Every marketer believes in the value of conducting a competitive analysis. But what happens once it’s been completed? How did it impact your strategy? How often do you refer to it? Update it? How deep is it? How much value did it really have?

For many, competitive analysis is a checklist item. Some internal or external source labors to inventory and summarize the communication by media. Another aspect of these reports may include determining the positioning and support. There may even be a positioning/messaging map that visually groups competitors by their message area. This helps the marketer determine a unique place for their messaging strategy. For the most part, these analyses do a good job of reporting what competitors say.

But where these exercises tend to fall short is in analyzing how they are making their claims.  What emotional ground are they using? How does the message connect? Are the communications simple? Unexpected? Concrete? Credible? What reasons are there to believe what they claim? Knowing how competitors are messaging is as important as what they are messaging. The competitive analysis that does a good job of evaluating the message beyond the words will lead to a sharper positioning and message strategy, one that will drive better creative.