8 milkshake
dive into how your competition markets itself.
Conducting this research will help you figure
out what they’re doing well, pinpoint gaps in
their strategies, and determine how you can
take advantage of these with future marketing
initiatives.
“In the court of public opinion, you need to
know what your competitors are doing, or not
doing, that your prospective buyers perceive as
being good, bad, etc.,” Helms says. “The court
of public opinion rules, meaning ‘perception
rules.’ But if you don’t know all the ins and
outs of determining how your competition
is swaying public opinion on a broad—or
even a micro—scale, you will not see the real
opportunities.”
Sadly, as Helms and other marketers will
attest, this scenario unfortunately is way too
common. Most marketers do not understand
how to glean the actual strategy a competitor
is operating off of—or lack of one—to be able
to see their own opportunities or barriers.
What marketers like Helms continue to see is
that they connect with competitors and see
what they are putting out in terms of content
or messaging—or even traffic—and try to
emulate their competitors in that regard.
“This only serves to continue to market the
industry instead of how they are different or
their competitive advantage,” says Helms. “That
is why you see so many companies saying
nearly the same thing. And, in essence, they
are mucking up their own USP (unique selling
proposition) by saying the same thing everyone
else is saying. That too, is unfortunately very
prevalent.”
Getting above the noise
In today’s marketplace, where everyone is
assaulted with texts, notifications, “community”
SMS services, and a variety of things that make
sure we don’t miss out on the latest viral thing,
it is way too easy to get drowned out in all
the noise. All you have to do is Google some
service or product and you will get 1.89 million
results in .095 seconds.
That’s why David Brier believes it is absolutely
imperative that you know the amount of “noise”
your brand is competing against when you
enter the fray. The Fast Company blogger and
founder of DBI International has made a career
out of understanding that noise. Through the
years, the award-winning veteran has earned
330-plus international industry recognitions
for his branding, rebrands, design and brand
strategy efforts.
“The client’s technology was on the forefront
of many changes in e-commerce, forced in
part by the pandemic, and definitely becoming
permanent,” Helms says. “With several layers of
target audiences, the reconnaissance showed
the major gaps with their bigger competitors’
targeting, and uncovered their strategy, which
was void of speaking of the newest trends and
changes changing the industry.”
The discovery turned out to be a major coup
for JOTO’s client, enabling it to be the first
to market with this messaging/position, and
thereby dominating the news channels where
their decision makers were researching to
find solutions to their problems. The client’s
marketing personnel end up assuming the
reconnaissance, and further finding the gaps
in the marketing content and advertising
channels.
When it comes to competitive recon, the
approach is simple, but effective. After learning
more about your ideal customer, you must
take a closer look at how your competition is
going after them. This means taking a deep
IN THE
COURT
OF
PUBLIC
OPINION, YOU
NEED TO KNOW
WHAT YOUR
COMPETITORS
ARE DOING, OR
NOT DOING,
THAT YOUR
PROSPECTIVE
BUYERS PERCEIVE
AS BEING GOOD,
BAD, ETC.”
— KARLA JO HELMS, FOUNDER/
CHIEF EVANGELIST, JOTO PR
DISRUPTORS™
February 2022