# How to Ask Questions in Competitor Analysis: Checklist & Criteria

- URL: https://vladimirnovozhilov.com/en/blog/how-to-ask-questions-in-competitor-analysis-checklist/
- Author: Владимир Новожилов
- Published: 2026-08-01
- Category: Market research

> Competitor analysis starts with questions, not tools. This article provides a structured list covering product, pricing, marketing, website and customer experience; tables mapping "question → what it reveals → source", a SWOT template and a comparison of methods (Porter, benchmarking, PEST). Everything is consolidated into a checklist you can apply immediately.

Reliable competitor analysis doesn't start with services and parsers, but with properly formulated questions. Tools provide numbers, but without a clear checklist it's easy to collect a mountain of data without conclusions. Below is a practical set of questions by key blocks, summary tables and a checklist. With them you can conduct the research yourself and turn answers into decisions.

## Why do competitor analysis at all and why precise questions matter

The essence of the work is to systematically collect and evaluate data on companies that compete for the same customer. The goal is to make informed decisions on product, price, marketing and positioning. Specific questions turn "I'll check what's on their site" into a controlled investigation with verifiable answers.

Why a list of questions is important rather than a general overview:

- **Comparability.** A unified set of questions for each competitor allows you to compile answers into a table and compare fairly.
- **Completeness.** A checklist prevents forgetting important blocks — for example, customer experience or tariff logic.
- **Speed.** Predefined criteria save hours: you know what you're looking for and don't drown in information.
- **Actionability.** A good question leads to a decision. Not "what is their price" but "why do they keep price lower and what does it mean for us."

Next we'll cover who to include in the sample and go through all question categories: product, price, marketing, website and SEO, customer experience. At the end — summary tables, a SWOT template, method comparison, a case walkthrough and a checklist.

## Who to include in the sample: direct, indirect and potential competitors

Before you ask questions, define the subjects. A common mistake is looking only at obvious rivals and missing those who divert the customer in an alternative way.

- **[Direct competitors](/en/blog/competitive-analysis-in-practice-competitor-types-methods/)** — offer the same product to the same audience. Example: two web development studios in the same city with similar pricing.
- **Indirect competitors** — satisfy the same need in a different way. For a studio these are site builders or freelancers.
- **Potential competitors** — players who may enter your market: adjacent companies and major brands from neighboring niches.

The first block of questions is about the composition of the competitive field:

1. Who do customers name when they compare offers before purchase?
2. Who appears in search and ads for our key queries?
3. Who solves the same customer problem in an alternative way?
4. Which adjacent-market players might enter our space within a year?
5. Who is growing faster than the market and why?

![Optimal sample for deep competitor analysis (5–7 companies)](./images/voprosy-dlya-analiza-konkurentov-depth.png)

The optimal sample is 5–7 companies. Fewer than three — the picture is incomplete; more than ten — data dilutes and the analysis is rarely completed. It's sensible to qualify competitors by BANT logic (budget, authority, need, timing), adapting it to the market: how seriously the player is fighting for your money and your customers.

## Product and assortment: key questions

Product is the foundation. Here you understand exactly what the customer buys and how your offering can differ.

**What to look for in competitors' products:**

- What is included in the product or service: composition, configuration, scope of work?
- What versions, packages, lines, add‑ons exist?
- What is the declared USP and is it confirmed in practice?
- Which customer problems does the product solve, and which does it ignore?
- What is the quality: guarantees, lead times, standards, certificates?
- How quickly is the product updated — what appeared in the last year?
- What is missing — where are the assortment "holes"?

The main question of the block: **what does the competitor do better than us and what do we do better?** The answer is raw material for differentiation and positioning.

![Priority of attention between question blocks in analysis](./images/voprosy-dlya-analiza-konkurentov-categories.png)

## Prices and tariffs: what and how to check

Pricing is not only "how much it costs" but also "how the price logic is built." Often the tariff structure explains retention and churn.

**Questions for price analysis:**

- What is the base price and how is it presented — openly, on request, "from"?
- How is the tariff grid built: what incurs extra charges, what is included in the base?
- Are there discounts, promotions, loyalty programs, installments?
- How does price relate to value — premium, midsegment, economy?
- How often and in which direction do prices change?
- How can the competitor keep price lower (or higher) than ours?
- Are there hidden fees and how does the client find out about them?

Answers help build a pricing strategy and find maneuvering space: for example, competitors hide price — you create a transparent calculator and win trust.

## Marketing and positioning: what to clarify

Here you analyze how the competitor attracts customers and what it promises. It's about channels, messages and brand positioning.

**Key marketing questions:**

- How does the competitor position itself — what is the core promise?
- Which audience is targeted and what language do they use?
- Which channels are used: paid search, SEO, social media, email, partnerships, offline?
- What offers and promotions are promoted most often?
- What content do they produce and how often; what resonates with the audience?
- How strong is the brand: awareness, tone, visual style?
- Which triggers and objections do they address in communications?

To visualize differences in positioning, it's useful to build a perceptual map: axes — two parameters significant for the customer (for example, price and service level); plot competitors on the field. Empty zones are potential niches.

## Website, SEO and traffic: where and what to look at

This block is often underestimated — mistakenly. The website is both storefront and funnel. Site and SEO analysis shows where customers come from and where they drop off.

**Questions for site and SEO analysis:**

- For which queries does the competitor get search traffic and to which pages?
- What is the site structure and the path from entry to lead?
- What offers, headlines and CTAs are on landing pages?
- How is lead capture arranged: forms, chats, lead magnets, quizzes?
- Is there a blog, knowledge base — how often is content published?
- What is the load speed and how usable is the mobile version?
- What trust signals are used: cases, reviews, numbers, certificates?
- What are the traffic sources — organic, paid, social, referrals?

SEO analysis is especially useful for planning: a list of a competitor's top pages and queries is a ready demand map to build your content strategy around.

## Customer experience and reviews: what the market says

Customer experience (CX) is everything that happens with the buyer at all stages. Reviews are a free source of insights: customers tell you what hurts.

**Questions on customer experience:**

- What do customers most often praise and complain about in reviews?
- How quickly does support respond and via which channels?
- How simple is the purchase path: how many steps, where is the friction?
- How does the competitor work with negative feedback and reply to reviews?
- What is the average rating on platforms and how does it change?
- What happens after purchase: onboarding, support, upsells?
- Which promises does the competitor break — here is your growth opportunity?

Recurring complaints about a competitor are a ready list of your advantages if you close those pains better.

## Criteria and parameters: how to consolidate into a table

So that questions don't remain scattered items, turn them into a structure — consolidate them into a [competitor analysis table](/en/blog/competitive-analysis-worksheet-template-criteria-and-example/). Below is a summary table: question, category, what it shows and where to look for the answer. This is the core of the research.

| Question | Category | What it shows | Data source |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is included in the product and how does it differ? | Product | Areas for differentiation, assortment gaps | Site, price list, demo, reviews |
| How is the tariff grid organized? | Price | Logic of value and margin | Price list, commercial proposal, mystery call |
| What USP is declared? | Marketing | Positioning and promise | Homepage, ads |
| For which queries does traffic come? | Site and SEO | Sources of demand, strategy | Analytics services, SERP |
| What do customers praise and criticize? | Customer experience | Strengths and weaknesses | Reviews, maps, social media |
| Which promotion channels are active? | Marketing | Where competitor likely spends budget | Ads, social media, specialized tools |
| How fast does support respond? | Customer experience | Service quality | Test inquiry, reviews |

Such a table closes the main gap: all questions gathered in one place with a tie to data sources.

## Methods that help answer the questions: SWOT, Porter, benchmarking

Questions provide raw material, and methods help structure it. Different approaches answer different tasks — choose by situation.

| Method | What question it answers | Key questions of the method | When to apply |
|---|---|---|---|
| SWOT analysis | What are the competitor's strengths and vulnerabilities? | Strengths/weaknesses, opportunities, threats | Quick assessment of a single player |
| Porter's Five Forces | How attractive is the market? | Power of suppliers, buyers, entrants, substitutes, rivalry intensity | Industry assessment before entry |
| Benchmarking | Who sets the standard and how to catch up? | What metrics does the leader have, what drives the gap | Comparison by concrete indicators |
| PEST analysis | What external factors influence the market? | Politics, Economy, Society, Technology | Strategic planning |
| Comparative analysis | Who is stronger by a set of criteria? | Assess competitors on a unified scale | Creating a competitive map |

**Porter's Five Forces** [evaluate the competitive environment](/en/blog/how-to-analyze-the-competitive-environment-steps-methods/) as a whole, not a single company: how easy is entry, how strong are substitutes, who dictates terms — suppliers or buyers. **Benchmarking** compares you with a leader by specific metrics and answers "what drives the gap." **PEST analysis** raises the view to the macro environment.

### SWOT: table template to fill in

It's convenient to maintain SWOT for each key competitor. Fill the table by answering the questions in each quadrant.

| Strengths (S) | Weaknesses (W) |
|---|---|
| What does the competitor do best? What is its reputation? | Where does it fall short by reviews, service, product? |
| **Opportunities (O)** | **Threats (T)** |
| Which market trends can it leverage? | What threatens it — and how is that beneficial to us? |

## Example: analysis of three competitors for a service agency

Let's show how questions work on a hypothetical example — a digital services agency compares three competitors.

| Criterion | Competitor A | Competitor B | Competitor C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Premium, "from 300k" | Mid, transparent price list | Low, dumping |
| USP | "We work with large businesses" | "Fast start in 2 weeks" | "Cheap and turnkey" |
| Site and SEO | Strong blog, top for niche queries | Medium traffic, weak blog | Only ads, no organic |
| Reviews | Praise expertise, criticize deadlines | Praise speed, few cases | Many complaints about quality |
| Weak point | Long cycle, high entry threshold | Lack of proof of expertise | Reputation and client churn |

Conclusions from the answers: competitor A's weak point is timelines; you can differentiate on speed without sacrificing quality. B lacks case studies — strengthen your evidence base. Niche C (low price) is occupied by dumping with poor reputation — it's not worth entering. Thus a list of questions in an hour turns into strategic decisions.

## How questions differ for B2B and B2C

Another gap in most materials is the difference in approach. In B2B and B2C the focus and sources differ significantly.

| Parameter | B2C | B2B |
|---|---|---|
| Question focus | Price, assortment, emotions, speed | Deal cycle, decision makers, expertise, terms |
| Key question | Why will the customer choose them on the shelf? | How does the competitor guide the customer through negotiations? |
| Sources | Reviews, social media, SERP | Cases, tenders, industry platforms, sales call |
| Role of service | Purchase speed and convenience | Pre‑sale, SLA, support, contract |

In B2B add questions about deal length, decision makers, industry cases and contract terms. In services pre‑sale is especially important: how quickly do they respond to a request and what do they offer on the first call?

## Checklist of questions for competitor analysis

Collect answers for each competitor by going through the categories. This checklist can replace a separate file — copy it into a spreadsheet and fill row by row.

**Competitor composition**
1. Who do customers name when comparing?
2. Who tops search and ads for our queries?
3. Who solves the same task differently?

**Product**
4. What is included in the product and how does it differ?
5. What USP is declared and is it confirmed?
6. Which functions/services are missing?

**Price**
7. What is the price and tariff logic?
8. Are there discounts, installments, hidden fees?
9. How do they keep the price?

**Marketing**
10. How are they positioned and who are they targeting?
11. Which channels and offers do they use?
12. What content resonates with the audience?

**Site and SEO**
13. For which queries does traffic come?
14. How is the site funnel built?
15. Which trust signals and lead magnets?

**Customer experience**
16. What is praised and criticized in reviews?
17. How fast and how does support work?
18. Which promises are broken?

By answering 18 questions across 5–7 competitors you obtain a complete competitive market map.

## Typical mistakes when formulating questions

- **Questions without implication.** "What is their price" without "what does it mean for us" — a fact instead of insight.
- **Asking different questions to different competitors.** Comparability is lost and the table can't be consolidated.
- **Ignoring indirect players.** They are often more dangerous than direct rivals.
- **Relying only on the storefront.** Data from the homepage without checking via call or test inquiry distorts the picture.
- **One‑off approach.** The market changes — without an update date data quickly becomes stale.
- **Copying instead of differentiating.** The goal is not to repeat, but to find where you can be better or different.

## How to turn answers into strategic decisions

Break conclusions down into three levels:

1. **Tactics (now):** fix offers, prices, website texts, close obvious customer pains of competitors.
2. **Product (quarter):** add missing functions or services, strengthen USP and positioning.
3. **Strategy (year):** choose an unoccupied niche on the competitive map, restructure the value proposition.

Prioritize by "impact/effort": start with quick wins that have high impact. Keep a table with the date of last update and repeat a full analysis every 6–12 months, while monitoring prices, promotions and new features monthly. Regularity turns competitor analysis from a report that sits on a shelf into a working growth tool.

Right questions are half the result. Start with the checklist above, consolidate answers into "question → what it shows → source" tables, apply SWOT and benchmarking where depth is needed, and convert findings into concrete actions. Then competitor analysis will stop being a formality and become a source of growth decisions.

## FAQ

### How many competitors should be included in a deep analysis?

Ideally 5–7 companies. Fewer — the picture is incomplete; more — the data dilutes and the analysis is rarely completed.

### Who should be considered competitors besides direct ones?

Besides direct competitors, include indirect ones (who meet the same need in a different way) and potential competitors (who may enter from adjacent niches soon).

### Which methods structure the analysis results?

SWOT — a quick snapshot of strengths/weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Porter's Five Forces — assessment of industry attractiveness. PEST — external environment influences. Benchmarking — comparison with leaders by metrics.

### How often should competitive analysis be updated?

A full review — every 6–12 months. Operational monitoring of prices, promotions and new releases — monthly.

### How does the approach differ between B2B and B2C?

In B2C the focus is price, assortment, speed and emotions. In B2B — deal cycle, decision makers, expertise, terms (pre‑sale, SLA, contract). Sources also differ.