other brands are publishing, this process seeks to transform market information into data that can guide campaigns, content, and investments.

To achieve this, it is important to define which companies should truly be monitored, select comparable metrics, and create an analysis routine that makes sense for the business objectives.

Thus, in this article, you will understand why this process is important and follow a step-by-step guide to structuring a competitor analysis based on real data. Continue reading.

Executive Summary

• Competitor analysis compares positioning, channels, strategies, and results to identify market opportunities and references.
• Direct, indirect, and substitute competitors should be evaluated separately as they compete for the audience in different ways.
• The chosen metrics need to be related to the objectives of the analysis and be comparable among companies.
• Isolated data gains value when transformed into benchmarks to guide decisions.
• The analysis should be updated periodically, following changes in the market and competitors’ strategies.

Why conduct a marketing competitor analysis

As important as it is to track one’s own results, looking only at internal data can limit the interpretation of the company’s performance.

Imagine, for example, that a brand’s organic reach fell by 15% in a particular quarter. In isolation, the data seems negative, right?

However, if other companies in the same segment experienced similar declines during the period, it is possible that there is a broader change in audience behavior on the platform or in the market itself.

That’s exactly where a company’s competitor analysis gains importance.

After all, it adds context to internal data and helps identify trends, opportunities, and threats that would hardly be noticed by looking only at one’s own performance.

Additionally, analyzing competitors allows you to understand which channels receive the most attention in the segment, which content formats are explored, how other brands position themselves, and which strategies seem to be gaining traction.

Therefore, the goal is not simply to copy what works for another company.

In fact, the analysis should serve as a reference to formulate hypotheses and make more informed decisions, considering the specificities of the business itself.

How to conduct competitor analysis step by step

A good analysis begins even before data collection.

This is because tracking different companies and metrics without well-defined criteria can generate a large volume of information but few truly useful insights for the strategy.

Thus, understanding how to conduct marketing competitor analysis involves building an organized process that begins with selecting the companies to be monitored and continues through to the periodic analysis and review of results.

Next, check what these steps are and what should be done in each of them.

1 Understand the difference between direct, indirect, and substitute competitors.

Without a doubt, the first step is to define who should actually be part of the analysis. To do this, it is worth separating companies into three groups.

• Direct competitors who offer similar products or services to similar audiences. For example, a marketing agency specialized in small businesses might consider other agencies with the same proposition as direct competitors.
• Indirect competitors address the same need through different solutions. In this case, a marketing consultancy could indirectly compete with courses or platforms that help small businesses structure their own strategies.
• Substitute competitors that compete for the same budget or consumer attention. Depending on the context, a company might decide not to hire an agency and instead allocate that investment to build an internal team.

By separating these groups, you avoid inappropriate comparisons and broaden the understanding of who truly competes with the brand.

2 Define the objectives and criteria for marketing competitor analysis.

With the competitors mapped out, it’s time to determine what the company wants to discover.

After all, an analysis might aim to understand which brands have a greater presence on social media, compare content strategies, observe organic search positioning, or identify differences in demand generation.

From this, it becomes easier to define common criteria.

For example, if the objective is to analyze content, the evaluation might consider publication frequency, formats used, engagement, and themes addressed in the posts.

Whereas an acquisition-focused analysis might observe presence in paid media, conversion pages, offers, and search engine positioning.

The clearer the guiding question for the research, the lower the risk of accumulating data that does not contribute to any decision.

3 Collect data by channel.

Based on defined objectives and criteria, the next step is to seek information from the channels most relevant to the strategy.

In this process, different competitor analysis tools can help expand the research and gather data on the actions of other brands.

For example, on social media, the platforms themselves allow for observation of aspects such as publication frequency, content formats, and public interactions.

Meanwhile, the Meta Ads Library can be used to check the ads that companies are displaying on the platform’s channels.

However, when the focus is on organic searches, tools like Google Trends and Google itself help track interest in certain terms, identify well-positioned content, and understand which topics are gaining traction in the segment.

The analysis can also include sites, blogs, newsletters, product pages, and other points of contact with the public.

Thus, the collection is not concentrated in a single channel and offers a more complete view of the strategies adopted by competitors.

Regardless of the sources used, the ideal approach is to record information in a standardized manner, always considering publicly available data.

4 Know which metrics to compare in competitor analysis.

It is worth noting that not all available indicators need to be part of the analysis.

Thus, to choose which to monitor, it’s ideal to consider the previously defined objectives and mainly prioritize data that can be compared consistently between companies.

From this, some metrics and information can be observed according to each channel, such as:

However, it’s important to consider that not all competitor data will be publicly available.

For example, internal indicators such as CAC, ROAS, revenue, and actual conversion rate are unlikely to be accurately known.

Thus, a good competitor analysis should differentiate data that can be directly observed from those that are only estimates.

This makes the comparison more consistent and prevents assumptions from being used as the basis for strategic decisions.

5 Transform the data into benchmark.

After collection, it’s time to give context to the information.

In other words, this is where data ceases to be just a list of numbers and starts functioning as a benchmark.

Imagine a company publishes eight pieces of content per month on Instagram while three direct competitors publish an average of 15.

This difference does not automatically mean the brand needs to double its frequency but generates a hypothesis that deserves investigation.

The same applies to other examples of competitor analysis. After all, if several companies begin to invest in a particular format, keyword, or offer, there might be a significant change in the market.

Thus, the benchmark functions as a reference to understand distances, identify patterns, and set goals that are more contextualized without turning the average of competitors into a rule that must be followed.

6 Structure a continuous analysis process.

Finally, competitor analysis does not need to be redone from scratch every time a new strategic decision arises.

In fact, the ideal is to turn this monitoring into a continuous process with a defined update routine.

For example, while more dynamic indicators can be monitored monthly, more comprehensive analyses can happen quarterly or semi-annually, depending on the company’s needs.

Additionally, to facilitate this process, it is important to maintain a fixed structure with competitors monitored, channels, metrics, periods analyzed, and key learnings. 

It is also essential to record relevant movements such as product launches, entry into new channels, or changes in positioning.

With this history, the company no longer observes just a snapshot of the competition and begins to understand how the market and competitors’ strategies evolve over time.

How Reportei can help in marketing competitor analysis

Although Reportei does not is not a direct competitor analysis tool, its resources can help add context to the data used in decisions made by marketing agencies.

An example is the free tool Funnel Benchmarking which allows comparisons of a company’s funnel conversion rates with market references.

Thus, from data such as visitors, leads, opportunities, and sales, it is possible to identify which stages are performing above or below the available benchmarks, as shown in the example below.

Thus, while competitor analysis observes specific companies, channels, and strategies, benchmarking expands this view by offering a market behavior reference for agencies.

Therefore, rather than trying to replicate what competitors are doing, the ideal is to use different references to understand where there are real opportunities for improvement.

In this way, the analysis transforms into a continuous process of learning and support for strategic decisions.

Take the opportunity to test the Funnel Benchmarking right now at your agency.

FAQ frequently asked questions about marketing competitor analysis

Before starting your analysis, it is worthwhile to clarify some common doubts about how to select competitors, metrics, and references.

Below, check out the answers to some of the main questions on the topic.

It is the process of tracking and comparing strategies, channels, positioning, and available data from other market companies. The objective is to identify patterns, opportunities, threats, and references that help guide marketing decisions.

Start by identifying direct, indirect, and substitute competitors. Then determine the objective of the analysis, choose criteria and comparable metrics, collect the available data, and transform this information into benchmarks. Finally, establish a frequency to update the analysis.

It depends on the objective, but some examples include publication frequency, followers, interactions, content formats, presence in searches, keywords, active ads, offers, conversion pages, and brand positioning.