How to Get Competitive and Category Analysis Right
Understanding how a category looks and sounds, so a brand can decide where to fit and where to differ.
Priya Raghunathan
What is at stake
Differentiation requires knowing what is already claimed, and most categories have conventions that are expensive to break and expensive to ignore.
The playbook
- Map what the category already claims before deciding a position
- Distinguish conventions that signal legitimacy from ones that are merely habit
- Look at adjacent categories for what could be borrowed
- Base the analysis on published evidence
- Repeat the analysis periodically
Where it goes wrong
Avoid:
- Differentiating by breaking a convention customers rely on
- Analysis based on internal assumptions about competitors
- Looking only at the two largest players
- Treating a one-off analysis as permanently valid
The numbers behind it
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Category codes | the visual and verbal conventions a category shares |
| Convention | some conventions signal legitimacy and cannot be discarded safely |
| Analysis scope | direct competitors, adjacent categories and substitutes |
| Evidence | what competitors actually publish, not what they claim internally |
| Refresh | categories shift, so analysis dates |
Getting outside help
When to hand it over: Bring in help when a category has become undifferentiated, when entering a new market, or when a competitor has repositioned significantly.
Where this comes from
- Nielsen Norman Group — Competitive analysis methods
- Interaction Design Foundation — Market and category research
- Google Search Central — Understanding search competition
The figures and practices above come from the sources listed.
Working on something like this?
We take on Brand & Identity Design work for teams who want it done once, properly. Tell us what you are building and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right studio for it. Start a project.
Where to go next
Spotted something wrong? Report an error on this page. We correct on the page and say what changed.
