Every company—no matter how big or small: all of them!—observes and studies its competition. How can this practice be beneficial for a brand? This is where the concept of Benchmarking, also known as comparative evaluation, comes into play.
By using this method correctly, you will be able to identify the best and most effective marketing actions to improve the performance of your business. Follow us and we will show you how to do it.
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What is Benchmarking?
The term Benchmarking comes from the English word "benchmark", which means 'reference'. It is a management tool for improving products, services and internal processes within a company.
What it proposes is a strategic analysis that consists of comparing the results of your business with those of other brands that belong to the same industry. Doing so will allow you to understand your position within the market in relation to the competition.
Benchmarking not only analyzes companies similar to yours, but it is also advisable to review the processes of other sectors to find those that can be applied to improve your performance.
It should be noted that benchmarking does not mean copying your competitors . Your identity, your brand image, your mission and your values are the essence of your business and you should not plagiarize others under any circumstances.
“The term Benchmarking comes from the English word 'benchmark', which means 'reference'. It is a management tool for improving products, services and internal processes within a company.”
What is the Objective of Benchmarking?
The primary objective of Benchmarking is to discover how you can continuously improve your business practices by learning and surpassing what other companies do.
By setting comparable goals and analyzing the processes applied by large companies, various objectives can be met:
Benchmarking and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are tools that allow the analysis of business practices and decision-making. Both indicators help to simplify processes within an organization.
They are often confused, but they are different from each other. Benchmarking establishes benchmarks at the company level – which applies to any aspect of the company – and compares them with those of other businesses within the industry.
On the other hand, KPIs also deal with the comparison of values but, instead of doing so with other entities, they do so with one's own objectives : the idea is to analyze to what extent the actions carried out allow these to be met.
While the goals of Benchmarking and KPIs are different, they are often used simultaneously as part of a set of actions to drive a business.
Benchmarking can help you identify areas that need improvement. KPIs will help you keep a detailed track of every decision made within the company.
“Benchmarking and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are tools that allow the analysis of business practices and decision-making.”
Why is it important to do a Benchmarking?
There are many reasons to implement Benchmarking as a regular business practice. Once you analyze your company and study the market in which you operate, you begin to better identify your potential customers.
Benchmarking lets you know your competitors' strengths and weaknesses so you can leverage them to your advantage and improve your market position. In this way, it allows you to expand your creativity and apply innovation to your business.
Evaluating the different areas of your company in depth will allow you to identify shortcomings and imbalances; you will also be able to find more clearly where your weak points are. This information will help you develop better practices and increase your performance in the short, medium and long term.
There are other important benefits that you will obtain by applying Benchmarking in your marketing strategy :
Improve your search engine ranking ( SEO ). By studying your competition, you will learn which keywords they use to rank higher.
Strengthen your knowledge about your target audience. Observe the relationship between your competitors and their audience; get ideas to improve your brand's engagement with users.
Improve your marketing strategies . If you apply Benchmarking, you will have to review all your planning; in this way, you will be able to detect weak points and reformulate strategies.
It allows you to know your competition. Analyzing your competition will allow you to know what resources they use, what networks they are present on, what ads they choose and where they advertise them.
“Benchmarking lets you know your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses so you can leverage them to your advantage and improve your market positioning .”
Types of Benchmarking
There are several types of benchmarking: competitive, internal and functional. The use of each one depends on the moment or situation in which your business finds itself. You can apply them in differe