When we looked at our route map, we started straight, we intended to pull over at 50 miles but ended up stopping by McDonald’s on the driveway, on our left turn just 10 miles down the road. #foodfirst – This is every road trippers’ story.

Similar to this, little did I realise, that first line of the creative brief would always say, We are going to disrupt the market, and we need something out of the world. While actually, the intended agenda would be to meet the client, hear the product and strategically devise an approach.

I often thought to myself;

Why?

and

Does Jeff Bezos know about this next big disruption that is just about to take place?

With sincere intentions apart, one thought that really knocks me off, is why one needs insights on competitor analysis for an idea that is out of the world and not in the world?

This is the time when team goes on mute

Back to the drawing board and after a shakeup, we agree amongst ourselves that we ought to tell the client about mapping Market Acceptance vs. Competitor Analysis.

This time, team says ahhhhh!

And a quick question to the client – “Have you done your homework on Market acceptance or simply put, do you know the need for this product or service in the market?”

Answer A: We know what we are doing; we just need a design

Answer B: Yes, we are confident. Pilot tests and results look positive. With an acceptable design intervention, we are ready for Go-To-Market and make some $$$

I personally love Answer B.

And for Answer A, Good luck. Because there is never just a design.

Back to the scene at meeting room

So now, we have a client who has done a validation for their product and are seeking design intervention for a good User-Centered Design that combines the golden rules of a great User Experience for engagement, adoption and conversions.

Let’s get started; Facing the truth.

Spoiler Alert: Most often you are not the first one here.

Typically somewhere out there in the market, there is someone or a group of disruptors who have done something like yours already. (Sorry!)

And the reality is that you have most probably analyzed the gaps persisting in the current market scenario and propose a better and delightful solution – One that takes care of it all.

Once we bring our clients to the same page of understanding (mindfully), we now are now convinced for the need of competitor/competitive analysis.

For a good, competitive analysis, team at Origin UI UX Studio in Bangalore works with the clients in mapping well known, well performing and stalwart companies in the space.

As UI UX design agency our credo to effective design is a holy trinity of Context, Market/ User and Experience.

Outline parameters of comparison such as

• your Idea vs their Idea
• your Product Interface/Features vs their Product Interface / Features
• your Users vs their Users in the physical world and on the digital world
• your Platform vs their Platform
• your Business acumen vs their Business acumen

And specific to the product / Interface I consider the following heuristic parameters:

• Organizational Clarity
• Clear Labeling
• Consistent Design
• Effective Visual Design
• Supporting Readability & Scannability
• Facilitating User Tasks

Once the mapping is done, the plot establishes very clearly where you stand and what you need to do next.

“ I strive for two things in design: simplicity and clarity. Great design is born of those two things.”- Lindon Leader

Typically to arrive at the simplest, thoughtful and mindful solutions, an in-depth analysis of the identified players, competitive to you directly or indirectly is what we term as Competitors’ Digital Audit. Book a workshop with us for your brand.

My own experience speaks strongly to this, as I have been a Designer, Business Owner, Retailer, Artist and Writer, at a given time I would be working on six or more projects with domain knowledge built specifically for the projects around that time.

And by following a simple framework as outlined above for competitive analysis has definitely assisted in getting to know those industries better for both me and my team at Origin UI UX Studio in Bangalore.

For the finale: Let’s talk about implementation

With analysis in hand and clarity, depending on the two most crucial factors, Time and Budget, expand your ideas and approach in establishing time-bound key activities.

I often encourage our team to have an open discussion involving the following stakeholders:

• Business owners
• Product and Dev team
• Marketing team
• Client & Internal Design team

Once a novel thought process has been agreed upon in unison, get rolling into implementation.

It would be of use to conclude the Competitive Analysis Workshop with a session on the implementation of the finalized KPI’s. My personal recommendation on collaboration tools includes Trello & Slack.