Competitive Research – A guide to keeping your product one step ahead.
Understanding your user behaviour and usage patterns is critical (I know the word “critical” gets thrown around a lot in articles like this but seriously, it is important) in order to build a successful user experience. However, it is not the only type of research that your organisation could be conducting to guarantee the most successful experience for your users. During digital transformation projects, competitive research serves as a crucial tool for understanding market standards and user expectations. By uncovering what makes the competition “tick” you find inspiration and a sense of where your product is in the market place.
The Symbiotic Relationship Between Competitive and User Research
The goal of competitive research is to understand the competition, not your users. Rather than think of them as two distinct methodologies, I like to think there is a relationship between these schools of research. As you understand your users, you understand the expectations that have been established and met by the market and how competitors have or haven’t met those expectations. This approach allows your team to identify gaps in the market while ensuring they meet baseline user expectations.
Understanding Market Standards
Market standards help serve as test for user expectations. When users interact with multiple products in the same category, they develop mental models about how certain features should work. For example, the near universal expectation of seeing a ride share a live map of your ride arriving in “5 minutes.” This creates a pattern of interactions that users expect to find across similar products. Understanding these patterns becomes crucial when organisation are undertaking digital transformation initiatives, as it helps bridge the gap between traditional services and modern digital experiences.
Note: There will be a temptation to capitalise on multiple features and the patterns within the features and try to cram them into your digital experience. DON’T.
A way I like to think of UX and digital experiences is like a digital tool and the UI is the “grip” of the tool and the UX is the “use” of that tool. The grip needs to meet the needs of the user and the task they have at hand. Add too much to the tool and it becomes unwieldy to handle. If customers really wanted tools that were jam packed with features, everyone would be using swiss army knives instead of screwdrivers.
How to Conduct Effective Competitor Analysis
When analysing competitors, it’s helpful to follow a structured approach that goes beyond surface-level observations. Here’s what to focus on:
Core Elements to Examine
First, examine how competitors communicate their Unique Value Proposition (UVP) through their user experience. This isn’t just about their marketing messages – it’s about how their UVP manifests in their interface design, feature prioritization, and user flows.
Pay special attention to key user paths that your products share. For instance, if you’re looking at a competitor’s onboarding experience, look at:
- The number of steps from the landing page to when the user actually engages in core mechanics of digital experience. How much friction is in the UX?
- Information requested from users. How much does this tailor the experience for the user vs help the organisation create profiles for their users
- How they handle user education. Is it learn-by-doing, walk-thrus or in the FAQs?
Remember that competitive research isn’t just about copying what others are doing. Instead, focus on understanding the reasoning behind their design decisions. Ask yourself:
How does this align with their user needs, if at all?
- The good news is that if you are looking at a competitor with similar needs, you have a baseline understand of their needs. Whenever you come across a competitors moment of UX or UI that doesn’t align with these user needs, you can treat that as a feature and/or pattern to avoid.
What resources are required to maintain this feature or design?
- Being able to answer this question honestly takes a great deal of design maturity and organisational honesty, being acutely aware of the available resources (mentally and financially). There is the redesgins we want and redesigns we are able to support.
The Power of Comparative Research
Comparative research extends beyond direct competitors to examine similar patterns in different industries. This cousin of competitive research can provide fresh perspectives and innovative solutions to common UX challenges. Not only do I find it a great way to find similar user patterns in different markets but it’s just so damn fun. Researching for a language app similar to DuoLingo? A great excuse to dive deep into similar gamification models that could be leveraged from different product experiences. Taking inspiration and capitalising on cross-industry analysis often leads to innovative solutions that set your product apart (in a good way).
When to Step Back from Competitive Inspiration
Not every competitive insight should be implemented in your product. Here’s a real-world example that illustrates this point:
During a recent project, our team was investigating filter states for a search interface. We looked at Zillow’s impressive filter-to-results experience, known for keeping users engaged in property exploration. However, we quickly realized that while Zillow’s approach works brilliantly for their visually rich content, it wouldn’t translate well to our client’s more data-driven interface.
So, a few questions to ask before deciding to incorporate a competitor’s feature.
- Does this solution align with our users’ needs and expectations?
- How does this fit with our existing user experience?
- Can our organisation effectively maintain this feature long-term?
- Is this appropriate for our market segment and geographical location?
Conclusion: Learning from the Market While Staying True to Your Users
Competitive research provides an unvarnished view of market expectations and standards. It’s a valuable tool that, when used correctly, complements user research to create more effective user experiences. The key is finding the right balance between meeting market standards and staying true to your product’s unique value proposition.
The question isn’t whether to conduct competitive research – it’s how to learn from it effectively. Are you ready to examine the market critically while maintaining your product’s unique identity? Remember, the goal isn’t to copy success but to understand it and apply those insights in ways that benefit your unique user base and business context.
Big thanks to FORTYTWO for the photo