Competitive Analysis

1. Competitive Analysis Lisa Gualtieri, PhD, ScM, Course Director Tufts University School of Medicine July 18, 2012

2. Agenda • Competitive analysis defined • Who is the CDC’s competition? • Process of conducting a competitive analysis • Examples • Teams Design Goals Personas Content Existing digital strategy New digital strategy SWOT Competitive analysis Technology Evaluation

3. Competitive analysis defined • Have a successful online presence by being better than or different from anything else available while borrowing from what works • Conduct competitive analysis • Who are your competitors? A broad view can be advantageous – and realistic • Systematically review – surface, not “behind the scenes” • Culminating in what you can borrow and do better and how you can distinguish yourselves

4. You rarely know what goes on behind the scenes A Source: amctv.com

5. Are CDC’s “competitors” most visited health sites?

6. Competitive analysis worksheet 1 First impression • Purpose: How clear are the purpose and goals of the site at a glance from name, tagline, and imagery? Website users • Target audience: Which population(s) does the website serve? • Users: Is there any information about users through images, stories, or testimonials or about site usage?

7. Competitive analysis worksheet 2 Design • Design: How professional is the design? Characterize the design (modern, dated, simple, crisp,…) and if the design works given the site purpose and users. • Section organization: What sections does the website have? Are sections delineated by content type, roles, or user needs? • Layout and navigation: How usable and organized are the layout and navigation (including labels and menus)? Do they make apparent the options a user has? • Organizational branding: Does the home page identify the organization behind the site? Does it make clear their purpose and goals in general and for the website in particular? • External affiliations: Is there branding from other organizations, accreditation (such as HONcode), sponsorship, Google ads, or advertising?

8. Competitive analysis worksheet 3 Content • Expert content: What are the expert-generated components (including text, graphics, audio, video, blogs, directions/maps, ask the expert, glossary, quiz, chat with an expert)? • Authors and oversight: Are authors listed with credentials ? Is there an advisory board or clinicians? Is there a review process? • Currency: When was content published and reviewed? Is it dated? • Readability: Is content easy to understand? What reading level is it? • Language: Is there any confusing language, jargon, or abbreviations? • User-generated content: What are the user-generated components (including discussion forums, blogs, user-submitted videos, wikis, social bookmarking, ratings, and reviews)? Is user-generated content clearly delineated from expert content? • Policies: Are there explicit privacy policies or ones for how user-generated components managed, organized, or moderated?

9. Competitive analysis worksheet 4 User participation • Registration: Does the website ask users to register or create profiles or to personalize content or appearance? • Add-ons: Can users access supplemental features (such as a mobile app) or subscribe to newsletters or alerts? • Financial/membership: Can users donate, buy, or subscribe, or become a member? • Social media and content sharing: Which, if any, social media is used? Can content be shared? Are top rated or most read articles or most emailed articles listed? Overall assessment • Overall assessment: What are the overall best and worst features of the site?

10. Borrow, better, or different • What did you learn from the competitive analysis • What can you borrow? • What can you do better? • How can distinguish yourselves?

11. Example: Benson-Henry Mind Body Institute Source: http://www.massgeneral.org/bhi/

12. Source: www.gaiam.com

13. Competitive Analysis: Gaiam Yoga • Borrow • Blog and social media use • Instructional videos, welcome video on home page • Do better • Organize all subpages more logically • Framework should be consistent for every subpage • Segment target audience better • Do differently • Make website purpose clear from homepage • No advertisements or shopping links • Have personalized accounts available

14. Example: Children with diabetes and their siblings and classmates – Nada Farhat, MD Obstacles

15. Ex of mobile competitive analysis using app store descriptions • Product Information (What is the price? What platforms does it support? Who was it developed for?) • Purpose of the app (What does it do for the user? What are its features?) • Description (What does the description tell the user about the app?) • Is the problem the app addresses stated clearly? • Is the purpose stated clearly? • Is it clear who the target audience(s) is/are? • Is credibility and trustworthiness established? • Are the apps benefits clearly articulated? • What is the tone of the description? (objective, personal, compelling) • Does the description include a clear call-to-action? • Screenshots (How many are included? Are they appealing? Are they used effectively to promote the app?) • Branding (Is branding apparent? How is it used to promote app?) • Ratings/Reviews (Are ratings or reviews available?)

16. Ex of mobile competitive analysis requiring use or more research • Name • Platform(s) and price • Manufacturer, website/social media, and support site • How many people have downloaded it? Used it? • Ratings and reviews: in app stores, review sites, and blogs • Description and functionality: education, support, tracking, or reminders • Does it offer incentives (rewards, points, badges, coupons)? • Any tailoring or personalization to preferences or health issues? • Is it single- or multi-user? Is there peer or professional support? • Is it tied into other devices or websites? • Is there any research showing short- or long-term effectiveness, either that design was based on or through testing the app?

17. Competitive Review Template