How about we dig deeper into this topic (and the neighbor's lawn, too)? See why this is important in this article.
Index
What is benchmarking?
How important is benchmarking?
How to compare
Types of benchmarking
What is benchmarking?
If you don't know where you're going, you won't get anywhere. This has probably already been written here on some blog and when we talk about benchmarking we're talking about knowing where to go.
Benchmarking is a practice that aims to investigate companies in the same sector, with the aim of analyzing whether your company's performance matches that of these companies. From the English word "benchmark", which means reference, it is an essential management tool for improving processes, products and services.
In digital marketing this becomes australia telegram phone number list more evident, as analysis can be done more quickly and feedback is much faster. It is possible, due to the characteristics of digital, to make adjustments more quickly.
Thus, benchmarking, as a point of reference, helps to identify KPIs (key performance indicators) that are important for the sector, allowing for better evaluation to correct course.
How important is benchmarking?
First of all, it is important to bear in mind that benchmarking is essential and is a form of comparison. But it is not enough to apply the same strategies as other companies, if they cannot be applied in yours, either due to the current situation your company is experiencing, or through investments, etc. In addition, it is possible that some competitors are doing it wrong.
This first point is already important, since a market analysis can show paths not to take. On the other hand, analyzing companies that are doing well can indicate ways of working. Benchmarking allows the company to “think outside the box”, seeking business excellence in competitiveness.
Other points may be important:
Have more knowledge of the market;
Open new fronts that your company had not imagined;
Learning from the mistakes of more experienced companies;
Improve processes and practices to approach more established companies;
Understand which projects can be implemented or even improved;
Show the team what goals can be achieved, as your competitors may have already achieved them.
In the digital market, some points are very important in what we call digital benchmarking. Understanding a sales funnel and its conversion rates, for example. How much does a competitor pay for a click or how much does he invest in paid media (some tools, such as SimilarWeb will allow you to evaluate how much paid traffic a given website has).
That's why it's important to separate the wheat from the chaff. But it's always a good idea to analyse the market and competitors.
How to compare
The web allows us to conduct direct research into what is happening in the market. This way, you can start by simply analyzing your competitors' digital presence, visiting their website, analyzing their blog, social networks, and doing keyword research in your market.
As mentioned above, a few tools play an important role in benchmarking. Another one of them is the Digital Sales Funnel Benchmarking Results , where you can buy metrics for your segment. If you send marketing emails, you can also use another tool from the company, the Email Marketing Metrics Benchmarking .
Other very interesting tools are WooRank and SEOQuake , which also evaluate the technical side of a website and can be used to identify good practices of the competition.
There are other ways, such as attending industry events where everyone is in the same place, face-to-face visits (not necessarily to a competitor) and even mentoring.
Types of benchmarking
There are five most common types of benchmarking:
Internal benchmarking: aims to seek improvements within the company and branches, if they have them;
Competitive benchmarking: The goal here is an analysis of competitors, with the aim of outperforming them. This can be done at points, as it will be difficult to find a lot of internal information that might be needed;
Cooperative benchmarking: Companies in the same segment, but not direct competitors, can share information with the aim of improving their performance. Larger companies can also open doors to others seeking inspiration, as happens in Silicon Valley, for example, by visiting large companies in the technology sector;
Functional benchmarking: In this case, companies that do not necessarily belong to the same segment can be compared in relation to financial management, for example.
Generic benchmarking: A company may look for another company that has similar processes, but is not necessarily in the same segment. Benchmarking can help restructure areas that have similar characteristics.
