How to create a Competitive Market Analysis (CMA)
First and foremost - there are a ton of theories on how this should be done. If you search Amazon you find 179,000+ books on the subject.
The following is what I do for my clients. This will give you a decent picture of what's going on in your Market, without having to learn the entire arcane art of Marketing.

There are 5 Custom Lists (AKA Tabs) on this Template. These are the crucial elements you need to identify and become familiar with in your Market. They are also listed in the order you'll be adding to them when you start.
i.e. you need to know What the Product is called before you can find out who's selling it.

IMPORTANT TIP - Don't get overwhelmed!
You aren't going to do this in a day. And with CoKnown you can have as many other researchers (CoSearchers) working on this Project as you need.  Start Simple and add to it as time goes by. BTW - this Project will Never be done as long as you're in business.

TIP - Create a new Project for each of your Product/Service offerings. You can link Projects together by saving one Project as a Smart bookMark (SmartMark) on another Project's Page. CMA's can become very complex very quickly. This will keep it organized.


       WHAT (the Product or Service)      
What is your Product/service. Don't laugh! This is probably one of the hardest things to figure out.
You know what you built - but What does your Target Market call it?

Talk to people and tell them what you built.
        Then ask them what it is you built.
        Almost guaranteed they will tell you a new name or description. Or the name of a competing product.

Search the Internet for what you call your Product.
    Then see what the competition calls it.
    Crop these webpages and Save them to your Project's WHAT tab.
    While you're there also save their About us page to your WHO tab.

Don't get frustrated! If you've created something really new - This will take a while.
TIP -Use NoteBoxes to add you're thoughts and insights into the context of this Custom List.

Keep adding to this List as you discover new names and descriptions of your Product.
TIP - You can Drag & Drop to order these Custom Lists. Move the Best Descriptions to the Top of the List.

      WHO (Who is your Competition?)      
1) Add the ones you know about first.
    Save their about us page on their site

2) Then search for the biggest company's name. This will likely help you find your industries Directories.
TIP - When you Find your Market's Directories. Save them to the Top of this List.

    a) Save their Profile page from their industry directory. e.g. Techcrunch & Crunchbase for Internet Tech companies
    These will also tell you about how much funding the Competition has received and what their current size is

    b) See who else is in the directory.
    This is a good way to learn about emerging companies you may not have heard of.

For each competing company you'll want to know:
    1) How big they are (number of employees, funding, profits, number of users)
TIP - The biggest companies will have Investor pages. This is a great place to find the Market Cap for your Industry.

    2) Also look for articles about How they're doing.
        And what the media has to say bout your Market.
TIP - Market Cap,  Industry Growth and Market saturation are VERY important to Investors. 

Note: the longer you research the more you will find.
    Eventually you'll want to Start a Project for each of the biggest players in your Market.  Then you can do a detailed analysis of each of them.

       WHERE (Where is your competition?)      
1) Search for your Top 3 competitors by name in the Search Engines. 
    Save Articles that talk about them.
        Start a new Project later called "Where we are online" and direct submit your Press Release to the person who wrote the article.

    Save sites that "resell" or list their Products
        Can you sell your Product here as well?

    Save sites that have "Top 10" lists.
        Find out how to get your Product into these lists. Add those contact pages to your "Where we are Online" Project.

2) Add the word "reviews" after their company name and search again
    This will give you a good idea about how your Target Market feels about their company
TIP - IF you start seeing a lot of Complaints - that's called a "Need".  Does your Product fill this need?

3) If you're a software or Internet Product Search for the biggest competitors Product Name and "download"
    Look for new Competitors, Products,  Descriptions on these download sites.
TIP - This will give you a great start on where you can advertise/sell your Product. Add them to your Where we are online Project as well.

4) Search Press Release Sites for the Biggest Competitors
    This will give you a good idea of how you're competition is Promoting and Describing themselves.
    Also, look for any PRs that describe how the company is doing. Add those to your WHO List.


REPEAT steps 1-4 with the biggest competitor's Product name.

5) Search Social Media
    YES - this is a big deal these days. Most successful companies have a Facebook page, a Twitter account and are listed on LinkedIn.
    Sign up, Like them Follow them - It's a great way to keep tabs on the competition. DO NOT do it with the official company email address you use to Tweet about your company. Unless you want to advertise for the competition. ;-)

Continue to Add to this List as you discover new places your competition and their products are being talked about online.
TIP - This Project is a Living document. Use it to keep tabs on what the competition is up to and update it regularly.

       WHY (Pricing)      
Why are your competitors charging what they charge.
TIP - Add a Notebox to the Top of this page describing what your Profit margin. This will help you and your CoSearchers determine how you can compete.   

1) Go back through your WHO List and find your competition's, Product's Sales Page.
    What language do they use to describe their Products Value. (AKA Value Proposition)
    Use the Crop Tool for this.
    When you're done, you'll be able to view all your Crops inline on this List and See the patterns.

2) How do you Stack up to the competition
    Do you have more features?
    Do you have a better Product or Feature? Be honest! 
          Your market won't share your delusions. (Unless you have an unlimited Advertising Budget)
    Add Your Comments to these SmartMarks
        i.e. They have an X - we have a better one.
            They have a Y which is better than ours. 

      HOW (How are they Selling)      
What Sales and Marketing Techniques are they using to sell their Product?



1) Go back through your WHO List and find your competition's, Product's Sales Page.
    What Marketing language do they use to Sell their Product?
    Use the Crop Tool for this.
    When you're done, you'll be able to view all your Crops inline on this List and See the patterns.

TIP - Look for the basic Marketing Strategies. (Add these basic categories to your SmartMark)
    Band Wagon - everyone else uses it, so should you
    Star Power - Your market's favorite "celebrity" says use it
    Top Rated - Everyone says we're the best and should use our Product
    Repetition - using their Products name over and over. Familiarity breeds sales...
    Emotional Appeal - Most frequently "fear". Use our Product or your computer will crash and you'll loose everything...
    Association - If you use our Product people will think you're Patriotic, wealthy and sexy
    Humor - Very hard to do well. Those quips were agonized over by Marketers and Executives for ages before they ever saw the light of day.
    Coat Tails - Our Product is used by 96% of the fortune 5003) Do you see any Niche markets that are being ignored by the competition?
    If so can you successfully market your Product to these markets?

2) Sales Model - AKA How do they sell?
    Sales People (phone, chat, in person, Seminairs)
    Affiliate Marketing
    Word of Mouth (viral)
    Freemium (we'll give it to you Free and charge for additional features)

TIP - niche markets are almost always cheaper to advertise to. If you can get enough niche markets, you start showing up in the main markets as well.

3) Add NoteBoxes once your familiar with how your competition is pitching themselves on how you're going to compete.
    Important Note: this isn't always - "we cost less".
    When you've listed a few strategies:

    A) Then run back though your WHY List and see how your Marketing strategy stacks up against the competition.
        Is someone else already using it? If so, is it working.

    B) Reinventing the Marketing wheel isn't always a good thing.
        Can you beat them at their own game?
            Better advertising?
            Better appeal in an entry Market?
            Better sales pitch?

See Which Strategies you've come up with Stand out as Potential winners!

      CONGRATULATIONS YOU'VE NOW GOT A BETTER CMA THAN MOST OF YOUR COMPETITION!    

Remember  - this is a living Document. Keep adding to it!
The day you quit marketing is the day your business starts dying.   No Joke... 
Google own 78% of the Search Engine market. They've spent over $1 Billion on Advertising and Marketing in 2011 so far...  
 

Here's how to use CoKnown to do Market Research Fast
If you already have a CoKnown account this will take you about 10 min to set up and save you Many hours as your CMA project progresses!

A) Sign up for CoKnown
    Click here to sign up for CoKnown - This is where your Cloud based Project pages live.
    CoKnown Projects are available on any Internet connected device.
    You  can do this with a Free Account, however, most businesses prefer to do this privately with a Premium account. $1.95/month.
    Premium accounts allow you to set Project Privacy & Save full webpages with every Smart bookMark (SmartMark)

B) Install the CoKnown Research Toolbar
    Click here for Installation page
        This is how you Crop webpages and Save Smart Bookmarks (SmartMarks) to your Project
    We recommend installing from our Firefox Add-ons Page to receive automatic updates.
    Click here to learn more about Toolbar Features

If You already have a CoKnown account:

1) Start your New CMA Project (1 min)
    You can do this from the Toolbar or from the CoKnown site.

2) Add Custom Lists to keep everything Organized (5 min)
     CoKnown will automatically keep everything organized in chronological order.
    Custom Lists (AKA Tabs) allow you to further organize your Project and allow for custom Drag&Drop ordering of SmartMarks and Notes
    The Tabs on the top of this page are the basic ones you'll need to do a CMA
    You can add as many Custom Lists/Tabs as you need.
    Click here to learn more about Project Pages

3) Add CoSearchers (2 min)
    You can have as many researchers (CoSearchers) working on a Project as you want.
    It is very helpful to have a number of different people working on a CMA. Different people will search in different ways and will find different companies. More CoSearchers = better CMA.
    Click Here to learn more about Collaboration & CoSearchers

You're done with the Project set up!
On to market Research...

Here's how to use CoKnown to do Market Research Fast
If you already have a CoKnown account this will take you about 10 min to set up and save you Many hours as your CMA project progresses!

A) Sign up for CoKnown
    Click here to sign up for CoKnown - This is where your Cloud based Project pages live.
    CoKnown Projects are available on any Internet connected device.
    You  can do this with a Free Account, however, most businesses prefer to do this privately with a Premium account. $1.95/month.
    Premium accounts allow you to set Project Privacy & Save full webpages with every Smart bookMark (SmartMark)

B) Install the CoKnown Research Toolbar
    Click here for Installation page
        This is how you Crop webpages and Save Smart Bookmarks (SmartMarks) to your Project
    We recommend installing from our Firefox Add-ons Page to receive automatic updates.
    Click here to learn more about Toolbar Features

If You already have a CoKnown account:

1) Start your New CMA Project (1 min)
    You can do this from the Toolbar or from the CoKnown site.

2) Add Custom Lists to keep everything Organized (5 min)
     CoKnown will automatically keep everything organized in chronological order.
    Custom Lists (AKA Tabs) allow you to further organize your Project and allow for custom Drag&Drop ordering of SmartMarks and Notes
    The Tabs on the top of this page are the basic ones you'll need to do a CMA
    You can add as many Custom Lists/Tabs as you need.
    Click here to learn more about Project Pages

3) Add CoSearchers (2 min)
    You can have as many researchers (CoSearchers) working on a Project as you want.
    It is very helpful to have a number of different people working on a CMA. Different people will search in different ways and will find different companies. More CoSearchers = better CMA.
    Click Here to learn more about Collaboration & CoSearchers

You're done with the Project set up!
On to market Research...

How to create a Competitive Market Analysis (CMA)
First and foremost - there are a ton of theories on how this should be done. If you search Amazon you find 179,000+ books on the subject.
The following is what I do for my clients. This will give you a decent picture of what's going on in your Market, without having to learn the entire arcane art of Marketing.

There are 5 Custom Lists (AKA Tabs) on this Template. These are the crucial elements you need to identify and become familiar with in your Market. They are also listed in the order you'll be adding to them when you start.
i.e. you need to know What the Product is called before you can find out who's selling it.

IMPORTANT TIP - Don't get overwhelmed!
You aren't going to do this in a day. And with CoKnown you can have as many other researchers (CoSearchers) working on this Project as you need.  Start Simple and add to it as time goes by. BTW - this Project will Never be done as long as you're in business.

TIP - Create a new Project for each of your Product/Service offerings. You can link Projects together by saving one Project as a Smart bookMark (SmartMark) on another Project's Page. CMA's can become very complex very quickly. This will keep it organized.


       WHAT (the Product or Service)      
What is your Product/service. Don't laugh! This is probably one of the hardest things to figure out.
You know what you built - but What does your Target Market call it?

Talk to people and tell them what you built.
        Then ask them what it is you built.
        Almost guaranteed they will tell you a new name or description. Or the name of a competing product.

Search the Internet for what you call your Product.
    Then see what the competition calls it.
    Crop these webpages and Save them to your Project's WHAT tab.
    While you're there also save their About us page to your WHO tab.

Don't get frustrated! If you've created something really new - This will take a while.
TIP -Use NoteBoxes to add you're thoughts and insights into the context of this Custom List.

Keep adding to this List as you discover new names and descriptions of your Product.
TIP - You can Drag & Drop to order these Custom Lists. Move the Best Descriptions to the Top of the List.

      WHO (Who is your Competition?)      
1) Add the ones you know about first.
    Save their about us page on their site

2) Then search for the biggest company's name. This will likely help you find your industries Directories.
TIP - When you Find your Market's Directories. Save them to the Top of this List.

    a) Save their Profile page from their industry directory. e.g. Techcrunch & Crunchbase for Internet Tech companies
    These will also tell you about how much funding the Competition has received and what their current size is

    b) See who else is in the directory.
    This is a good way to learn about emerging companies you may not have heard of.

For each competing company you'll want to know:
    1) How big they are (number of employees, funding, profits, number of users)
TIP - The biggest companies will have Investor pages. This is a great place to find the Market Cap for your Industry.

    2) Also look for articles about How they're doing.
        And what the media has to say bout your Market.
TIP - Market Cap,  Industry Growth and Market saturation are VERY important to Investors. 

Note: the longer you research the more you will find.
    Eventually you'll want to Start a Project for each of the biggest players in your Market.  Then you can do a detailed analysis of each of them.

       WHERE (Where is your competition?)      
1) Search for your Top 3 competitors by name in the Search Engines. 
    Save Articles that talk about them.
        Start a new Project later called "Where we are online" and direct submit your Press Release to the person who wrote the article.

    Save sites that "resell" or list their Products
        Can you sell your Product here as well?

    Save sites that have "Top 10" lists.
        Find out how to get your Product into these lists. Add those contact pages to your "Where we are Online" Project.

2) Add the word "reviews" after their company name and search again
    This will give you a good idea about how your Target Market feels about their company
TIP - IF you start seeing a lot of Complaints - that's called a "Need".  Does your Product fill this need?

3) If you're a software or Internet Product Search for the biggest competitors Product Name and "download"
    Look for new Competitors, Products,  Descriptions on these download sites.
TIP - This will give you a great start on where you can advertise/sell your Product. Add them to your Where we are online Project as well.

4) Search Press Release Sites for the Biggest Competitors
    This will give you a good idea of how you're competition is Promoting and Describing themselves.
    Also, look for any PRs that describe how the company is doing. Add those to your WHO List.


REPEAT steps 1-4 with the biggest competitor's Product name.

5) Search Social Media
    YES - this is a big deal these days. Most successful companies have a Facebook page, a Twitter account and are listed on LinkedIn.
    Sign up, Like them Follow them - It's a great way to keep tabs on the competition. DO NOT do it with the official company email address you use to Tweet about your company. Unless you want to advertise for the competition. ;-)

Continue to Add to this List as you discover new places your competition and their products are being talked about online.
TIP - This Project is a Living document. Use it to keep tabs on what the competition is up to and update it regularly.

       WHY (Pricing)      
Why are your competitors charging what they charge.
TIP - Add a Notebox to the Top of this page describing what your Profit margin. This will help you and your CoSearchers determine how you can compete.   

1) Go back through your WHO List and find your competition's, Product's Sales Page.
    What language do they use to describe their Products Value. (AKA Value Proposition)
    Use the Crop Tool for this.
    When you're done, you'll be able to view all your Crops inline on this List and See the patterns.

2) How do you Stack up to the competition
    Do you have more features?
    Do you have a better Product or Feature? Be honest! 
          Your market won't share your delusions. (Unless you have an unlimited Advertising Budget)
    Add Your Comments to these SmartMarks
        i.e. They have an X - we have a better one.
            They have a Y which is better than ours. 

      HOW (How are they Selling)      
What Sales and Marketing Techniques are they using to sell their Product?



1) Go back through your WHO List and find your competition's, Product's Sales Page.
    What Marketing language do they use to Sell their Product?
    Use the Crop Tool for this.
    When you're done, you'll be able to view all your Crops inline on this List and See the patterns.

TIP - Look for the basic Marketing Strategies. (Add these basic categories to your SmartMark)
    Band Wagon - everyone else uses it, so should you
    Star Power - Your market's favorite "celebrity" says use it
    Top Rated - Everyone says we're the best and should use our Product
    Repetition - using their Products name over and over. Familiarity breeds sales...
    Emotional Appeal - Most frequently "fear". Use our Product or your computer will crash and you'll loose everything...
    Association - If you use our Product people will think you're Patriotic, wealthy and sexy
    Humor - Very hard to do well. Those quips were agonized over by Marketers and Executives for ages before they ever saw the light of day.
    Coat Tails - Our Product is used by 96% of the fortune 5003) Do you see any Niche markets that are being ignored by the competition?
    If so can you successfully market your Product to these markets?

2) Sales Model - AKA How do they sell?
    Sales People (phone, chat, in person, Seminairs)
    Affiliate Marketing
    Word of Mouth (viral)
    Freemium (we'll give it to you Free and charge for additional features)

TIP - niche markets are almost always cheaper to advertise to. If you can get enough niche markets, you start showing up in the main markets as well.

3) Add NoteBoxes once your familiar with how your competition is pitching themselves on how you're going to compete.
    Important Note: this isn't always - "we cost less".
    When you've listed a few strategies:

    A) Then run back though your WHY List and see how your Marketing strategy stacks up against the competition.
        Is someone else already using it? If so, is it working.

    B) Reinventing the Marketing wheel isn't always a good thing.
        Can you beat them at their own game?
            Better advertising?
            Better appeal in an entry Market?
            Better sales pitch?

See Which Strategies you've come up with Stand out as Potential winners!

      CONGRATULATIONS YOU'VE NOW GOT A BETTER CMA THAN MOST OF YOUR COMPETITION!    

Remember  - this is a living Document. Keep adding to it!
The day you quit marketing is the day your business starts dying.   No Joke... 
Google own 78% of the Search Engine market. They've spent over $1 Billion on Advertising and Marketing in 2011 so far...