Competitive Analysis
Write a 3–5-page executive report that analyzes a competitor’s product and marketing strategy, and explains how the competitive analysis can guide marketing decisions.
Note: You are encouraged to complete the assessments in this course in the order in which they are presented.
In the first assessment, you selected a company and product to study and then analyzed aspects of the product and company’s marketing strategy. In this assessment, you will analyze the competition for the product using a variety of information sources.
Suppose that you have now been hired by the company you selected, and have been asked to conduct a competitive analysis of the product you chose. Format this assessment as an executive report, and include a title page and reference page. Follow APA guidelines for citations and references.
Preparation
Think about the information that you will need to have in order to do a thorough competitive analysis:
- Which companies are considered competitors? Are they direct or indirect competitors?
- What types of information will you need to collect?
- What sources can you turn to that will have the types of information you are looking for?
- Companies that provide market information, such as the Nielsen Corporation.
- Trade publications.
- How will you organize the information you collect to make it useful to the company?
Assessment Requirements
In your Competitive Analysis, include the following:
- Identify the company’s top competitor and describe its product.
- Analyze the competition’s product.
- Compare the two products (your company’s and the competitor’s) in terms of:
- Market share.
- Product appeal.
- Growth potential.
- Unique selling proposition.
- Compare the two products in terms of features, benefits, and cost.
- How do consumers rate each product in these terms?
- Evaluate the marketing strategy of the competitor. What can the strategies used by a competitor tell you about organizational direction?
- Explain how this analysis will guide the marketing decisions of the company.
- Compare the two products (your company’s and the competitor’s) in terms of:
Additional Requirements
- Include a title page and reference page.
- Length: 3–5 double-spaced pages, not including title page and reference page.
- Number of resources: At least 4. Resources must be formatted according to current APA guidelines.
- Font: Times New Roman, 12-point.
Competitive Analysis Scoring Guide
Criteria | Proficient | Distinguished |
Correctly format citations and references using current APA style. | Correctly formats citations and references using current APA style with few errors. | Correctly formats citations and references using current APA style with no errors. |
Evaluate the marketing strategy of a company’s top competitor. | Evaluates the marketing strategy of a company’s top competitor. | Evaluates the marketing strategy of a company’s top competitor and shows a connection between marketing strategy, product success, and organizational direction. |
Write content clearly and logically with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics. | Writes content clearly and logically with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics. | Writes clearly and logically with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics; uses relevant evidence to support a central idea. |
Analyze the product of a company’s top competitor. | Analyzes the product of a company’s top competitor. | Analyzes the product of a company’s top competitor and identifies main areas where the competitor’s product is superior. |
Explain how a competitive analysis is used to guide marketing decisions. | Explains how a competitive analysis is used to guide marketing decisions. | Explains how a competitive analysis is used to guide marketing decisions; provides real world examples to support explanation. |