Competitive Benchmarking: How to Change the Game

February 26, 2021

Competitive benchmarking is a type of research that gives you insights into competitors, valued product features, how to improve messaging, and optimize pricing for a competitive advantage.

Competitive benchmarking through a B2B market research agency is a game changer, telling you where competition is strong, where it’s weak, what features could offer an advantage, and how customers see your product value versus alternatives. 

 

Using competitive benchmarking for an edge in the market

This kind of competitor research can be invaluable when it comes to selling today and investing for future growth. Competitive benchmarking can:

  • Indicate what features that customers value the most for more effective messaging and marketing campaigns
  • Help you determine pricing strategies for promotions and premium add-ons
  • Equip sales teams with offers and communications tools that open solid leads and close deals 
  • Provide insights for investments in product development that will continue to differentiate your offer 

 

Conducting competitive research for benchmarking products and services

Competitive benchmarking requires comprehensive and accurate information. We recommend a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches. Qualitative approaches can provide metrics around sales volume, share of market, and pricing. Qualitative approaches give you in-depth insights into what customers value, their pain points, and future needs. Examples of these approaches include:

 

  • High-level market scan: Talking to former heads of marketing and/or sales at competitors for their unique perspectives on products, marketing and sales programs, distributor networks, and how the market perceives certain features.
  • Precise feature analysis: Connecting with former heads of product at competitors or a distributor who distributes competitive products can provide detailed information about current features and areas for future development.
  • Feature comparison survey: The findings from the quantitative phases can inform a large survey of customers on their thoughts about various features and future needs.
  • Advertising/positioning: Round out competitor research with a second round of qualitative research with former senior marketing executives and agency leaders for competitors to capture insights into their brand strategy and marketing initiatives. 

 

Reaching the right people is the key to accurate competitive benchmarking 

For competitive research to be truly useful, you will need to find, recruit and engage very specific groups of respondents. You need people with first-hand, in-depth, and recent market knowledge. 

Finding customers, employees, agencies, and distributors who can provide insights straight from the source is not a simple task. 

That is why NewtonX has reinvented B2B market research using technology like AI and automation. We know how to find the exact right minds and then apply the most efficient approaches for competitive benchmarking research.

Done well, competitive research gives your company the edge in profit margin, expanding market share, increasing revenue, and winning customers.

Sign up for our newsletter, NewtonX Insights:

Your playbook to making confident business decisions enabled by B2B research. Expect market research trends, tools, and case studies with leading enterprises, delivered monthly.

Related Content

The Future of B2B Market Research is NewtonX Custom Recruiting

It’s time for a sea change in how market research happens.

read more

What is the true cost of bad data?

Poor quality data costs the US $3 trillion each year. There has to be a better way, and we believe we've found it. Read on.

read more

NewtonX Overview One-sheet

NewtonX is the world's leading B2B research company. Discover how we spotlight the world's brightest minds across 1.1billion professionals and 140 industries.

read more