How to Keep a Check on Your Competitors Through Market Research

Aug 22

Originally published on Feb 14, 2023 · Updated on August 21, 2025

You work hard to market your brand effectively. But what if your competitors have found a way to gain an edge? Even if you’re doing everything “right” with your own marketing, a competitor can shift the rules and leave you scrambling.

That’s why competitive market research is essential. It helps you track your competitors’ strategies, spot new opportunities, and adapt before they pull ahead. In this guide, we’ll explore proven techniques for monitoring competitors and using those insights to strengthen your own brand strategy.

Why Competitive Market Research Matters

Markets don’t stand still. New tools, platforms, and players appear constantly. Keeping tabs on your competitors allows you to:

Understand how they’re positioning themselves
Spot gaps or weaknesses you can capitalize on
Anticipate trends in your industry
Stay top-of-mind with your target audience

1. Monitor Competitors’ Social Media Presence

Social media is often the first place brands test new campaigns, tone, or offers. By monitoring your competitors’ social media marketing strategies, you can quickly see what resonates with their audience, and what doesn’t.

Questions to ask:

What platforms are they most active on? (Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube?)
How often do they post and what formats do they use? (Reels, carousels, long-form posts?)
What language do customers use in comments? (This is keyword gold for your own campaigns.)
How do they respond to complaints or questions?

Tools like Hootsuite, Sprout Social, or Brandwatch can streamline social listening and competitor tracking.

2. Analyze Competitors’ Email Marketing & Customer Communication

Your competitors’ email campaigns can reveal a lot about their audience engagement. Subscribe to their lists and track:

Subject line style (personalized vs. generic)
Frequency of emails
Types of offers and CTAs

To go deeper, tools like Owletter or MailCharts can scan and analyze their email trends.

Don’t stop there, try interacting with their customer support (via email or live chat). Ask a general question about sizing, pricing, or services. Pay attention to:

Response time
Personalization
Tone of communication

These small insights can show you where your customer experience outshines theirs, or where you need to improve.

3. Evaluate Competitors’ Websites and SEO

A competitor’s website is their digital storefront, and one of the easiest places to analyze strengths and weaknesses.

When comparing your site to theirs, look at:

Navigation – Is their site easier to use?
Design – Do they feel modern and clean, or outdated?
Content – Do they offer blogs, videos, or downloadable resources you don’t?
SEO performance – Which keywords are they ranking for?

Tools like SpyFu, Ahrefs, or SEMrush can uncover:

Which paid keywords they’re bidding on
What organic keywords they rank for
How much traffic they get and from where

4. Stay Alert to Rising Competitors

You likely know your biggest competitors already, but what about the emerging players? New brands can disrupt the market quickly.

Ways to track rising competitors:

SEMrush Market Explorer – identifies new entrants and keyword overlaps
Google Alerts – set alerts for industry keywords or product types
Local directories & industry forums – discover new businesses before they scale

Customer surveys are also powerful. Ask: “Where else do you shop?” or “Which competitors did you consider before choosing us?” These answers help you uncover hidden threats.

5. Consult with Experts for Deeper Insights

Competitive market research can be time-consuming, especially with multiple competitors across channels. Partnering with marketing experts can save you time while providing deeper insights.

At Personalized Creative, we use professional tools and years of experience to:

Benchmark your brand against competitors
Identify untapped opportunities
Build data-driven strategies tailored to your audience

Final Thoughts

Competitor research isn’t about copying, it’s about learning, adapting, and innovating. By tracking your competitors’ social media, emails, websites, and new market entrants, you’ll spot opportunities faster and strengthen your brand’s positioning.

With a clear strategy, you’ll stay one step ahead and ensure your brand isn’t just keeping up, but leading the way.

digital marketingmarketingmarket researchdigital strategymarketing strategy

Sarah Bell