08 Competitor Research Global

Competitive Research (Global)

Information gathering

Ask user up to 4 questions before starting:

• What's your product / service? (Industry, price tier, primary audience)
• Name 2-5 competitors you know (brand names, page/TikTok/website links if available)
• What worries you most about competitors? (Cheaper pricing? Better content? Stronger ads? Market share?)
• Goal after this report? (Reposition? Improve content? Find market gap? Run ads more effectively?)

Auto-research via tools (if available)

A. Global research tools

| Tool | What it does | Free tier? |

|------|--------------|-----------|

| SimilarWeb | Website traffic estimation, top sources, competitor comparison | Yes (limited) |

| Ahrefs | SEO/backlink analysis, keyword competition | Trial only |

| Semrush | SEO, ads research, keyword gap, competitor traffic sources | Yes (limited) |

| Meta Ads Library | All competitor ads currently running on Meta — public, free | Yes (free) |

| TikTok Creative Center | Top performing ads by industry, region | Yes (free) |

| Minea | Dropshipping ad spy — top selling products on FB/TikTok | Trial only |

| AdSpy / BigSpy | Ad intelligence across platforms | Paid only |

B. Meta Ads Library (free, no signup needed)

For each competitor:

• Go to facebook.com/ads/library
• Filter by country + advertiser
• Note: format mix (video/image/carousel), hooks used, CTAs, run duration
• Compare against your ads -> find gaps and opportunities

C. Dropshipping-specific tools (Minea, Adspy, Pipiads)

For dropshipping competitor research:

• Minea — Track top FB/TikTok ads by product, find winning products
• Pipiads — TikTok Shop best sellers, ad performance data
• AdSpy — Search ads by keyword, advertiser, country

> See skill 29-dropshipping-mastery-global for full dropshipping research workflow.

3-tier competitor model

Categorize competitors into 3 groups — don't just look at direct competitors:

| Tier | Definition | Criteria | Example (Mid-tier Spa) |

|------|------------|----------|------------------------|

| Direct | Same tier, same offering, same audience | Same price, same service, same area | Spa B same street, similar pricing |

| Indirect potential | Different offering but substitutable | Customer might pick them instead | Cosmetic clinic, at-home skincare, home beauty devices |

| Secondary | Same offering, different price tier | Competes when budget shifts | Premium spa (customer downgrades), budget spa (upgrades) |

Selection rules

• Direct: pick 3-5 main competitors
• Indirect potential: pick 2-3 substitute categories
• Secondary: pick 1-2 competitors at adjacent price tier

Per-competitor analysis structure

For each competitor, analyze 8 dimensions:

1. Brand positioning

| Element | Content |

|---------|---------|

| Main message | [Slogan, tagline, brand promise] |

| Visual style | [Color tone, photo style, video quality] |

| Price tier | [Low / Medium / High / Premium] |

| Target audience | [Gender, age, income, interests] |

| Stated USP | [What do they claim is their differentiation?] |

2. Strengths and weaknesses

| Strengths | Weaknesses |

|-----------|------------|

| [List 3-5] | [List 3-5] |

3. Content strategy

| Metric | Value |

|--------|-------|

| Main channel | [Facebook / TikTok / Instagram / YouTube / Email] |

| Posting frequency | [X posts/week] |

| Priority format | [Short video / Carousel / Long post / Reels] |

| Tone of voice | [Professional / Friendly / Humorous / Educational] |

| Content angle mix | [TOFU X% / MOFU X% / BOFU X%] |

| Best performing content | [Top 3 highest engagement posts/videos] |

4. Channels and platforms

| Channel | Yes / No | Followers / Likes | Activity rating |

|---------|----------|-------------------|-----------------|

| Facebook Page | | | |

| TikTok | | | |

| Instagram | | | |

| YouTube | | | |

| LinkedIn | | | |

| Website | | | |

| Email | | | |

5. Ad spend estimation

Estimation method (no need for absolute precision):

| Signal | How to read |

|--------|-------------|

| Sponsored posts/month | Count "Sponsored" labeled posts in Meta Ads Library |

| TikTok video ad volume | TikTok Creative Center -> Top Ads -> filter by industry |

| Website traffic | SimilarWeb (free tier) or Semrush |

| KOL/UGC volume | Count brand-tagged videos on TikTok |

| Estimated metric | Value |

|------------------|-------|

| Active ads (Meta Ads Library) | [X ads] |

| Estimated monthly ad spend | [$X — based on ad count x avg CPM] |

| Has UGC/KOL? | [Yes/No — if yes, estimated X people] |

6. Audience overlap

| Element | Overlap level |

|---------|---------------|

| Geography | [High / Medium / Low] |

| Age | [High / Medium / Low] |

| Income | [High / Medium / Low] |

| Interests | [High / Medium / Low] |

| Channels used | [High / Medium / Low] |

7. Pricing and business model

| Product/service | Competitor price | Your price | Difference |

|-----------------|------------------|------------|------------|

| [SKU 1] | | | |

| [SKU 2] | | | |

| [SKU 3] | | | |

8. Threat level assessment

| Competitor | Threat level | Reason |

|------------|--------------|--------|

| [Name] | High / Medium / Low | [1 short sentence] |

SWOT — Your brand vs Competitors

SWOT summary table

| | Positive | Negative |

|---|---|---|

| Internal | STRENGTHS — Your strengths competitors don't have or are weaker at | WEAKNESSES — Your weak points competitors exploit |

| External | OPPORTUNITIES — Market gaps competitors haven't claimed | THREATS — Competitor trends/moves threatening you |

Detail

Strengths

| # | Strength | Which competitor weak here? | How to leverage |

|---|----------|----------------------------|-----------------|

| 1 | | | |

| 2 | | | |

| 3 | | | |

Weaknesses

| # | Weakness | Which competitor strong here? | How to fix |

|---|----------|------------------------------|------------|

| 1 | | | |

| 2 | | | |

| 3 | | | |

Opportunities

| # | Opportunity | Why competitors haven't done it? | Recommended action |

|---|-------------|----------------------------------|--------------------|

| 1 | | | |

| 2 | | | |

| 3 | | | |

Threats

| # | Threat | From which competitor? | Defense strategy |

|---|--------|------------------------|------------------|

| 1 | | | |

| 2 | | | |

| 3 | | | |

Positioning Map

2x2 matrix — pick 2 axes that fit your industry:

Default axes: Price x Perceived Quality

        HIGH QUALITY
             |
             |
  Comp C     |  [YOU]
  (cheap,    |  (mid price,
   good qual)|   good qual)
             |
------- LOW -------- HIGH ---- PRICE
             |
  Comp A     |  Comp B
  (cheap,    |  (high price,
   low qual) |   low qual)
             |
        LOW QUALITY

Alternative axes (by industry)

| X-axis (horizontal) | Y-axis (vertical) | Best for |

|---------------------|-------------------|----------|

| Price | Perceived quality | Spa, F&B, fashion |

| Traditional vs Modern | Mainstream vs Niche | Education, tech |

| Convenience vs Experience | Mass vs Premium | F&B, retail |

| Online vs Offline | Self-serve vs Full service | Service, SaaS |

How to read the map:

• Crowded corner = fierce competition, avoid
• Empty corner = gap to claim
• Heavy corner = many competitors, need strong differentiator

Find market gaps (Market Gap)

5 gap types framework

| Gap type | Check question | Finding |

|----------|---------------|---------|

| Product gap | What need are customers solving DIY because no one serves it? | |

| Price gap | What price tier has no one claimed? (between budget and premium) | |

| Channel gap | What channel are competitors ignoring? (Email? TikTok Shop? SEO?) | |

| Content gap | What angle hasn't been done? (behind scenes? educational? data-driven?) | |

| Experience gap | What customer journey step is no one doing well? | |

Gap evaluation

| Gap | Attractiveness (1-5) | Feasibility (1-5) | Priority |

|-----|---------------------|-------------------|----------|

| [Gap 1] | | | High / Medium / Low |

| [Gap 2] | | | |

| [Gap 3] | | | |

Content Benchmark — Best-performing competitor content

Top-performing content analysis

For each competitor, pick top 5 posts/videos by engagement in last 30 days:

| # | Competitor | Format | Angle | Views/Reach | Engagement | Why effective? |

|---|------------|--------|-------|-------------|------------|----------------|

| 1 | | | | | | |

| 2 | | | | | | |

| 3 | | | | | | |

| 4 | | | | | | |

| 5 | | | | | | |

Extract pattern

| Pattern | Description | Apply to you |

|---------|-------------|--------------|

| Common hook | [Hook style competitors use] | [Apply / Don't apply — reason] |

| Strong format | [Video/Carousel/Text most effective?] | |

| Posting time | [What hour, what day?] | |

| Common CTA | [What CTA type?] | |

| Viral element | [Common trait of effective content?] | |

Learn vs Don't copy

LEARN from competitors

| Lesson | From which competitor | How to apply |

|--------|----------------------|--------------|

| Effective content format | | [Adapt how] |

| Strong channel | | [Implementation] |

| Customer service | | [Improvement] |

| Pricing strategy | | [Adjustment] |

DON'T copy

| Don't copy | Reason | Do this instead |

|------------|--------|-----------------|

| Copy content verbatim | Lose identity, suffer comparison | Take idea, adapt to your brand voice |

| Race to the bottom (price) | Unsustainable | Compete on value, not price |

| Imitate positioning | Become "cheap copy" | Find unique angle, differentiate |

| Follow trends they did | Late, lost effectiveness | Find new trends or new angle on old |

Competitive moat assessment

| Moat type | Competitor has? | You have? | Action |

|-----------|-----------------|-----------|--------|

| Brand recognition — First-recall | | | |

| Network effect — More users = more attractive | | | |

| Switching cost — Hard for customers to leave | | | |

| Data advantage — Big customer data | | | |

| Content library — Large content library, strong SEO | | | |

| Community — Loyal community | | | |

| Distribution — Strong channel network | | | |

Action table

Priority recommendations

| # | Action | Based on finding | Urgency | Timeline |

|---|--------|------------------|---------|----------|

| 1 | | | High / Medium | Wk 1-2 |

| 2 | | | | Wk 2-4 |

| 3 | | | | Mo 2 |

| 4 | | | | Mo 3 |

| 5 | | | | Long-term |

Cross-reference

• Need deeper customer understanding? -> Use 09-customer-insight-global
• Want to reposition and write brief? -> Use 02-campaign-brief-global
• Need differentiated copy? -> Use 05-ad-copy-global
• Need competitive budget calculation? -> Use 10-reverse-kpi-global
• Need full marketing plan? -> Use 00-marketing-plan-global
• Dropshipping research? -> Use 29-dropshipping-mastery-global

Quality checklist

Before delivering report, check:

• [ ] Categorized competitors into 3 tiers (direct, indirect, secondary)
• [ ] Each competitor has all 8 analysis dimensions
• [ ] SWOT specific, not generic — each point names specific competitor
• [ ] Positioning map axes fit industry
• [ ] Found at least 3 market gaps
• [ ] Content benchmark has specific data (links, numbers), not vague observations
• [ ] "Learn vs Don't copy" section has specific actions
• [ ] Competitive moat assessed for both competitor and you
• [ ] Action table has timeline and urgency
• [ ] No unsupported claims — every conclusion has data or specific observation