Here’s a mind-blowing fact: My competitor saved me tens of thousands of dollars.
I’ll tell you how shortly, but first I want to emphasize how important it is to monitor what your competition is up to.
These days, after all, it’s easier than ever before to start a business. All you need is a website and a payment processor — and both of those can be set up in 30 minutes or less. As a result, the competition online has never been greater. So, if you don’t have a strategy for standing out based on solid competitive research, you risk falling behind in today’s saturated digital landscape.
That’s where spying on your competition comes in. The strategies I’m suggesting are neither evil nor illegal (I’m looking at you, WeWork). So, think about this. Choose the one or two I list that would work best for your situation, and get your spy gear ready today:
Strategy 1: Read their websites.
To be clear, a lot of my advice is basic. It’s straightforward. But, as easy as that may sound, most people don’t follow through. Don’t be that guy (or gal).
When I say read your competitors’ websites, I want you to do two things:
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Make a note of the specific features or benefits they’re advertising, and
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Monitor any changes they make to these things over time.
This will tell you not just how your competitors compare to your offering, but will give you insight into their strategy. If their language shifts all of a sudden, to focus on a new feature, a new prospective customer or some other new angle, there’s a good chance they’ve made that move because they’re either testing it or have already determined it works.
Strategy 2: Watch their social profiles.
This is the strategy that saved me five-to-six figures: When I was first launching my cold email tool,
