Every business faces competition. To survive, it's important to stand out from the crowd and attract customers to your business. To do this, you need a thorough understanding of your competitors and how you can challenge them.

Competitor analysis templates provide a framework for identifying your competitors' strengths and weaknesses and comparing them with your own. It's important to understand your company's position in the market so you can identify what you're already doing well and where you can improve.

Competitor analysis allows you to get a better picture of your competition. It helps you identify what unique value proposition could prompt their customers to use your business instead. This can then inform your marketing plan and product strategy.

Make the most of free competitor analysis templates from Adobe Express, and explore why competitor analysis is important for your own business needs.

What are the main types of competitive analysis templates?

There are different forms of competitor analysis, and the template you choose will depend on which factors you want to analyse and how you plan to use your findings.

Here are some different examples to consider:

Competitive landscape.

For this type of competitive market analysis, plot where your company sits in the market, and position competitors around your business based on their relative strengths and weaknesses.

Competitor profile.

Source key information about each competitor, including their product offering, features and USPs. This will make it easier to directly compare with your business.

Capabilities analysis.

Compare your offering against your competitors by assessing where your offering is unique, better, on-par or poorer. Any areas where you’re lacking highlights potential improvement for your business or product capabilities.

Competitor scorecard.

Measure competitors using scoring metrics, weighted by importance to customers. You can customise the scorecard to your goals and business priorities, for a more finetuned approach.

Competitive analysis overview.

Broadly compare your own strengths and weaknesses, features and USPs against the same of your competitors. This provides an overarching view of how your company compares to others in the market.

Competitor SWOT analysis.

You can use a SWOT competitor analysis table to assess competitor strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats – then compare them it your own.

Why use a competitor analysis template?

Following a competitor analysis template can help keep you focused when researching and comparing your own brand to other businesses. Here are the five main benefits of using templates when conducting market research:

Makes conducting research easy.

Having a template to follow helps to guide you through the research process. It also ensures that you collect all the information you need and keeps you accountable.

Save time creating your own report or document.

Having your findings in an easily digestible template makes it easier to use this data to inform in-depth reports. It saves time by ensuring you stick to the point when researching and only collect relevant data.

Get a better sense of what elements to analyse.

Having a clear structure to follow highlights what elements you need to analyse, so all researchers are on the same page.

Easily transition your analysis into a presentation format.

Once you have your data in the template, you can use it to create a presentation. Format your slides based on the criteria you’ve used to analyse, like strengths, weaknesses and USPs, then present to key stakeholders.

Streamlined view of your findings.

Having your research in one place makes it easier to analyse and compare, as well as share your findings with others in your team.

Map out your strategy with competitive market analysis templates.

How to use a competitor analysis template with Adobe Express.

There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to completing competitor analysis. Every business is unique, so you may choose to structure your competitive analysis document differently. But there are some key areas that are usually included, from identifying competitors to looking for areas of improvement.

1. Find a template that suits your intent.

Firstly, find a competitive analysis template on Adobe Express that works for you, whether that’s focusing on the market landscape or creating a competitor scorecard. Think about the areas you’ll be analysing to help you select the right template for the job.

2. Identify your key competitors to include in the analysis template.

One of the most important steps is identifying the key competitors to analyse. Research your industry and find the main market leaders. Establish both direct and indirect competitors. Direct competitors offer a similar product in the same market, whereas indirect competitors offer a different product that fills the same need.

3. Adapt the template to align with the key features you want to analyse.

Once you have your template and know which competitors you’ll be analysing, you can focus on the specific features you want to compare. Adobe Express tools will come in handy to make the template your own by editing and adding your brand style, like your colour scheme, font and logo.

4. Conduct your competitive market analysis.

Next, it’s time to actually carry out the competitive analysis. You may wish to complete both primary and secondary research. For primary research, purchase a competitor product to evaluate or interview customers to find out their thoughts. For secondary research, take a deep dive into your competitor’s website and social media channels.

5. Use a SWOT analysis template to analyse your own company.

A SWOT analysis allows you to break down your business into its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. These four components are divided into a table or grid format, making it easy for you to complete on your own or as part of a wider team. You can then use this SWOT analysis as a benchmark of your business, to compare with competitors.

6. Identify the opportunities and areas for improvement.

Both your SWOT analysis and your competitor analysis should identify where you can improve your own offering. For example, perhaps your competitors are offering faster delivery or more effective customer aftercare. You can use these insights as guidance on how to improve your business offerings.

7. Transform your findings into a report or presentation.

Once you have your complete template, you can use Adobe Express to easily transform your findings into a report or presentation. You could even include your insights as part of a pitch to present to a prospective employer or client.

8. Share this with the wider business.

You can then share your report or presentation with internal stakeholders. This means everyone is up to speed on how your company is currently performing in the market – and where there’s room for improvement. Ensure your report is in a format that can be assessed and referred back to when it comes to implementing the suggested enhancements.

Example of a competitor analysis in action.

Now, we’ll look at how a competitive analysis example works in practice. Imagine you own an independent coffee shop, and you want to conduct a competitor analysis. Here’s what you need to do:

Make a list of your competitors.

Use Google Maps to check your local competition, as well search engines to check for any online competitors.

Take a deep dive into their offering.

Use their websites and social media channels to examine their products, marketing strategies, aftercare and how they communicate and engage with their audience. You can also read reviews and even make a purchase yourself in-person so you can experience their customer service firsthand.

Complete a SWOT analysis of your own business.

This will enable you to better understand what you currently do well, any threats you might need to address in the near future and what opportunities there are to improve.

Create a graph of the current market landscape.

Plot where your business fits in relation to your competitors. Let’s say that in this competitive landscape analysis example, another coffee shop stands out as having a better loyalty scheme.

Make your improvements.

You can use this to improve your current offering. For example, you could start your own loyalty card scheme, partner with another local business to host a joint event or start expanding your marketing efforts online.

Free editable competitor analysis template examples.

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Good to know.

How do you format a competitive analysis?

A competitive analysis can be formatted in whatever way works best for your business. You may decide to use a competitor analysis template, which helps you to break down your research into key areas that may include strengths, weaknesses, features, USPs and more. You may consider collecting your research and formatting it into a report, graph, infographic or presentation.

How often should I update my competitive analysis template?

You should try to refresh your competitive analysis at least once a year, or when there’s a change in the market. This will help you keep ahead and respond to changes in your industry. To stay competitive, you need to be constantly monitoring the competition, so you’ll need accurate and timely information to inform business decisions.

Is Adobe Express free?

Yes, our free plan offers many core features including thousands of templates, photo editing and effects, animation, and 5 GB of storage. See our  pricing page for details and to compare plans.