What are recommended methods to stay updated on competitors' products and marketing approaches?
Day to day: If you can, use their products and dive in to understand value creation, segments, where they are investing, what their messaging is communicating, etc. Sign up for competitors' emails, blog posts, YouTube channels, and earnings calls, follow their leadership on LinkedIn for updates, and more to stay informed on their products, launches, and company news. In addition, sign up for newsletters and podcasts that follow the vertical to stay informed on trends. Reach out to your finance team to understand what resources and subscriptions they have to follow and learn more about companies for you to leverage as well (e.g. TechCrunch, etc.)
Quarterly recap: Capture competitor trends and updates in a “Quarterly Competitive Intel” report, that highlights industry trends, key launches, and developments by company, financials (partner with Corp Dev, Finance, and Investor Relations teams), and include recommendations. This last part is key, ensure that it just isn’t data you are sharing, but connect the dots to communicate the ‘so what’ or said another way ‘why this matters’. Develop a format that you can replicate for ease and consistency quarter over quarter. As with any GTM, think about the audience for the report, distribution, and measurement (feedback to continue to optimize it).
As needed: Ensure competitive intel is top of mind in all your work. For instance, if you are refreshing a product's messaging and positioning, include a competitive assessment and recommendations. If the roadmap includes a new product / features, include a competitive assessment and recommendations.
I laid out in another answer that Product Marketers should be reading competitors’ press releases, blogs, product pages, 10Ks, and any other collateral you can get your hands on. By doing so, you’ll get a sense of the following:
Their company strategy (where do they see the market evolving? What are the biggest opportunities and risks?)
Their product strategy (where are they investing their resources when they build?)
How they go-to-market (How to they message? How are they launching? What campaigns are they running?)
Depending on how successful they are, you might “borrow” some of their messaging and/or tactics to bolster your own, if you feel as if what they’re doing is resonating with your intended audience.
As Product Marketers, hopefully we can agree that the companies that win in the market don’t necessarily win because they build better products (although that certainly helps). Winning is a cross-functional effort, and Marketing plays a huge role in that. So by analyzing your competition, you very likely will learn better ways to connect with your own customers and prospects. For example:
How does their website compare with yours? Do they use different language to appeal to customers?
Do they have an active support page or Slack channel with engaged customers?
How well read are their blogs? What about their social media posts or YouTube videos?
Do they attend more trade shows than you, or invest more in their booth?
If you google your own products, do your competitors’ solutions show up as “Sponsored” results. If so, how are they messaging their solution?
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