Understanding Your Competition Online

1. Understanding Your Competition Online

2. Agenda • Overview • Data Collection Challenges • Recommendations by Channel • Current State • Competitive Insights • Rec’d Tools • Next Steps • Q & A NOTE: This content is geared towards mfg, pub, and hardware/software tech firms

3. About Yeoman • Slightly Different Approach to Sales and Distribution • Focus on entire web • Segment into ‘channels’ • Match customer buying patterns • Manufacturing, Publishing, and Technology Creators • Rely on usage statistics to support any assumptions • $1 rule applies

4. The Big Myth – There is not “One Internet” There are groups of distinct sites and systems. Each has their own group of competitors, sites, and systems. They ARE NOT searchable or accessible from one spot.

5. Traditional Sales & Distribution Model

6. Internet Delivery not consistent

7. Internet Challenge • Mfg tend to rely on downstream sales channel for bulk of Internet Delivery • No vetting of different options • Assumption partners are there • Less quality control • No monitoring of changes • If you go direct • Need to be able to manage distribution conflicts • Need ongoing cost / benefit analysis • Need to prioritize across all platforms • Understanding Competitive Strategy is critical

8. Competitive Intelligence Gathering • General stats are plentiful • Easy look-up and search functions • Ability to enter markets relatively quickly • Low cost ongoing monitoring • Provides a layer of transparency that just doesn’t exist in traditional channels

9. There are Data Challenges • Easy to understand trends and indicators • Not 100% accurate • Privacy, compatibility, and nature of tracking protocols • Great indicators of relative positions • Need to tie back to your internal data • Use as a benchmark • Link to your different approaches per channel

10. Internal vs. External Stats

11. Key Statistics to have • Your Company • Current presence • Stats per channel • Your Competitors • Where they are • How they’re sites & systems differ • Basics • Visitors vs. Unique Visitors • Pages, Page per visit, avg stay • Amount spent on PPC, SEO, etc.

12. Key Tools to Start • Internal Site Tracking • Require for EVERY site • Leaders: Google Analytics, Quantcast, Yahoo Analytics, Omniture • Tie links to EVERY activity you do online • Filter OUT all your internal users and partners • Make baseline of your performance • Competitor Site Tracking • Always compare like to like stats • Internal data shows relative inaccuracy • Leaders: Compete, Alexa, Quantcast, ComScore, Experian Hitwise

13. Yeoman Internet Channel Model There are groups of distinct sites and systems. Each has their own group of competitors, sites, and systems. They ARE NOT searchable or accessible from one spot.

14. Direct Sites

15. Core Tools

16. Are they just an Online Brochure? Key elements of proven E-Commerce systems based on Yeoman best practice model

17. E-Commerce Giants / E-Tailers

18. Major ETailers Unique Visitors Have major traffic advantage due to broad line = more eyes

19. B2B / Supply Chain

20. State of Bid indicators

21. Referral Systems

22. Major Referral Engine Visitors Almost all users of referral engines are BUYERS, not researchers

23. Auction Sites

24. Knowledge/Content Systems

25. Social Networking

26. What’s wrong with this picture?

27. Next Steps….. • Get your house in order • Understand your presence in each channel • Ensure you’ve got accurate analytics in place • Research who your key online competitors are • It may not be your traditional competitors • Set up a program • Weekly snapshot • Monthly Trends • Quarterly Activity Review • FYI - We offer complete setup and monitoring services. www.yeomantechnologies.com