The term, 'Competitive analysis' when used in the marketing arena, refers to the observation and review of competitors in the same market as yours. The purpose of analysing a competitor's marketing is to measure their respective strengths and weaknesses and compare them with your existing marketing strategy. Analysing a competitor can help you to gain valuable insight into their marketing approach and observe what works well and what does not. You can then transfer those findings to your own marketing strategy moving forward to create a bigger success of your mediation practice.
HOW DO YOU USE COMPETITOR MARKETING ANALYSIS FOR YOUR MEDIATION SERVICES?
The most productive way to implement your competitor analysis is by a series of logical steps. The all important first step is to ask, 'Who are my competitors?' There are different ways to approach this. You could argue that any mediator or mediation provider is essentially your competitor. In an overly broad sense they are! To develop an effective marketing strategy you need to narrow down this category. Look at your area of expertise e.g. do you specialise in workplace, family or commercial mediation? Assess who your main competitors are in this area of the mediation market.
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The next step is to invest some considerable time into researching your competitor's mediation services. This is akin to the social listening and social monitoring techniques that we have learnt about before. Research your competitor's mediation services focusing on how they market them. Identify what their sales and marketing strategies are and compare them to yours. There may be marketing strategies that they use that you could adopt and enhance. You could then gain the advantage on your competitors in the future. It is important to learn about how your mediation competitors work. Observing their marketing methods will help you to identify your own opportunities t improve your performance.Â
MEDIATION INDUSTRY TRENDS
A vital form of competitor analysis is to keep abreast of mediation industry trends. There are many ways in which this can be achieved. A good example is the CEDR Mediation Audit. This biennial report is a key example of a type of competitor analysis that also informs the mediation sector of industry trends from the past two years. Many mediation providers and organisations run annual conferences e.g. the annual Civil Mediation Council (CMC) conference, open to members across the UK. These events are the perfect opportunity to ensure that your mediation services consistently meet and exceed mediation industry standards. They also provide a platform upon which to market your mediation services effectively.
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Segment your performance
Part of the competitor analysis is akin to performing your own mediator marketing audit. You need to question yourself and your existing mediation practice. Ask yourself, 'What makes your mediation services different from your competitors?' Use your findings to influence your future mediation marketing efforts as you develop your business. When performing this exercise, it is important to be brutally honest with yourself. Be the owner of where you may be falling short as well as celebrating your strengths. This is the only way to get a true picture of your current position in the mediation market.
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Good, better, best
Note what your mediation competitors are doing well within their own marketing strategy. Gleaning information on your competitor's successes will help guide you to staying relevant with your marketing efforts. Identify what your competitors are doing wrong. If a way they market their services does not appeal to you or work for you, then the chances are it will not appeal to a potential lead. Use this to your advantage. This is highlighting areas of opportunity in the marketplace. Test new marketing strategies that your competitors may not have thought of.
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Client Feedback
A valuable competitor analysis tool is client feedback. Mediation providers and mediators always publish their best client feedback on their websites and social media platforms. Of course, they are never likely to publish or highlight negative feedback but there is still useful information to be had. Read your competitor's feedback. This will help you to understand which parts of their services are effective. You can then adopt these principles into your own marketing strategy. Consider how you can incorporate the best features into your mediation practices so your services can be marketing as meeting those same needs. There is nothing wrong with using your competitors as a benchmark upon which to measure your own growth in the mediation sector.
The Mediation Consultancy has been helping mediation brands develop and define their voice since 2018 (originally as COMSGateway). The times may have changed, but our love for creativity and problem-solving hasn't. We’re driven by technology and innovation to ensure we fulfil our key mission of helping our clients find their successful future. Get in touch so that we can kickstart your branding today.
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Completing a detailed competitor marketing analysis requires dedication and time. We know that mediators have the dedication but not always the time to spare!Â
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The Mediation Consultancy offers a competitor marketing analysis service at a small cost. We will require you to complete a brief form providing us with some key details and we will then perform a competitor analysis for you which will be presented as a report.
We will include:
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·        Who your direct mediation competitors are
·        What mediation services your competitors offer
·        An overview of your competitors comparative pricing for mediation services
·        How your competitors market their mediation services
·        An overview of your competitor's content and social media marketing strategy
·        Which social media platforms your competitors use
·        The level of engagement your competitors get on social media
·        How your competitors promote their mediation services through content and social media
·        A mini-SWOT analysis. An insight into obvious strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the overall mediation marketing strategy.
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