Competitor research should help you understand the options a customer weighs. The alternatives may include another business, doing the task themselves or delaying it altogether. Looking only at businesses with a similar logo or product category can miss the real competition for the customer's time and attention.
The Small Business Administration recommends examining competition by product or service and market segment, including indirect competitors. The worksheet below is an original practical method for a small business. It uses publicly available information and does not require pretending to be a customer or seeking confidential material.
Start with a customer decision
Choose a specific situation, such as a shop owner needing product photographs before a promotion. List plausible alternatives: a freelance photographer, an agency, a staff member using a phone, a reusable image supplier or postponing the promotion. Each option solves the task differently and has different constraints.
Describe what the customer must evaluate: quality suitable for the channel, timing, effort, cost and permission to use the output. These dimensions create a meaningful comparison. A feature list unrelated to the purchase decision can make your research longer without making it more useful.
Use a consistent worksheet
Give each alternative a row with the offer, intended audience, stated process, publicly stated price if available, delivery expectations and important boundaries. Record the source URL and the date checked. Use “not found” when information is absent; do not treat an undisclosed price as free or assume a missing feature does not exist.
Separate observations from interpretations. “Website says delivery within five business days after the shoot” is an observation. “They are slower than us” is an interpretation that requires a matching comparison. Your own process may start the clock at a different point or depend on customer approval.
Look for customer effort
Evaluate what customers must supply and decide. One provider may include a briefing call, while another expects a completed shot list. A low-price option may require the shop owner to manage equipment, editing and file organisation. Those differences can matter more than an extra deliverable in a package.
For the photography example, a staff member's phone may be a sufficient alternative for quick social updates. A professional service needs to explain when its process adds value, such as preparing consistent images for a catalogue. It should not dismiss the cheaper option if it meets the customer's actual task.
Turn a difference into a test
Suppose several providers describe image quality, but their preparation requirements are unclear. A possible difference for your own offer is a clear preparation checklist and a defined briefing process. That is a hypothesis about useful clarity, not proof that it will attract customers.
Test the description with people facing the task. Ask what they would need to do, what remains unclear and how they would compare it with their current approach. Observe whether actual enquiries mention that clarity. Do not copy another provider's wording, visual identity or claims as a shortcut to differentiation.
- Define the customer situation and decision criteria.
- Include direct, indirect and do-it-yourself alternatives.
- Compare matching specifications and clock definitions.
- Record source dates and missing information honestly.
- Separate observations from your interpretation.
- Choose a useful difference and test whether customers value it.
Set a review rhythm
Review the worksheet when your offer changes or when a relevant market event affects customer choices. Continuous checking can become a distraction from serving customers. Keep a short list of meaningful questions and update only the information needed to answer them.
Public information is incomplete and can change. A competitor's website does not reveal their capacity, cost structure or every service they provide. Use the research as context for your own decisions, alongside customer conversations and actual delivery experience. The goal is an offer that fits a real task, with differences you can explain and support.
Sources and further reading
This original guide was prepared with AI assistance. Examples are illustrative. The edition date is an assigned date in this 2026 catalogue. See our editorial policy and report a correction.