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strategic Marketing

Competitive Analysis: Data Management Solutions

Problem: A well-established software company in upstream E&P was interested in developing a new product, but lacked the bandwidth internally to complete an extensive competitive analysis. 

A competitive analysis helps inform a variety of business and product-related decisions. It is a cornerstone piece of market research that is typically conducted to ensure product-market fit and opportunity size. A competitive analysis helps product managers and executives determine:

  • What features are required (at minimum) to compete;
  • What business models are used within the market;
  • What price range is acceptable;
  • What are the unique differences between the available solutions;
  • What are the relative strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) of the solutions; and
  • What customers think of the products; etc.

Solution: A detailed report on the top 10 direct and indirect competitors

Using a variety of methods including surveys, interviews, marcom analysis, product demos, and our deep experience in oil and gas marketing, we created a database of information on data management and analogue product solutions for the client. Working with the client, we narrowed the fragmented market of suppliers from 45 commercially available options to the top 10 most direct competitors using a scoring system designed to test these five criteria:

  1. Alignment
  2. Industry Fit
  3. Product Focus
  4. Threat to the Proposed New Product
  5. Years in Business

We also reviewed more than 21 university, government and consortia databases we considered to be indirect competitors because potential customers could use their budget to support non-profit entities rather than investing in our client's proposed product.

For each of the top 10 competitors, we provided extensive details about their organization, products, business models, pricing and key personnel. We also provided a summary of the relevant trends for product adoption and common characteristics of the segment. 

Outcome: Recommendations and risk assessment for new product entry

We completed the full 56-page analysis in two parts over 6 weeks, presenting our findings in two separate presentations to the CTO, Product Manager, Marketing Manager and Director of Sales. During the meetings we provided recommendations for product development and market entry strategies that would enable them to develop a competitive product.

During our presentations, we discussed product-market fit and provided suggestions for channel partners that might enable them to gain faster adoption, and identified strategic partnership opportunities with key universities that would give them a competitive advantage and further differentiation.  We also communicated several areas of risk that would need to be considered to successfully compete at commercial scale.