How to learn from your competitors

Soda goes through the Century Bottling Company bottle production line in Namanve. Major competitors in the soft drinks industry can visit the premises and find out what their colleagues do
differently. Photo by Rachel Malaba 

By Dorothy M. Tuma

How do you rate your business against your competitors? If you feel like they do a better job than you do, what can you learn from them? If on the other hand, you believe that your business is in a much stronger position in comparison, have you any idea what your competitors are not getting right so that you can avoid making the same mistakes?

Since your competition and you are both competing for the same customers, a good way to compare your performance is by putting yourself in the shoes of their customers. Below are some suggestions on what to do.

Visit competitor websites: You can learn a lot about a company just by visiting its website. As you browse those webpages, think about the questions your customers typically ask you. Do your competitor websites provide answers to those questions? If you are a real estate agent for example, customers looking for a house to rent typically define what they are looking for by location, monthly rent, number of bedrooms and/or bathrooms.

Does your competitors’ websites provide this information on available properties and is the information easy or hard to find? How does it compare to what your website provides, if at all?

Send them an e-mail: To find out how or if your competitors respond to e-mails, send them one. The question could be as simple as asking if they have a product that you are looking for, or even what their hours of operation are. If they respond, is the response polite, easy-to-understand and quick? How do their email response tones, content and speed compare to your company’s?

Call and ask a question: It is possible to lose customers over the manner in which they are treated on the telephone. When you call your competitors’ numbers, take note of the amount of time you have to wait before someone on the other side picks up the receiver; the tone of voice used and the helpfulness of the response received. As a customer, was the conversation you had with the person who answered your call helpful? Did you feel special or like a nuisance? How does that experience compare with the experience you offer customers who call your business?

Visit their premises: This will not be possible in all business sectors. Manufacturers, for instance, restrict entry to their manufacturing premises and rightly so. As an alternative, purchase one of their products and see how it compares to what you manufacture.


For service sectors that have a store front or a place for customers to gain access to the services provided, making a physical visit should not be a problem.



Visit that kiosk and like a customer, buy something. Get a haircut from that barber. Order a meal at that restaurant. Spend a night at that hotel. How would you describe your experience as a customer and what are your competitors doing better than you?

Monitor your competitors regularly.


Continuously learn from the way your competition handles their customers and use the information to improve your business performance.