Small business analytics is the silent driver of successful companies today.

 

“You don’t know what you don’t know."

A universal principle. Hoi Polloi learns new ways every day. We embrace learning. 

 

Many small business owners that know they need to use analytics — though they don’t. 

The problem is, there’s so much data available today that it can be overwhelming for a small business owner. Wrangling data (as they call it) takes the right skills, tools, metrics, and the right sources. 

 

Small data analytics provide actionable insights. Best of all they can also help you save money and time. Holloi Advisors offers inhouse analytics guidance and we also recommend tools to use as well. Here is a guide...

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Competitive Analysis

Not nearly enough small businesses startups engage in any form of formal competitor analysis. Wise Business Owners know it’s a road map for where your business can improve. 

 

A competitive analysis can help you learn the ins and outs of how your competition works, and identify potential opportunities where you can out-perform them. It also enables you to stay atop of industry trends and ensure your product is consistently meeting — and exceeding — industry standards.

 

What are the benefits of competitor analysis?

1) Enables you to identify what your competitor is doing right.

2) Tells you where your competitors are falling short

3) Fine-tune and Develop your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) Why your brand?

4) Improve Owned Products and Services. As your brand expands so will your customers' needs and expectations. ...

5) Establish a Brand Benchmark. ...

6) Identify Gaps in R&D and Hiring. ...

7) Discover Potential Threats

 

The competitor’s website and social media pages can be your starting point. The website and social accounts will give so many hints about their strategy and sales plan. 

 

Questions to ask: 

• Do they have customer reviews and testimonials on their website?

• Do they have the pricing on their website?

• Do you think their website appeals to a specific type of customers, e.g. students, females, executives, kids or ethnicity etc?

• Do they collect leads on their website and how, e.g. newsletter subscription, free download/trial etc.?

• How are they using social media?

• Do they have a brand story to tell? 

• How are they telling their brand story? Which media are they using?

• Do their products offer benefits that yours don’t? What are they?

• Do they promote any social cause on their website?

• Are they doing paid ads, as in PPC, AdWords or Facebook advertising?

 

User Experience

The key to SEO and conversions is a good user experience. It keeps people coming back to your website, blog or social media page. And a bad one can make you lose them forever.

 

Compare your own website with them:

• What’s the most impressive thing about their website when you first land there?

• Is it clear to a user at first glance what business they’re in and what value their product offers?

• What kind of content or functionality do they offer on their website to help their customers? (e.g. how-to videos, e-guides, price calculator, FAQs, live chat, etc)

• Is the navigation and important sections of the website easily accessible and comprehensible for a first-time user?

• Do the action buttons or lead capture forms stand out without being intrusive?

• What kind of visuals are they using and how impactful are they?

• Do they have a blog? How often are they posting on their blog?

• Do they have a mobile app? Should you have one too?

 

Customer Trust

It’s important to have “trust signals” such as testimonials, social proof etc. 

• Do they feature customer testimonials, product reviews, or social media comments?

• Do they offer a money back guarantee, after sale service, or other warranties?

• Do they boast about any awards, distinctions, achievements, affiliations, certifications, or trade union membership?

• In case of e-commerce, how reliable are the payment methods (PayPal, Mastercard, Visa) of the website?

 

A competitive analysis can vary widely depending on what it is you’re trying to learn about your competitors.

 

If you’re not sure what that is or how to do one, you’re in the right place.

 

At Hoi Polloi we have an Analyst. A fortunate circumstance. That often is not the case for many small businesses. We can guide you on securing a Competitive Analysis for your business.