What kind of competitive product analysis do we need?

I have recently read a lot of articles related to competitive product analysis , including e-commerce , fitness, community, etc. In fact, it doesn’t matter what type it is. What’s important is that in these competitive product analyses, at least above six levels, they can only be defined as product experience reports , or even stacked articles. Today, I would like to discuss this recent case. What kind of competitive product analysis do we need?

Contents of this article:

1. Competitive product analysis concept definition
2. The Problem with Most Failed Competitive Analysis
3. Purpose of Competitive Analysis
4. Unqualified competitive product analysis case
5. Valuable competitive product analysis ideas
6. summary

1. Definition of competitive product analysis

Competitive product analysis involves both objective and subjective factors.

Objective data

What is objectivity? Objectivity means collecting relevant competing products on the market, selecting some or all observation angles, and obtaining relevant data of each competing product through comparison, without any subjective or conjectural opinions.

Data content:

1. Market environment : What is the production status of this type of product in the current market industry, blue ocean/red ocean/stable?
2. User portrait : user social attributes, user behavior habits, user consumption habits, etc.
3. Product pain points : can also be understood as user pain points. Why do users use this product? What is the irreplaceable point of this product?
4. Usage environment : Under what conditions is the product triggered for use?

Subjective thinking

Subjective can be understood as the user is me, and I am the user. It is a conclusion of process simulation. By using an overall record after using each competitor's products, we can compare our own products, analyze their respective advantages and disadvantages, and put forward relevant improvement suggestions !

Analyze content and five dimensions of user experience :

1. Strategic level : product positioning, subsequent product development direction, and essential trade-offs.
2. Scope layer : the functions of the product, what can the product satisfy users, or what can it provide to users?
3. Structural layer : The functional structure of the product, usually accompanied by a self-made product functional structure diagram, or a comparison with the client's framework. One of the difficulties is how to aggregate the scattered functions into a whole that can be presented to users for interpretation;
4. Framework layer : This aspect involves an interactive experience. What kind of interaction can better cater to the user's operating habits?
5. Presentation layer : A good aesthetic and good expression are required to make a brief description. The color scheme, text size, spacing, etc. of the product UI are often not the main subjects of explanation.

2. The Problem with Most Unqualified Competitive Product Analysis

First of all, let’s make it clear that there is nothing wrong with this kind of report!

We have provided you with such a clear format for beginners, what else do you want?

Then why do I say that many competitive product analysis reports can only be regarded as product experience reports, or even stacked reports?

That’s simply because the content of this type of competitive product analysis report includes: objective data content + 5 dimensions of competitive products summarized without thinking!

The result is: thousands of words are basically just piling up a bunch of data, and after half an hour of reading, the reader is left saying: what are you doing!

So, let’s get back to the basics first - what is the purpose of competitive product analysis?

3. Purpose of Competitive Product Analysis

Here, we don’t talk about high-sounding empty words, we are down-to-earth:

1. Analyze the advantages of competitors, combine them with your own products, learn from them and innovate;
2. Analyze the shortcomings of competitors, learn from them, avoid pitfalls of your own products, and even further optimize them to turn waste into treasure;
3. Returning to our own products, we need to clearly identify our essential competitiveness. Simply put, what are the essential advantages and disadvantages of our products compared to our competitors, and how to better leverage their strengths and avoid their weaknesses.
4. Think and summarize, repeat the above three points.

4. Analysis of unqualified competitive products

First, let's introduce a general framework

Background + 5 layers + summary, it looks very harmonious, and the B style is also good.

Then, a bunch of data

For example, the development background of competitors, the surge/decline index of competitors’ popularity, or what kind of function was added in what time period.

The data is very detailed. We clearly guide this competitor's roots and hair. We are more familiar with his birth background, growth trajectory, success and failure than their "parents"

Next, let’s analyze the five strategic layers.

In other words, let's talk about something that we actually don't know what real effect it has after reading it.

Finally, it is necessary to summarize

But after this entire competitive analysis, what have we gained? All I can say here is that I'm completely confused.

5. Focus on thinking! Valuable ideas for competitive product analysis!

Returning to the first outline, and extending and supplementing the definition of competitive product analysis, you can actually find the answer.

Market Environment

(1) What is the market situation of this type of product and what is the profit ratio, and then decide whether to join the long march

This is a prerequisite for judging whether it is worthwhile for you to undertake the project, rather than simply writing about the market background, whether it is in the limelight or has entered a stable state, etc. What we want is a conclusion, a reference conclusion.

(2) What are the main dissemination channels and profit-making methods for this type of product in the market?

This part is often easily overlooked in competitor analysis. The purpose of communication channels is to understand how to attract users, and profit-making methods are the fundamental guarantee for the production of your product. You need to analyze and understand the methods of different competitors and avoid the advantages of the giants, because you probably can't compete with them. Understand their weak points, because that is where you can make your mark.

User Profile

(1) Understand your target users through competing products and analyze the impact of their social attributes/user habits/consumption habits

• Social attributes can determine the spending power of your group;
• User habits can serve as a reference for your product hierarchy layout;
• Consumption habits can give you clearer guidance on what kind of operation methods to use to appropriately push various consumption-guiding information to users.

(2) Instead of telling you directly that the users are college students, they like simple and direct things, and they like games and sports. This is a performance, and what we want is to find the root cause through the performance.

• College students have the ability to spend ahead of time, which makes them very suitable for installment payments and IOUs;
• College students like things that are simple and crude, so your product interface must be clear and concise, you cannot set too many hierarchical paths, and your function buttons must be simple and crude enough to be understood at a glance.
• Information like this is what we should have in our competitive product analysis.

Product Pain Points

This is a bit like falling in love. Why should I be nice to you? Because I love you. Why should I use your product? Because your product has one, two, three, four, and five functions.

Let me give you an example. I like fitness, but I am a loser who has no money and no time to go to the gym. What should I do? Then I fell in love with a fitness app: HI Sports.

What attracted me to him was:

1. Create an exercise plan based on my current body shape
2. Ability to change the plan according to my exercise intensity
3. Segmented, chaptered, short-duration video tutorials

This is the surface, and it is also the bottom where many competitive product analyses stop: What does he have?

However, what we need is, why can its functions attract users?

Taking the HI exercise above as an example, its essential factors are:

1. Teach students in accordance with their individual needs:

Different recommendation results can be obtained for different groups, which is similar to the popular collaborative algorithm. Because your initial definition is different, the things I recommend to you are also different.

The feeling given to users is "good, suitable for my current stage", "tailor-made for me", "very scientific, very authoritative and trustworthy at first glance"

2. Humanization:

Let users know that we are not static. We will make adjustments based on your preferences so that users can feel that we are improving with you. Letting the product itself interact with the user is a good way of thinking.

3. Users have strong autonomy and initiative

Users can pause all videos at any time. Each video is divided into ten or twenty sections, and each section does not exceed 2 minutes.

As a user, I have full control over everything and can start a workout anytime, anywhere, which makes me instantly ahead of the competition.

Only when users feel that they are in control can they fall in love with you.

Usage Environment

In what environment is the user using it? Many competing products have been written about, and then! That’s all?

I just want to say:

"I want, what's the use of this environment!?"

After telling me the environment, shouldn’t there be a corresponding conclusion? Any data without a concluding summary is really just a pile of data!

Let’s take an example:

Everyone has experienced ground-based marketing activities , but in 2020, Meituan , Didi , and Jiazheng are almost everywhere.

Main environment: roadside! roadside! roadside!

Don’t stop analyzing here. The usage environment is roadside, then what?

Then they need users to scan the code , what is the early strategy? Scan the QR code to download the APP and receive a gift!

Are you kidding me? I'm on my way to/from get off work, where do I find the time to download it for you? Even if I had the time, where would I get so much traffic ?

Regarding the time, can we launch a QR code and ask users to go back and download and install it, and then come back to claim the gift the next day after using it?

Regarding traffic, if you really need to operate on the spot, can you cooperate with nearby stores and borrow their wifi?

These are the significance of your analysis of the user's usage environment.

Five Dimensions of User Experience

That’s about it. The five-layer strategy can be summarized as follows:

（１）Strategic level

We need to compare the positioning and business model of our competitors to find an approach that suits us. Instead of simply writing down how they did it in the competitive product analysis report? What use is that to us?

(2) Scope layer

Can we meet the needs that competitors provide to users? If it is not possible, can we narrow down the scope of functions and make it more refined and detailed? If it is possible, can we expand the functionality? I don't ask for what others don't have, at least I am an expert at it.

(3) Structural layer

Experience the operating procedures of competing products. There are some differences between different competing products. Don’t stop at this step, analyze:

What is more useful is to understand why they are different and which processes can be simplified to reduce user costs.

(4) Framework layer

Thinking about interaction, the most direct user experience, here is a rough and direct example.

For a female product, the function keys are best located in the lower half of the screen. Considering that girls have small and delicate hands, they may not be able to reach the functions on the top of the screen with one hand, right?

(5) Presentation layer

Please find a designer you trust.

summary

Why is it called a summary instead of a conclusion? Because what needs to be summarized has been said above!

I've mentioned the last example and it's time to take a break. I feel my hands are really sore from typing so much. [Worship the typist]

When Steve Jobs said he didn't do market research, he was referring to innovation. There isn't much value in doing research on this, and Steve Jobs's vision is normally greater than that of ordinary people.

What would happen if we develop products without doing research? In fact, it goes without saying.

Therefore, what the competitors do is not the most important thing, and the competitive product analysis cannot just stay at this level. What is important is to think about:

1. Why would competitors do that?
2. What is their starting point?
3. Can we just blindly follow others without changing?
4. If not, what changes should we make?

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