A classmate among my followers found me and asked me to help him comment on the competitive product analysis . The delivery was very serious, but I felt like it was going in the wrong direction. So I’m going to write down some of my experiences and insights in doing competitive product analysis.

01 Conclusion

State the conclusion directly. As I understand it, a complete competitive product analysis consists of the following parts:

1. Data

• Fundamental data to understand the size and position of competitors in the market
• Data trends, understand the changing trends of overall data of competing products

2. Products

• Core competitiveness, analysis of core function characteristics, detailed data, and user reviews.
• Competitive product main function analysis Competitive product main function features, detailed data, user evaluation
• Competitive product development Competitive product development trends, understand the past, present, and future development trends of competitors

3. Users

• Core users, the most loyal user group of competitors
• Mainstream users, occupying the largest user group
• User composition, the proportion of each user group

4. Operation

• Number of people and morale of the product team
• Team recruitment direction and type
• Business target assessment

5. Principles of Competitive Product Analysis

• Competitive product analysis is not a one-time task, it is an ongoing task
• Don’t rely on templates for competitive analysis

02 Specific Analysis

1. Data

When we analyze a product, there are two types of data to pay attention to, namely fundamental data and trend data.

Fundamental data include but are not limited to:

• Number of daily active users of the product
• Weekly active users
• Monthly Active Users
• Duration of use
• Frequency of use

Trend data reflects the changing trends of products. like:

• Product growth in a year
• Changes in usage time
• Data changes before and after major version iterations
• Data changes before and after a large number of launches
• Data changes before and after major events

By looking at data and trends together, we can eliminate the dross and retain the essence to get a relatively thorough truth. In this way, we can know the development status of the product, whether it is in an upward phase, a stable phase, or a declining phase. This is undoubtedly an important part of the data side.

We can obtain data through third-party statistical tools, such as QuestMobile. In addition, you can also check the Baidu Index and Micro Index to observe public opinion data. In addition, the rankings and download volumes of Apple apps and major Android markets are also data for reference.

However, it should be noted that there may be differences in the statistical calibers of various parties, and the core data of competitors is sensitive information that cannot be accurately obtained. The focus is on the magnitude of the data , not the absolute value. What we need to do is use this as a reference.

Therefore, the goal of competitive product analysis on the data side is to determine the size and position of the product.

2. Products

Let’s look at a case first.

Visually it is a rich and detailed deliverable. Almost every PM will do a competitive analysis of product features, exhaustively review every page of the product and then output a huge and cumbersome mind map. It is not qualified to complete the competitive product analysis here. Because functional level analysis is only a small branch of competitive product analysis.

Products are the expression of business. The core functions of each product directly or indirectly achieve business goals. Some make you spend money, some make you immerse yourself in time, some deliberately provoke your emotional fluctuations, and some let you gain new knowledge.

The life cycle of a product has different emphases at different stages, and the entry points at the beginning are also different. The entry points of products on the same track may be completely different. For example, in the same social track, some products focus on communication (telegram), some products use content to immerse users (Xiaohongshu), and some products use vertical scenarios to convert users (Weiguang, Costudy). Different teams, different stages, and different resources will make products on the same track choose different evolutionary paths.

Therefore, the goal of competitive analysis on the product side is to understand the product evolution path .

I have two personal methods:

• Read the full release log
• Use https://web.archive.org/ to view official website information at different times

The release log will tell us what was done at different times, and you can easily find the key points of each stage.

The value of an official website is like a business card. One page clearly explains the value of the product. Every major version or direction adjustment will correspond to an update of the official website. Both paths can help us unravel the mystery and find clues.

Most product managers are able to keenly understand the functional structure of their products. It is also easy to distinguish core functions and basic functions. All features are sorted out without omission, but filling the work deliverables in an exhaustive way is a bit of a misalignment.

3. Users

As we delve deeper into data and product research, we will gradually gain more real information. At this point, we should also start analyzing the user level.

A product has many functions, and most mainstream users only use 20% of them, but core users may use 80%. Take the data collection products I have worked on as an example:

Core users are an important part of the product

• They are active and sensitive, friendly to new features and willing to try them out
• High integration of business and products
• To a certain extent, their demands will affect the evolution of the product

Mainstream users are the majority of the product

• Most are too lazy to do extra research
• The operations are all on the core functional path, just use the form to collect data and then export and leave

For the former, it is a product advantage and also a reference for the direction of evolution.

For the latter, it is the basic plate and the foundation of the product

Products serve users, and user needs guide product evolution. The more you understand your users, the better products you can make. Therefore, the goal of competitive product analysis on the user side is to actually engage with the user and establish a core/mainstream user profile .

External teams cannot understand user data information, but they can also think of ways to find clues:

• Enter WeChat groups, QQ groups, and fan groups for a closer look
• Monitoring public opinion on social media

When obtaining user feedback and evaluation of a certain function, many interesting discoveries can be obtained. We can understand users’ real attitudes and whether a feature is recognized or not. Complaints and comments can inspire us to think in new ways.

4. Operation

The last part talks about the operational level, which is also rarely involved in many competitive product analyses. The evolution of a product is the result of the joint efforts of a team. You will encounter different opportunities and challenges. Sometimes we encounter technical barriers, sometimes we encounter business problems, and most of the time we face revenue pressure.

for example:

• Start recruiting high-level technical talents, most likely to prepare for new business or the team has technical debt to deal with
• Changes in the core team are likely due to management adjustments.
• Starting cross-industry cooperation is likely to be the beginning of investigating new business opportunities

Therefore, the goal of competitive product analysis on the operational side is to understand the daily life of the business and team changes .

If you don't work in the other team, it will be difficult to get all the information, but you can also find some clues from the side. I usually start from these aspects:

• Observe the recruitment website to see what new positions, levels and types have been added recently
• Observe the media to see if there are any recent news on financing or other information.
• Communicate with headhunters about personnel changes in the other team, what projects have been suspended, and what projects have been launched

The performance of the product in the competitive product analysis is already the final result, and the process under the iceberg may be more meaningful for reference. We can infer the adjustments and development of its business direction through the changes in its competitors. In addition, financial situation and team situation are also very important information for product managers, which helps them grasp the competitive situation.

03 Conclusion

Finally, let me say a few words about what I think are the working principles of competitive product analysis.

1. Competitive product analysis is not a one-time task but an ongoing task

Many product managers have a misunderstanding that competitive product analysis is a one-time thing. They think that after spending a few days analyzing a product and completing a report, the competitive product analysis is complete. In fact, this is not the case.

Competitive product analysis is an integral part of PM work. A one-time task is to fire a blank shot, which requires gradual improvement over time to reach the level of being familiar with it. The four aspects mentioned above are not separate. When we analyze a product, these parts are often carried out simultaneously and continuously.

My personal habit is this:

• Simultaneously analyze the four dimensions of "function, data, user, and operation"
• Small observations in the monthly dimension and large observations in the seasonal dimension
• Clean up the competitor list every six months and remove/add products

2. Don’t rely on templates for competitive analysis

I find that many students now like to use templates when doing product work, and work such as competitive product analysis often uses the book "The Elements of User Experience: User-Centered Product Design" as a template. Many videos and articles on the Internet that introduce PM beginners have recommended this book. This book was also my enlightenment book back then. It proposed that: Web products include product design elements at the strategy layer, scope layer, structure layer, framework layer, and presentation layer.

I have seen many product managers use these five elements as a template to do competitive product analysis, but I do not agree with doing competitive product analysis based on the book "Elements of User Experience".

The reason is that these five layers are macro ideas, and in addition to macro strategies, competitive product analysis is more important to implement the details .

Drawing a product’s navigation function through a mind map and adding your own comments can only be considered a partial interface analysis and a partial competitive product analysis.

As the saying goes, knowing yourself and your enemy will ensure victory in a hundred battles. However, many product managers only analyze competitors on a superficial level and lack a keen observation of data. There is a lack of collection and mastery of concrete intelligence. The final deliverable is more based on one's own ideas and subjective logical judgment, rather than objective decision-making support .

Therefore, competitive product analysis should not be just a one-time task, but a daily routine for product people.

After working on the ground, the PM will form a concrete and deep understanding of the competitors. Such daily training will give you a keener product sense and more valuable insights, which is also the muscle memory I have always advocated.

When you are exposed to real data and fresh user feedback, they will leave a mark on every decision you make. This exercise is far more valuable than drawing fancy mind maps. The depth of your research will allow you to gain new knowledge and subtly improve the quality of your insights, ultimately supporting you in delivering higher quality products.

Every day we advance one step at a time, there is no end to our efforts, and our efforts will not be in vain until they reach the sea.

Author: Ma Xiwen

Source: maxiwenfine