Investigate their distribution channels
Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2025 5:28 am
Distribution is how your competitors deliver their products or services to customers. It’s the “place” in the 4 Ps of marketing (the marketing mix).
For some companies, distribution is straightforward. Maybe they sell all of their products or services direct-to-consumer (DTC) on their website, in retail stores, or door-to-door. This is often the case for digital products and services.
For others, distribution can be complex. There may be multiple wholesalers and retailers involved, and huge supply chains.
Fortunately, there's no need to dig too deep here. You just need a high-level chief vp compliance email list view of how your competitors are distributing their products or services to consumers.
How can you do that?
First, take a look at their websites.
Can you buy the product directly from there? If so, they are a direct-to-consumer (DTC) business. That is the case with MailChimp .
For some companies, like MailChimp, it will be pretty obvious that their website is their only distribution channel. This is the case for most digital products.
For others, it's worth doing a quick Google search for your products or services to see if they can also be purchased from other retailers. This can also give you more insight into your positioning and market.
Download the Facebook Ads Budget Calculator Here
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For example, take a cosmetics brand like Cowshed.
It’s clear from the search results that they sell DTC, but you can also get their products from retailers like John Lewis and LookFantastic.com. That not only tells you about their distribution, but also their positioning. Both are high-end retailers, so it’s clear that they sell premium products.
6. Dive into communication strategies
Your main goal here is to find and list your competitors’ distinctive assets or “brand codes” that people associate with them. These can be:
Logos
Brand colors
Pets
Slogans
Sources
Or almost any other element that they constantly use in their communication.
MailChimp does a great job here. Their logo, a monkey on a yellow background, is pretty iconic. The monkey, named Freddie, is also their official mascot and even has his own fan page. MailChimp constantly uses these distinctive assets in their marketing, as you can see in this Facebook ad.
For some companies, distribution is straightforward. Maybe they sell all of their products or services direct-to-consumer (DTC) on their website, in retail stores, or door-to-door. This is often the case for digital products and services.
For others, distribution can be complex. There may be multiple wholesalers and retailers involved, and huge supply chains.
Fortunately, there's no need to dig too deep here. You just need a high-level chief vp compliance email list view of how your competitors are distributing their products or services to consumers.
How can you do that?
First, take a look at their websites.
Can you buy the product directly from there? If so, they are a direct-to-consumer (DTC) business. That is the case with MailChimp .
For some companies, like MailChimp, it will be pretty obvious that their website is their only distribution channel. This is the case for most digital products.
For others, it's worth doing a quick Google search for your products or services to see if they can also be purchased from other retailers. This can also give you more insight into your positioning and market.
Download the Facebook Ads Budget Calculator Here
900ae956 3f9a 11ef bad8 3aac072ebae6
For example, take a cosmetics brand like Cowshed.
It’s clear from the search results that they sell DTC, but you can also get their products from retailers like John Lewis and LookFantastic.com. That not only tells you about their distribution, but also their positioning. Both are high-end retailers, so it’s clear that they sell premium products.
6. Dive into communication strategies
Your main goal here is to find and list your competitors’ distinctive assets or “brand codes” that people associate with them. These can be:
Logos
Brand colors
Pets
Slogans
Sources
Or almost any other element that they constantly use in their communication.
MailChimp does a great job here. Their logo, a monkey on a yellow background, is pretty iconic. The monkey, named Freddie, is also their official mascot and even has his own fan page. MailChimp constantly uses these distinctive assets in their marketing, as you can see in this Facebook ad.