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The role of competitor research in corporate branding and design

Summer 2013

Know the competition

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Good to know The enemy (competition) Yourself The terrain (environment)

Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and you know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you now Heaven and you know Earth, you may make your victory complete. Sun Tzu’s Art of War

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Modern day capitalism=ancient warfare?

Uncontrolled environment Conditions change Competitive dynamics Requires quick and appropriate responses

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Job one

As a first step in large scale engagement, it is important to look at the competitive landscape.

Ensures the ultimate end product is unique and engaging.

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Provides frame of reference Where you compete Market Landscape Context

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Within this context… How do you position yourself? Where do you excel? What is comparable? What do others do better? What makes you uniquely you?

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What can you learn? Valuable intelligence Best practices Pitfalls

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The who, what, when, where, why, and how…

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Who Hire a pro and benefit from their expertise, insights and fresh perspective. Limit scope and scale as needed to keep costs down. Your involvement is key, but a full-fledged DIY approach is time-consuming and may shortchange the final product.

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What Typically, assess no more than five competitors. Execs get information overload after that.

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When Early on in planning/discovery phase. Knowing where others stake a claim, how they express themselves, etc., helps define constraints for the effort at hand.

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Where (information sources)

Company-generated Website content Investor communications Advertising Public relations Social media Etc.

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Where (information sources)

Secondary sources Social media Company reviews: Glassdoor, CareerBliss Paid sources (Forrester, Gartner, etc.)*

Primary research*

* Paid sources and primary research (e.g., interviews, focus groups) are high cost; used when budget is extensive and brand is high value and high stakes.

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Why Oh, the things you’ll learn… Relative position: strengths, weaknesses,

opportunities, threats Marketing, sales, operations, HR, tactics Audience interaction Visual, verbal expression Quick problem analysis, solving

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How Case study: Bank

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Case study: competitor benchmarking

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Background Regional commercial bank (southern California, Arizona) Acquired 10 banks since its inception in 2010, growing from a

startup to $2.2 billion in assets. Opened startup banking division in 2013 Seeking to refresh the brand and website in an effort to address

the challenges and capitalize on the fresh opportunities that come with such explosive growth.

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Competitor positioning audit Snapshot of how competitor banks position themselves:

Traditional commercial banks American Business Bank City National Bank First Republic Bank

Venture banks Silicon Valley Bank Square 1 Bank

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Competitor positioning audit

Case study

Sample from competitor positioning audit: competitor bank

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Competitor positioning audit

Case study

Sample from competitor positioning audit: competitor bank

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Website benchmarking After brand research and development,

ready to refresh web design to reflect updated brand. Competitive study with different

evaluation criteria, e.g.: • Target user groups • Navigation scheme • Noteworthy content /functionality

• Social media, mobile presence • Imagery and messaging style • Etc.

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Website benchmarking Traditional commercial banks American Business Bank Citizens Business Bank City National Bank First Republic Bank Chase

Venture banks Silicon Valley Bank Square 1 Bank Bridge Bank

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Website benchmarking

Case study

Sample from competitor website benchmarking

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Website benchmarking

Case study

Sample from competitor website benchmarking

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Rinse and repeat

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It’s a short half life Even if you get it, competitor advantage

typically fades Sustaining advantage in the face of

competitive dynamics requires constant monitoring… awareness… anticipation.

Prepared by: Jill Stephens Vice President Baker Brand Communications @jillstephens