Tear Apart Your Competition

How to Tear Apart Your CompetitionBrian Lawley

CEO & Founder

©2010 280 Group LLC

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CEO & Founder280 Group, LLC

A dAgenda

• About Brian & 280 Group• Special offers• Value of competitive intelligence• Four step process for full analysis• Sources of competitive information• Delivering the results and selling tools• Summary

Slides at:


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Slides at: www.280group.com/tear.pdf

About Me• 280 Group LLC

President & Founder

About Me

President & Founder

• Whistle CommunicationsDirector of Product Management & Product Marketing

• SymantecSymantec Director of Java and C++ tools

• Apple Computer Senior Product Manager, MacOS

• Claris Corporation (FileMaker, Inc.) Marketing Specialist

• Digidesign, Inc. (division of Avid)Manager of US channel sales and marketingManager of US channel sales and marketing

• Awards, SVPMA, interviews, books, etc.


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280 GrouppThe Product Marketing & Product Management Experts™

• Consulting & Contractors• Toolkits & PM Office™

(Product Manager’s, Roadmaps, Launches, Beta, Reviews, Competitive Analysis)• Training: public & private

– PM Fast Track™– Agile Excellence for Product Managers™– Customer & Market Research– Effective Decision Making– Interactivity & Communication– Market Value Pricing– Personal Strategic Plans For PMs. – Time Management & Productivity – GREAT Demos!

C tifi ti• Certifications: – Self-Study & In-Person Courses– Agile Certified Product Manager™– Certified Product Manager™

C ifi d P d M k i M ™


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– Certified Product Marketing Manager™– Blackblot Product Management Professional

Special Offers

• $20 off Competitive Analysis Toolkit• $100 off

– Certified Product Manager (CPM) Self-Study Course & Exam– Agile Certified Product Manager (ACPM) Self-Study Course & Exam

• $300 off – PM Fast Track 4 day course (NY Feb 22nd-26th)– Agile Product Management Excellence & Exam (Feb 27th)

• Email [email protected] for discount codes


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Value of Competitive Intelligence

• To gain a thorough understanding of your industry

• Identify key competitors and understand how the compete

• Compare your product’s attributes to the competition

• Make informed decisions on product planning and development


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Four Step Process

• Identify relevant competitors• Do in-depth researchp• Create competitive analysis for internal use• Create competitive analysis & selling tools for p y g

external use


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Identify your key competitorsIdentify your key competitors

• Only most relevant• Usually only 2 or 3y y• Early markets may have up to 10• 90/10 rule


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Criteria for Choosing Competitors

• Market share• Press/publicityp y• Mentions by prospects• Strength of solutiong• Appearance in sales deals


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Four Step Process

• Identify relevant competitors• Do in-depth researchp• Create competitive analysis for internal use• Create competitive analysis & selling tools for p y g

external use


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9 Research Components

• External Performance• Funding & Spending• Management• Management• Attitude• Products• Positioning• Marketing• Distribution Channels• Market Share


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Sources of Competitive Sources of Competitive Information

• Obviously, publicly held companies will have more information available via newswires and financial statements

• By nature, privately held companies may diffi lt h hi fpose some difficulty when searching for

competitive information


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Sources• Product reviews• Product reviews• Press articles• Financial statements “Risks and issues” sections• Press releases• Press releases• Past versions of their website (Wayback Machine http://www.archive.org)• Specific/obscure/advanced searches: http://www.googleguide.com• Information on the sites of theirVCs• Information on the sites of theirVCs• The company’s website: management, board, funding, # customers, • Interview current customers. • Analysts and market research reports: IDC Gartner etc• Analysts and market research reports: IDC, Gartner, etc.• Hoovers http://www.hoovers.com• Silicon Valley startups: www.linksv.com• Company profile at www linkedin com


• Company profile at www.linkedin.com• Dun and Bradstreet http://www.dnb.com.

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Funding

• Identify key sources of funding your industry• Compare and evaluate your competitors’ p y p

sources of funding• Valuations• Burn rate/runway


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Spending

• What are they spending on?– Talent, marketing, facilities, manufacturing, R&D,

etc.• Look for trends in competitors’ spending

h bithabits• A high growth company in a new industry is

going to spend differently than an establishedgoing to spend differently than an established company in a low growth industry


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External Performance

• Obtain key quantitative performance indicators about your competitorsS l t i (l ) l th fi i l• Sales, net income (loss), annual growth, financial ratios (i.e. assets to liabilities), inventory turnover

• Identify trends about external performanceIdentify trends about external performance • Public company: 10-K or quarterly release Balance

Sheet and Income Statement• Private companies: press release on stage of funding


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Management

• Importance of identifying leadership within an organization– Example: Is the competitor founded by a group of

engineers that do not have marketing experience?Id tif i th t t t f• Identifying the management structure of a company helps you learn who the decision makers aremakers are

• Find out how well-connected company heads are within the industry/business world


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are within the industry/business world

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Attitude• Goal is to find out how your competitors viewGoal is to find out how your competitors view

the market• Aggressively expanding, conservative gg y p g,

actions, risk taking strategies, etc. • Use a performance grid to help identify the p g p y

current state of a company• Plot external performance indicators against

various components of organizational health• Helps provide a sense of the type of company


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you are competing against18

Th P f G idThe Performance Gridcece

rman

crm

anc

TroubledTroubledCompanyCompany

SuccessfulSuccessfulFirmFirm

Perf

oPe

rfo

tern

al

tern

al

LowLow ComplacentComplacentCompanyCompany

CrisisCrisis

Ext

Ext

LowLow HighHigh


19Organizational HealthOrganizational Health

gg

Products

• Compare key product attributes across the competitive field

• Answer important internal/external questions pertaining to your product

• Identify what is important to the market and how your product compares to competitors

• Use a BCG matrix to communicate product performance in terms of market share and growth rate


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growth rate20

Example Product Comparison Example Product Comparison Template

Feature Product 1 Product 2

Level of importance to the customer


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BCG MatrixR

ate

Hig

h

Stars Question Marks

row

th H

rket

Gr

ow

Cash Cows DogsMar Lo


2222

High LowMarket Share

Determine Competitive Determine Competitive Positioning

• Use data from their marketing & website• Brainstorm possible axes for chartp• Try multiple combinations


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XY Axis Positioning Matrixge

2

Competitor 1 Product

Name

Tag line supporting positioning goes here.

dvan

tag Name

Mai

n A

d

Competitor 3

Competitor 2

M i Ad t 1

Competitor 3


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Main Advantage 1

Four Quadrant Positioning MatrixFour Quadrant Positioning Matrix

Tag line supporting Competitor 2Tag line supporting positioning goes here.

Product

Competitor 2

Competitor 3Name

Competitor 1

Competitor 4


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Marketing

• Is their marketing effective?• How much are they spending?y p g• Do they have a strong brand?• Are they marketing or technology focused?y g gy• What tactics are they using?

– SEO, PPC, white papers, ads, PR, etc., , p p , , ,


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Marketing Research

• Research on a competitor’s marketing efforts is different than other types

• Look for marketing activity, financial statements, press releases

• In addition, identify the marketing team, web offers

• Use AdWords and SEO as tools


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Distribution Channels

• What channels do they use?– Direct, VARs, Web, Distribution, Partners

• How strong is their presence?• Are there flaws in their channels of

distribution?


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Market Share

• Identify the market size for your product• Who are the key players in your product’s y p y y p

market?• How do you compare to others within your

industry


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Four Step Process

• Identify relevant competitors• Do in-depth researchp• Summarize competitive analysis for internal

use• Create competitive analysis & selling tools for

external use


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Internal delivery: what’s included

• Industry analysis• Life cycle positiony p• SWOT analysis• Competitive Scope/Differentiationp p• Likely Moves• Market & Strategy ToolsMarket & Strategy Tools• Remember: Added security for sensitive

information about your product/company


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o a o abou you p oduc /co pa y

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Industry Specific Analyses

• Use tools that can help communicate important components of your industry

• Porter’s 5-Force Model– Include information on Barriers to Entry,

C tit S li C t dCompetitors, Suppliers, Customers, and Substitutes

• Industry Life-Cycle Model• Industry Life-Cycle Model– Help generalize direction of your industry


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Porter’s Competitive ForcesPorter s Competitive Forces


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Industry Life Cycle Model

• Identify where your industry is• Review trends that are consistent with industries in e e t e ds t at a e co s ste t t dust es

your stage


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SWOTSWOT(Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats)

• Perform a SWOT analysis for each major competitor• Make a list of each of the following:

– Strengths: internal things about your company and its market position that help your chances of success

– Weaknesses: internal things about your company and its market position that weaken your chances of success

– Opportunities: external things that help your chances of success

– Threats: external things that weaken your chances of success

• Fill in the SWOT matrix with strategies based on


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Fill in the SWOT matrix with strategies based on these factors

SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weaknesses

OpportunitiesStrategies the company

can exploit to take advantage of opportunities

Strategies the company must deal with to take

advantage of t itina

l

advantage of opportunities opportunities

ThreatsStrategies the company can use to defend itself

Strategies the company must deal with to defend Ex

tern

from threats itself from threats

Internal


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Competitive Scope/Differentiation

• Review scope of the customer base– Broad vs. narrow (focused) scope of customers

• Differentiation scale of the company’s products– Low and High Differentiation

• Compare generic strategies of the products d th i i t iand their owners using a matrix


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Competitive Scope and Differentiation Matrix

Competitive Advantagep g

Lower Cost Differentiation

BroadTarget 1. Cost Leadership 2. Differentiation

Competitive Scope

NarrowTarget

3A. Cost Focus 3B. DifferentiationFocus


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g

Likely moves

• Draw conclusions about likely moves competitors will make

• Discover how a product may likely evolve over a period of time

• Use a matrix to compare markets and product development strategies

• Use a roadmap to help visualize the industry landscape in the near to long-term


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Market & Strategy Roadmap

Your company

Competitor 1

Competitor 2

Competitor 3

Markets

Partner

Build In-HouseAcquire


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2 Year Competitive, Market p ,& Tech Trends Roadmap

2009 2010

Competitive* Competitor 1 expected release

* Competitor 2 expected release

MarketEarly Adopter Phase

Wid d d tiMarket Widespread adoption

* New technology available to leverage

Tech Trends

gy g




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1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q

4 Year Competitive, Market p ,& Tech Trends Roadmap

Competitive* Competitor 1 expected release

* Competitor 2 expected release

MarketEarly Adopter Phase

Widespread adoption

Tech* New technology available to leverage


2009 2010 2011 2012

Tech Trends

New technology available to leverage



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2009 2010 2011 2012

Delivering the results

• Choose a target audience for your findings• Relevant/sensitive information may be better y

suited for a company executive instead of a potential investor

• Condense your presentations for your target• Use what you learn to develop competitive

selling tools for your sales force


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Strategy for success

• Develop an executive summary of your findings

• Based on internal presentation• Convey what you need to do to win• Use this to gain funding & resources


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Four Step Process

• Identify relevant competitors• Do in-depth researchp• Summarize competitive analysis for internal

use• Create competitive analysis & selling tools for

external use


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External delivery

• Added value for your customer (organize into a matrix)– Identify 7 key added values that your company

can give to a customer Identify 3 sources of the added value– Identify 3 sources of the added value

• Use a side by side Competitive Product Comparison with your most importantComparison with your most important competitor– Include a checklist, most important features listed


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, pfirst

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Added Value Comparison Matrix

[Your Industry]

LEGEND [Your■ YES □ NO ■ UNKNOWN

[Your Company] [Competitor 1] [Competitor 2] [Competitor 3]

Added Value Category One

Item 1

Item 2

Item 3

Added Value Category Two

Item 1

Item 2

Item 3

Added Value Category Three

Item 1

Item 2


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Item 3

Competitive Feature Competitive Feature Checklist/Comparison

[Product name] [Main Competitor]

Feature 1Feature 2Feature 3Feature 4

R b t i l d U i S lli P iti

Feature N

• Remember to include your Unique Selling Proposition• Explain the benefits of your top features• This list can include as many features as you want


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• This list can include as many features as you want

Deliver Effective Selling Tools

• Competitive comparisons• FAQ for difficult questionsq• White paper(s) on technical superiority• Talking points about each competitorg p p• Success stories/testimonials of customers

who switched to your producty p


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Summary

• Value of competitive intelligence• Four step process for full analysis

– Identify relevant competitors– Do in-depth research– Summarize competitive analysis for internal usep y– Create competitive analysis & selling tools for external use

• Sources of competitive information9 h t– 9 research components

• Delivering the results and effective selling tools


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Special Offers

• $20 off Competitive Analysis Toolkit• $100 off

– Certified Product Manager (CPM) Self-Study Course & Exam– Agile Certified Product Manager (ACPM) Self-Study Course & Exam

• $300 off – PM Fast Track 4 day course (NY Feb 22nd-26th)– Agile Product Management Excellence & Exam (Feb 27th)

• Email [email protected] for discount codes


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280 Group Resources

• Free templates and white papers • 2009 Product Management Survey Results• PM Job listing sites• PM Job listing sites• 280 Group Product Management 2.0 Newsletter• 280 LinkedIn Group• Product Management 2.0 Blog • Books• PMA listings

Go to www.280group.com in the “Resources” section.


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Brian [email protected] 280group com


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www.280group.com(408) 834-7518

Tear Apart Your Competition

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