The article “12 Tips for Doing Competitive Analysis” from AllBusiness.com identifies strategies for evaluating your competition and recognizing opportunities that you can exploit. With a good understanding of your competitors, you’ll be able to take advantage of their weaknesses and figure out how you can stand out in the market.

1. Become a customer. Visit competing establishments, ask questions and take notes. You’ll learn a lot about your competition and what you should be doing in your own business.
2. Investigate your competition. Along with investigating competing companies, do some research on the people who run them. Where have they worked? How long have they been in business? What’s their reputation? This will help you anticipate your competitors’ moves.
3. Buy stock in your competitors. While this not might necessarily apply to your business, it reinforces the notion of learning as much as possible about your competition. Buying stock in a competitor would allow you to gain valuable information about the company.
4. Talk to your competitors’ customers. Why do they buy from your competitors? Is it because of the quality of the product or service, the price, the location, the customer support, or just habit? What do they wish that company would provide?
5. Use the Internet. Visit your competitors’ websites, blogs, and social media accounts.
6. Check Public filings. Public information can be a great source of information about you competition and the market in general.
7. Get to know local librarians. Librarians are often research aficionados and can save you tons of time when performing market research.
8. Attend industry conferences and trade shows. “Attending conferences and trade shows is one of the best ways to get to know your competition and the nature of your business on a larger scale,” the author writes.
9. Assess the competition’s goals. Your competitors’ tactics can tip you off to their larger goals. For example, a competitor trying to increase its market share will likely cut prices. Knowing their goals will help you anticipate and respond to their strategies.
10. Be aware of the potential for new competition. Always be prepared for the possibility of the competitors entering the market.
11. Don’t delegate the job of keeping up with competitors. It’s usually a good idea to delegate as many tasks as possible, but this one is too important.
12. Define the competition broadly. Consider indirect competition as well as direct competition. Try to look at it from the perspective of you customer. Why should they spend their valuable time and money with you?

Click here to read the entire article from AllBusiness.com.