Lesson 2 of 5
Read a competitor like an analyst
Who you really compete with, and the gap they leave
The idea
If you bake birthday cakes at home, your competitor isn't a supermarket chain. It's the other cake maker in town, the café that bakes on Fridays, and the customer's own oven.
- 1
Same thing, same way
The other cake maker
- 2
Same job, another way
The café, the supermarket, baking at home
- 3
Your league
Similar price, similar customers, similar reputation
Compare yourself with what a customer really puts side by side. A famous brand they'd never pay for doesn't count.
What to read about each one
Their first sentence
What they claim to be
Their offer
The first step, and what makes it feel safe
Their prices
How they package and what they put first
Their proof
Reviews, examples, numbers
Where they post
And which posts do better than usual
Their three-star reviews
What their customers still miss
Must-haves, differences and the map
Sort it
1 of 6
A film studio: must-have or difference?
“A showreel on the homepage”
Now draw a simple map. Pick two things customers care about, place each rival on it, and look for the empty corner customers would actually like.
↑ One supplier
A small studio for film and photos
One brief, made for the feeds: a corner to try
A big production company
Everything in one place, at TV budgets
A videographer plus a photographer
Two briefs, two invoices
An agency with freelancers
Big campaigns, long timelines
↓ Several suppliers
One last test: could a rival copy your corner next month? If so, it's not a real gap.
Today, with AI
Studying a rival used to take an afternoon. Now AI can read their site, posts and ads in minutes, and point out which posts did better than usual.
Customers do the same thing. They ask an assistant to compare you with two names, so what your rivals say shapes how you're described.
What AI does well
Reading many rivals side by side, spotting the sentence they all use, and noticing changes each week.
Where it goes wrong
It can't see private numbers like sales, and it guesses if you ask. It also adds famous names that aren't your real rivals.
What stays yours
Choosing which rivals matter, and which gap you'll take.
Check yourself
Do it in the studio
- 01
Open Your report → Competitors. Remove any that aren't really your rivals with Not a competitor — remove it.
free - 02
One missing? Add its domain and name, free. Or press Find competitors like this to look for more like it.
20 credits - 03
Under Documents, Read Competitor analysis. Note each rival's must-haves and differences.
free - 04
Study your closest rival with Spy on a competitor on their website, 25 credits. Or read their homepage, prices and three-star reviews yourself.
free - 05
Draw your map on paper. Write your empty corner in In your own words → Where I am taking it. Then press Save — the team reads it from now on.
free
Done when You can name three real rivals, what you must match, and the corner none of them owns.
Go deeper
University courses on the same topic, if you want to go further.
Duke Fuqua
Marketing ManagementCustomers, competitors and your own company, looked at together
Kellogg
Marketing Strategy for Growth and Defense (MKTG-466-0)Competing and defending your place, with a market game