What is a competitor brand audit?
One of the first steps in virtually all of our branding projects is an audit of the competitor set of the organisation we’re working with. It isn’t about fitting in, but rather to establish and understand precisely where and how our clients can stand out in an ever-crowded market. Insight into a firm’s competitive landscape isn’t just helpful, it’s essential for strategic positioning. Our competitor brand audits reveal the gaps and opportunities that can transform how an organisation sounds, looks and feels to potential clients and employees.
We’re constantly updating our competitive datasets for firms in a number of sectors, with the ultimate aim of covering the majority of players in the UK legal market, whether or not we’ve been instructed by a particular firm or organisation.
What does the audit consist of?
We typically analyse five key competitor firms, examining both their recent financial performance and their brand execution:
Market intelligence: Firm size, financial performance, recent strategic moves and market positioning to help understand their competitive strength and trajectory.
Brand Positioning analysis: How competitors signal their expertise, define their vision and values, plus position themselves in the market.
Visual and verbal audit: A comprehensive review of each competitor’s brand identities, website design and functionality, photography style, tone of voice, people proposition, and how they communicate with clients and the world at large through thought leadership or insights.
This analysis creates a detailed competitive dataset, showing exactly how an organisation can differentiate itself in terms of messaging and positioning with a focus on how to establish credibility, while being distinctive.
What’s in it for me?
Each summer, we have capacity for proactive competitive analysis work as part of our broader market-mapping plans. If understanding your competitive landscape could inform strategic planning or brand development, please get in touch to discuss how a competitor audit might add value to your firm’s brand, messaging and positioning decisions, now or in the future.