How to get the inside edge on competitors

Challenger brands and those new to a market can often feel like they’re a bit behind the times when it comes to understanding what works, and what is a complete waste of time and money. Sure there’s lots you can do with desk research and going in store, but in the craziness of #doingitall, if you’re in a smaller team there’s often a big knowledge gap versus the market leaders. 

Rather than sitting and hoping that somehow you hit the lucky jackpot with your next campaign, packaging refresh or hot new product, or spending months (and tens of thousands of dollars) on a massive consumer insights study - try something a little different. 

Being nimble with your marketing and research, means doing enough research to remove the guesswork - AND pointing you in the right direction fast. If your competitors aren’t nimble enough or are stumbling around ‘hoping’ that something sticks - you’ll be able to get the leap on them when it comes to category reviews, getting your new campaign in market or launching into fast growing segments.

Large brands and incumbents often have massive research agencies and projects that can literally take weeks, or even months, to test packaging, creative or new product ideas. Sure they’ll get some crazy large powerpoint deck at the end of it… but will they REALLY get the speedy focused answers to actually get into action quickly? Unlikely… 

Half the battle in marketing is in the hidden part of ‘stakeholder management’ where you need to convince the boss, sales team or agency WHY your new packaging, product or campaign needs to be supported. Budgets are tight and a guess of ‘oh I reckon’ just won’t cut it. Showing tangible feedback (charts, charts, charts!!) takes the personal opinion off the table and gives weight to your argument for spend and support. 

Being clear on data points such as ‘68% of our target audience prefer our new packaging design vs our top 3 competitors’ is compelling - and can often be the spark to support activity. There’s nothing like a little substantiation and data to give people the justification to choose you over your competitors… ‘other people choose it so I should too’. 

A lot of time and effort is spent in large marketing teams sweating the teeny tiny details. What size font should the front descriptor be in? What’s the right shade of purple to highlight the new icon on front of pack? Literally months and months can be taken up and the reality for anyone in FMCG is that shoppers make their decisions in 2-3 seconds and REALLY don’t notice the tiny things. 

Speedy brands? They test quickly, make decisions and move to implement with more confidence, knowing they’ve got the most important big things in the right direction. 

If you’re in a rapidly growing new segment like plant-based snacks, functional foods, or CBD drinks then there’s a LOT of learning to be done FAST. Rapid turnaround research on messaging, new product concepts and brand elements can give you the edge to get to market faster. 

Speed wins especially in new categories and getting into retailers with VALIDATED data based new products and designs is a big leg up to gain precious shelf space. 

Whether you’re new to marketing, or a new business trying to grow as quickly as possible, there’s often a confidence gap to bridge. There are no sure-bets when it comes to creativity but by running rapid, regular testing across different parts of your marketing mix from product to brand, concepts and messaging - you can build your own knowledge quickly. Confidence is what separates great marketers from the average, and being able to justify your decisions is a great way to unlock confidence and steer your brand in the right direction. 

Being a challenger brand can be daunting and exhilarating at the same time, and giving yourself - and your brand - the best chance to snatch the opportunities in market is key to taking on the market leaders with confidence. No one truly knows everything about their customers (and anyone who tells you they do is #dreaming) and the more you can test, learn and make rapid small changes - the better your chances of nailing the launch, smashing your campaign and gaining market share. 

‍

If you’re feeling a little lost on where to start to do this kind of research, then Stickybeak is your go-to solution. Run by smart marketers who understand just what you need, without overwhelming you with data and crazy costs, their turnaround time is as little as 48 hours and they have reports that can be easily used to make decisions and share with key decision makers. 

Get in touch to find out how YOU can get the inside edge to take on the market leaders today.