Competitive analysis template

[Whether you’re getting ready to launch a new business or want to improve your company’s current market share, a competitive analysis template is something you can turn to again and again to understand the competition. Here, we’ll show you what a competitive analysis template is and how to create your own custom version.

What is a competitive analysis template?

A competitive analysis template is a document, spreadsheet, or project that helps you run routine competitive analyses. Using data and metrics, the analysis shows you your competitive landscape (including indirect competitors) and how your company stacks up. 

Why it’s important to use a competitive analysis template

By reviewing logistical items (for example, product features and pricing) and more qualitative notes (competitors’ strengths and weaknesses), you can identify what your direct competitors are offering. Then you can compare these with your own features, strengths, and weaknesses to build a better business strategy directed at your target audience.

Competitive analysis templates also allow you to:

• Stay current on industry trends and opportunities.

• Understand your competition.

• Reduce work about work by allowing you to use the same template for every new project planning and review session.

When to use a competitive analysis template

While it’s always good to keep your finger on the pulse of your industry, this is when it’s more helpful to use your competitive analysis template:

• For strategic planning. Use your template to incorporate competitors' information into your strategy during larger project planning sessions or long-term goal setting sessions, such as annual planning. 

• With launches. If a new competitor comes on the scene or your own company is gearing up for a new product launch, a competitive analysis shows you how to position yourself to improve your launch strategy.

• When developing a marketing strategy. Backlinks, content marketing, and brand messaging need customer support to be successful. Find out what your customers are responding to (and rejecting) by reviewing your competitors' approach.

• To identify your target market. Know who you want in your customer base by looking at who buys from your competition. Your customers may not be the same, but this is also a great way to identify gaps in your competitor’s marketing strategy where they may be missing key markets.

• To determine if a startup, product, or business idea is viable. Your competitor analysis template can help you see if you have a unique value proposition as compared to what’s already on the market.

How to create a competitive analysis template

Your competitive analysis template should consist of all the sections you need when you run through your competitive analysis workflow. 

You can tailor the sections to your specific needs, but here are some ideas to start with:

• Competitor profile: Include company size (number of employees), the competitor’s website, and social media accounts for reference points.

• Market research data and metrics: Include numbers such as revenue, pricing, and current market position.

• Competitors’ product features: This can be a specific feature you want to compare to one of your company’s products, or a full list of features if you’re doing a broader analysis of the whole company.

• Competitors’ product marketing: Include social media engagement and notable product marketing launches.

• SWOT analysis results: Run a SWOT analysis to determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your competitors.

For each section, include space for both competitors' information and your company’s information. This side-by-side comparison is an important part of the analysis framework, because you can see where you’re performing well, and when there are opportunities to improve. Be sure to include both to get the most out of your analysis.

Integrated features

• List View. List View is a grid-style view that makes it easy to see all of your project’s information at a glance. Like a to-do list or a spreadsheet, List View displays all of your tasks at once so you can not only see task titles and due dates, but also view any relevant custom fields like Priority, Status, or more. Unlock effortless collaboration by giving your entire team visibility into who’s doing what by when.

• Reporting. Reporting in Asana translates project data into visual charts and digestible graphs. By reporting on work where work lives, you can reduce duplicative work and cut down on unnecessary app switching. And, because all of your team’s work is already in Asana, you can pull data from any project or team to get an accurate picture of what’s happening in one place.

• Board View. Board View is a Kanban board-style view that displays your project’s information in columns. Columns are typically organized by work status (like To Do, Doing, and Done) but you can adjust column titles depending on your project needs. Within each column, tasks are displayed as cards, with a variety of associated information including task title, due date, and custom fields. Track work as it moves through stages and get at-a-glance insight into where your project stands.

• Custom fields. Custom fields are the best way to tag, sort, and filter work. Create unique custom fields for any information you need to track—from priority and status to email or phone number. Use custom fields to sort and schedule your to-dos so you know what to work on first. Plus, share custom fields across tasks and projects to ensure consistency across your organization.

Recommended apps

• Hubspot. Create Asana tasks automatically using HubSpot Workflows. With HubSpot Workflows, you can use all the customer data in HubSpot CRM to create automated processes. This integration enables you to seamlessly hand off work between teams, for example, when deals or tickets close in HubSpot.

• Dropbox. Attach files directly to tasks in Asana with the Dropbox file chooser, which is built into the Asana task pane.

• Salesforce. Remove bottlenecks by enabling sales, customer success, and service teams to communicate directly with their support teams in Asana. Share attachments and create actionable, trackable tasks for pre-sales needs. With Service Cloud, connect your implementation and service teams with supporting teams in Asana to deliver amazing customer experiences.

• Google Workplace. Attach files directly to tasks in Asana with the Google Workplace file chooser, which is built into the Asana task pane. Easily attach any My Drive file with just a few clicks.