The Importance Of Benchmarking Against Competitors
Benchmarking means that you can assess your growth and market penetration in relation to others.
Does one competitor seem to be growing faster than others, stealing market share?
If so, you might want to learn why customers see them as such a good proposition and try to emulate their tactics.
In short, benchmarking allows for better decision making because you are bearing in mind what your competitors are doing.
Why Should you be Benchmarking?
Why benchmark? Your competitors probably benchmark themselves against their main business sector rivals, which may well include your own, so failing to do the same thing may well mean that you lack the edge you need in today’s marketplace.
Key Performance Indicators
When benchmarking businesses against competitors, it is always a good idea to determine key performance indicators – or KPIs – that focus attention on how a company measures progress towards business goals. This might be turnover, or sales of new product lines, or geographical regions that are operated in. It depends on the nature of your business. The next step is to collate data around your own KPIs and to find out about those of your competitors so that you can compare. Sometimes this is easy, but for more sensitive data, you may need to use an external agency to help.
Set Realistic Goals
Demonstrating how the KPIs within your industry sector vary from business to business will help you to make key changes. For instance, if you notice from benchmarking growth in a certain area of the market you can set a goal that is realistic.
We are always happy to answer any questions. Contact the team by phone on (01) 808 1301, or email us at info@emarkable.ie
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