competitive analysis

Definition

The systematic evaluation of competitors' strategies, strengths, and weaknesses to inform your own marketing approach. It's professional stalking with PowerPoint deliverables.

Example Usage

Our competitive analysis revealed that our main competitor was outspending us 10-to-1, which explained why our CEO kept asking why our results weren't as good.

Origin

Business strategy practice formalized in the 1980s

Fun Fact

Most competitive analyses focus obsessively on direct competitors while completely missing the startup in someone's garage that will disrupt the entire industry.

Source: Business strategy and market research methodology

Related Terms

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ghostwriter

The invisible literary puppet master who writes books, speeches, or tweets for people too busy, untalented, or important to write their own content. They're the reason your favorite celebrity's memoir sounds suspiciously eloquent, or why that CEO's LinkedIn posts suddenly got interesting. The ultimate behind-the-scenes credit that appears nowhere except on their own tax returns.

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segment

A fancy word for 'slice' that marketers use to sound more professional when dividing customers into groups. Whether it's a pie chart section, a customer demographic, or a portion of your total addressable market, segments make everything feel quantifiable and strategic. It's basically the business world's way of saying 'let's break this down.'

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voice of customer

Customer feedback and insights captured through surveys, reviews, support tickets, and other channels that reveal their needs and preferences. Abbreviated VOC, it's all the complaints and suggestions companies collect and then ignore.

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click-through

The holy grail metric of online advertising—when someone actually clicks on your ad instead of scrolling past it like the visual noise it usually is. Each click-through represents a tiny victory in the war for attention, though whether that click leads to a sale or immediate regret is another question entirely. Measured as CTR (click-through rate), it's the percentage that determines whether your ad budget was brilliant or wasted.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

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video completion rate

The percentage of viewers who actually watch your video ad all the way through instead of desperately seeking the skip button. It's the metric that reveals how compelling your content is versus how fast people can click away.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

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