How to Spy on Your Competition

@timmatthewssv

“Competition validates you. It creates a category. It permits the sale to be this or that, not yes or no.”

- Seth Godin

@timmatthewssv

ABOUT TIM

• Started in Sales as an SE, moved

to Marketing

• Five startups, three acquisitions

• Also worked for large, public

companies like SYMC and RSAS

•Over $200M in SaaS revenue

generated

@timmatthewssv

And I wrote this

book

http://www.slideshare.net/timmatthews2011/how-to-spy-on-your-competition

5 COMPETITIVE QUESTIONS THAT NEED ANSWERS

@timmatthewssv

Question How to Find Answers

How are they creating awareness? Ad Spying

What customer problems are they focusing on? Keyword Spying

Where is their traffic coming from? Traffic Spying

How much money are they making? SEC Sleuthing

What projects are they planning, and what will they focus on?

Job Site Monitoring

THE ETHICS OF COMPETITIVE INTEL

@timmatthewssv

In 1997, designer Steven Louis Davis faxes Gilette razor designs to Warner Lambert and Bic. Gets caught. Spends 27 months in prison.

AD SPYING

@timmatthewssv

Adbeat.com Boxofads.com

@timmatthewssv@timmatthewssv

SEO KEYWORD SPYING

@timmatthewssv

Ispionage.com


TRAFFIC SPYING

@timmatthewssv

@timmatthewssv

What can this woman teach you?

@timmatthewssv

SEC FILINGS

• 10K – Cost of acquisitions

•S1 – Cost and revenues of your competitors (and how much they make ;)

• 10Q – Quarterly revenues

• * Read the footnotes

@timmatthewssv

• {Plankton}


JOB SITES

• Find out who they are hiring

• More Java developers?

• Find out where they are hiring

• Salespeople in the UK?

• Find out what employees and jobseekers think (Glassdoor)

• Do you have a talent hiring advantage?

@timmatthewssv

ACTION PLAN – PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

@timmatthewssv

Question How to Find Answers What to Do

How are they creating awareness? Ad Spying Compare messaging. Buy ads.

What customer problems are they focusing on?

Keyword Spying Evaluate you SEO strategy

Where is their traffic coming from? Traffic Spying Build links. Guest blog.

How much money are they making? SEC Sleuthing Know where you really are

What projects are they planning, and what will they focus on?

Job Site Monitoring Prepare for a new launch. Positioning.

TWEETABLE TAKEAWAYS

• How to Spy on Your Competition http://bit.ly/1HPWYSE

via @timmatthewssv #presentation

• HT @timmatthewssv Competition validates you. It creates

a category. via @ThisIsSethsBlog

• @timmatthewssv Know how competitors are acquiring

customers w keyword, traffic and ad spying @adbeat_com

@spyfu @iSpionage @SimilarWeb

• Don’t overlook SEC filings for competitive info via

@timmatthewssv

@timmatthewssv

For more on competitive positioning, Chapter 2

http://amzn.com/0692232850

http://www.slideshare.net/timmatthews2011/how-to-spy-on-your-competition