What is a Competitor Analysis?
A competitive or competitor analysis is the process of researching your competitors to better understand their strengths and weaknesses and then comparing that research to your own business to improve your operations and services.
This type of competitive knowledge is important because it allows you to understand your business’s place in the sector and can provide a competitive advantage, highlighting possible opportunities, such as partnerships, collaborations and additional services you might wish to provide.
Analysing competitive offerings and pricing in-depth will identify where you fit into the coaching landscape based on what you offer and how you price yourself.
Are you offering a high ticket or a low ticket offering?
What perception does your pricing give about your services if a consumer knows nothing else?
How much of the business’s focus should be around service or brand awareness vs sales?
Being knowledgeable about your competitors and what they offer as services will highlight where you fall short, where you excel, where you need to improve and what that looks like as a potential investment to a client.
Understanding your competition is a large part of business growth, especially when it comes to getting the price right.
Performing A Competitor Analysis
You know you need to compete when it comes to price.
What most of you won’t know is who your competitors are and how they stack up in the service and pricing department. Moreover, your competitors may not be whom you think.
Step 1: Prepare Your Analysis
To make this process easier for you, we have created this FREE Excel template.
Open A New Browser Window and open the following tabs.
Step 2: Identify Your True Competitors
Google is where you should start your primary research on your competition. A quick google search will help you narrow down the list of potential competitors. In most cases, these will be found on google maps, but in some cases, they won’t be.
In our spreadsheet, we’ve given you space for 15 competitors. This should be more than adequate but may need some note-taking to narrow this first list down.
Start with maps and define your central point by inputting your own business’s postcode.
Once this is done, click the Nearby Button.
At this stage, it’s time to start using search terms relevant to your business.
Search terms:
- Personal Training
- Personal Trainer
- Bootcamp
- Fitness
- Gyms
- Nutritional Services
- Nutrition
When you decide on the search term. At the top left of the map apply a filter for businesses with a 4.5 Star + Rating.
If you need more information, go to lower ratings.
Step 3: Collating Data
Start on the Competitor Demographics sheet and work business by business.
Input the following from your google search:
- Competitor Name
- Website
- Address
- Telephone Number
- Distance (This is from your premises)
- Facility/Individual
From Companies House:
- Business Years
- Business Structure
Competitor Analysis Sheet
Competitor Name and Address will automatically carry over into this sheet.
Input the following from your google search:
- Google Rating
- Number Of Reviews
- Opening Hours
The following information may be gathered from their google profile or website:
Services Offered
What do you get for your money? Either write a summary here or make a bulleted list for each business.
Partnerships
Do They offer discounts or have affiliations or partnerships with other aligned brands?
Price Transparency
Do they openly state and publish their prices
Service Price Comparison
Typical base services revolve around:
- One-on-one Coaching
- Small Group Coaching
- Bootcamp/Large Group Coaching
- Online Coaching
It’s then time to dig through google, and website data, send out some email enquiries or to even pick up the phone to these places and find out more information about their services and pricing.
Within the spreadsheet, the number of ‘package’ options is unlimited, so it may be worth taking some notes.
Some might not offer single sessions, and package numbers may vary.
Maximum Single Session Price
Their base or ‘single session’ price if they only offer monthly packages or bundles, must be based off their highest ticket offering. What is the maximum someone will pay for that service.
Minimum Single Session Price
This, should in this case, be based on what the cheapest package rate equates to. If someone has a package that is £1200 for 15 sessions this is £80 per session.
Whilst speaking to, or communicating with these businesses the more information you can find the better.
Ask questions such as:
Which are your best-selling packages and which ones do people tend to go for?
Do you offer trial sessions?
How do you allocate or find me the right coach for my goals?
How do you take payment?
Do sessions expire and what is your cancellation policy?
Always ask them to email any further data they can.
What the pricing data assists with.
A competitive pricing strategy is where the final prices on your services have been analysed, modified and evaluated against the prices of your competitors.
It equates to a higher market share for businesses that get it right.
Low Price, Low Entry and High Volume, Low Expectancy Of Personalised Service
Bootcamp and large group coaching models rely on lower-priced options. Because these models of coaching benefit from the economy of scale and you can ‘bulk’ coach so to speak it minimises time cost.
Matched Price, Matched Expectancy Service, Moderate Volume.
The prices of the services match the price that's offered by your competitors. The service features are the same or very similar, which is why coaches often, right or wrongly try to focus on trying to differentiate. So, if your service is the same price as your competitor - but the quality is better - then customers will be more inclined to choose you.
High Price, High Entry, High Expectancy Of Personalised Service, Low Volume.
The prices of your services are higher in comparison to your competitors. Suitable for a business that provides an exceptional level of service and an array of features and benefits that your competitors lack. This type of pricing occurs in the market where the brand is positioned well, is reputable, and consumers buy based on quality rather than price.
There are many more aspects to building and developing your business models. Many of which we explore in the ACA Business Acumen Course (Re-launching Jan 2023).