4 Great Ways to use Social Media to be More Competitive

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Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) February 20, 2012 --

Social Media sites are rapidly becoming populated with Company information, and not just branding initiatives, but also product details and comparisons, pricing and promotional details, critiques by customers and the type of information that historically, one had to pay for from a market research agency. But times have changed, and now the information is out there for all to see. Let’s face it, understanding your competitors products better, and what their customers are saying about their products, can be really helpful in understanding how your product may be perceived and allow you to play up the benefits of your product that customers would like to see. So, where do you begin? Let’s start with a question?

Who is my competition?

Hopefully you know this already, but if not, you have to clearly understand your own company first, your strategy and the product and services you are offering. If you are not sure, go to my blog and read the articles on strategy. I find it helps to write a short positioning statement that defines your product, its market and customers, their needs and how your product differentiates from the competition. With this in hand, start a Google search using the key words that define your business and products. This should turn up a good number of products and companies from which you can decide who are most likely to compete for your customers, and with your products, in your geography. Most companies have websites, blogs, and may have social media sites that you can mine for more detailed information.

What are the products or services that compete against my Company and what are their strategies?

Competitor websites, blog sites, Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin accounts contain a wealth of information about a company, its products and strategies. Piecing together their strategy, product positioning and marketing activities is not only possible but can be assessed in real time. The type of information now available provides you with an intimate understanding of how a competitor measures up against your own products and strategy. Where are there strengths and weaknesses? Are they positioned well for the next industry opportunities and trends, the current and future threats, and likely new competitors?

What customer feedback are my competitors receiving?
Perhaps even more insightful, is the real time feedback that companies receive through certain social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. This is where you can observe if their strategies are working. Are the products with supposed desperately needed benefits really paying off in the minds of their customers and clients? What problems are they having; what issues do customers and clients raise relating to their products?

How can I best position my products against my competitors?

With all this information in hand, it is now possible to really figure out how to best position your products to exploit their strengths and focus them on the current market opportunities. Furthermore, you also know where a competitors weaknesses lie, and which strategies are not working. This allows you to modify your positioning and marketing activities to take advantage of your competitor’s weaknesses, or to try a different approach to them.

Who says social media is not a useful marketing tool?? All I can say is they must be blind.

Hopefully this has given you something to think about. My goal is to make your life easier and to ensure you are as productive as possible. I hope you enjoyed this and that you will send me your comments, subscribe and link to my blog at http://mpconsulting.worpress.com , and if you need help, or need to ask me a question, click on this.

Free Guides are available from my blog site on a number of business subjects including: Strategic Planning, Business Plans, Marketing Plans, Social Media Planning, Public Relations Planning, Time Management, Negotiating Strategies, Effective Business Meetings, Due Diligence, and many others. To visit my blog, go to
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MP Consulting Services specializes in the areas of strategic planning, leadership, marketing and social media. Mark Philip, principal at MPCS, has over 20 years experience in managing businesses, both small and large, has orchestrated multiple turnarounds, built product pipelines, launched new products, sold companies and created significant shareholder value. Let me know how I can help you with your business challenge.

For More Information: visit my blog at http://mpconsulting.wordpress.com or visit my LinkedIn account at http://www.linkedin.com/in/markpconsulting

Copyright © 2012 Mark Philip

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