How to Conduct a Competitor Analysis Using Online Surveys

You know you need to understand your competition. But guesswork isn't a strategy. Stalking their social media and making assumptions about their customers is a weak foundation for your next big move. What if you could get inside the heads of theircustomers—and yours—to learn exactly what they're doing right, where they're failing, and what unmet needs you can capture? You can.

 

The most underutilized tool in the competitive intelligence toolkit is the online survey. Conducting a competitor analysis using online surveys provides direct, unprompted insights from the only people whose opinions truly matter: the market. It's a systematic way to move from playing defense to playing offense, armed with data. This guide will walk you through how to design and execute a survey-based analysis that reveals your real competitive advantages and exposes critical market gaps.

 

Why Surveys Beat Guesswork in Competitive Analysis

 

Traditional competitor analysis often relies on external, observable data: pricing, website features, marketing copy. This is useful, but it's surface-level. It tells you whatthey're doing, not whyit's working (or not), and not how it makes customers feel.

 

l Surfaces the "Why" Behind Behavior:

 

You can learn why a customer chose a competitor over you, or vice versa. Was it price, features, customer service reputation, or a gut feeling?

 

l Measures Perceived Strength, Not Just Features:

 

A competitor might have 10 features, but if customers only value 2 of them, that's their real strength. Surveys measure perception and importance.

 

l Identifies Hidden Vulnerabilities:

 

A competitor's biggest strength in marketing might be a point of frustration for actual users. Only asking users will reveal this.

 

l Provides Quantitative, Actionable Data:

 

Instead of saying "people seem to like their app," you can say "65% of their users cite 'ease of use' as the primary reason for loyalty, but 40% are dissatisfied with their customer support."

 

A competitor analysis survey shifts your focus from the competitor's actions to the customer's perceptions—which is the battlefield where you actually win or lose.

 

Phase 1: Defining Your Objectives and Audience

 

You can't ask everything to everyone. Start with a sharp focus.

 

Objective: What single business decision will this inform?

 

Weak Objective: "Learn about competitors."

 

Strong Objective: "Identify the top 3 reasons customers switch from [Competitor Name] to alternative solutions, to inform our messaging for a new product launch."

 

Target Audience: Who holds the answers? You likely need two distinct groups:

 

Your Customers: Why did they choose you? What alternatives did they consider?

 

Their Customers (or Market Considerers): People who use or have recently evaluated your competitor(s). This group is gold dust.

 

Phase 2: Crafting the Survey – The Strategic Questions

 

The art is in asking questions that feel like general market research, not a competitive interrogation. Keep it neutral and professional.

 

Section 1: Category & Consideration Set

 

Start broad to understand the landscape.

 

"When you were last looking for a [your product category, e.g., 'project management software'], which brands came to mind?" (Unaided awareness).

 

"Which of the following brands are you familiar with?" (Show a list including you, 3-4 key competitors, and 1-2 irrelevant decoys. This measures aided awareness).

 

"Which brands did you seriously consider or evaluate?" (This defines their consideration set—your real competitive frame).

 

Section 2: The Evaluation & Decision Drivers

 

This section reveals what matters most to customers and how you stack up.

 

Attribute Importance & Performance

 

This is the core of your analysis. Use a matrix question or a series of rating scales.

 

Step 1: Importance: "How important is each of the following factors when choosing a [product category]?" (Factors: Price, Ease of Use, Specific Feature X, Customer Support, Brand Reputation, etc.). Use a scale from "Not at all Important" to "Extremely Important."

Step 2: Performance: For each brand they considered (including yours), ask: "How would you rate [Competitor Name] on the following factors?" Use the same factors and a performance scale (e.g., "Poor" to "Excellent").

 

The Switching & Loyalty Questions

 

"What was the primary reason you ultimately chose [Brand They Chose] over the others?"

 

(For those who didn't choose you) "What, if anything, could have made you more likely to choose [Your Brand]?" (Open-ended goldmine).

 

"How likely are you to switch from your current provider in the next year? What would be the main reason for switching?"

 

Section 3: Demographic & Firmographic Segmentation

 

So you can slice the data.

 

Standard questions about their role, company size, industry, and personal demographics. This lets you see if perceptions differ for, say, enterprise vs. small business customers.

 

Phase 3: Finding and Surveying the Right People

 

This is the hardest part. You need honest feedback from people outside your own email list.

 

l Leverage Your Network (Carefully):

 

Ask for referrals. "Do you know anyone who uses [Competitor]? We're doing market research and would value their anonymous feedback."

 

l Use a Market Research Panel:

 

Services like SurveyMonkey Audience, Pollfish, or PureSpectrum let you target respondents based on demographics AND behaviors—like users of specific apps or websites. This is the most reliable way to get competitor customers.

 

l Social Media & Online Community Targeting:

 

Run highly targeted ads on LinkedIn or Facebook inviting users of a specific product to take a "market research study" for an incentive. Be transparent that it's research, not a sales pitch.

 

l Incentivize Honestly:

 

Offer a legitimate incentive (gift card, donation to charity) to ensure quality responses. For panel providers, this is built-in.

 

Phase 4: Analyzing the Data for Competitive Insights

 

Raw data is just numbers. Your job is to find the story.

 

l Map the Competitive Landscape:

 

Use the awareness and consideration questions to see who your real competitors are. You might be surprised.

 

l Build a Perceptual Map (Importance-Performance Analysis):

 

This is your killer insight. Plot the results from Section 2 on a simple 2x2 grid.

 

X-Axis: Performance of a brand/attribute.

 

Y-Axis: Importance of that attribute to the customer.

 

Quadrant Analysis:

 

High Importance/High Performance: Competitor's core strength. You must match or beat this.

 

High Importance/Low Performance: Competitor's critical vulnerability. This is your attack vector.

 

Low Importance/High Performance: Competitor's over-investment. Don't waste resources here.

 

Low Importance/Low Performance: Irrelevant. Ignore.

 

l Analyze the Open-Ended "Why" Questions:

 

Use text analysis to find common themes in why people chose or rejected a competitor. This provides the narrative for the quantitative data.

 

l Segment, Segment, Segment:

 

Are the perceptions of small business users different from enterprise users? Does dissatisfaction with a competitor come primarily from one industry? This reveals niche opportunities.

 

Executing This Strategy with SurveyMars

 

A competitor analysis survey requires a tool that's flexible, professional, and insightful. Clunky software that can't handle complex logic or provide deep analysis will leave you with half the story. SurveyMars is built for this level of strategic research.

 

l Advanced Logic for Precision Targeting:

 

Use skip logic to ask radically different question paths. If a respondent says they use Competitor A, you can show a detailed set of questions about their experience with A. If they use Competitor B, they see a different set. This creates a tailored, efficient survey that feels relevant to everyone.

 

l Robust Question Types for Deep Analysis:

 

Easily create the matrix/grid questions needed for Importance-Performance analysis. Use ranking questions to force choices. Embed visual brand logos directly into selection questions for clarity.

 

l Professional Presentation Builds Trust:

 

A SurveyMars survey looks like credible market research, not a partisan probe. This is critical for getting honest feedback from competitor customers who might otherwise be suspicious.

 

l Powerful, Integrated Analytics:

 

Don't just collect data—understand it instantly. SurveyMars analytics allow you to filter results by "Competitor Used" with one click, automatically generating side-by-side comparisons. The built-in tools help you spot the gaps and strengths in the perceptual map without manual spreadsheet gymnastics.

 

l Panel Integration & Secure Distribution:

 

Manage your entire research project in one place, from designing the survey to distributing it via your chosen panel provider or targeted social media links.

 

By using SurveyMars, you're not just sending a survey; you're conducting a focused intelligence operation. It provides the framework, precision, and analytical power to turn customer perceptions into a clear competitive roadmap, showing you exactly where to attack, where to defend, and where to innovate.

 

Competitor analysis using online surveys is a transformative practice. It replaces arrogance with insight and assumptions with evidence. In a crowded market, the company that truly understands why customers make the choices they do holds an unbeatable advantage. Your competitors are telling you what to do—you just have to ask their customers.

 

Ready to see your market through your customers' eyes and outmaneuver the competition? SurveyMars provides the professional platform to design, deploy, and decipher the online surveys that reveal your true competitive position and path to victory.

 

Stop guessing. Start knowing. Begin your free SurveyMars trial today.

 

FAQ: Competitor Analysis Using Online Surveys

 

Q1: Is it ethical to survey my competitor's customers?

 

Absolutely, if done correctly. You are conducting anonymous market research, not sales or deception. Be transparent in your introduction: "We are a market research company [or 'a company in the X industry'] conducting a study on user preferences for [product category]." Do not identify your company as the sponsor until the very end, if at all. Never misrepresent who you are.

 

Q2: How do I get people to take a survey about a competitor?

 

Incentives and positioning. Frame it as "feedback to help improve products in the industry" or a "user experience study." A legitimate cash or gift card incentive (managed through a panel provider) is the most effective way. People are often willing to share opinions for a small reward, especially if it's about a product they use.

 

Q3: What's the minimum sample size I need for reliable insights?

 

For statistical significance in comparing groups, aim for at least 100 completes per key segment (e.g., 100 users of Competitor A, 100 users of Competitor B). For directional insights and identifying major themes, 30-50 completes per segment can be very revealing. Larger panels give more confidence, but smaller, targeted samples are better than large, irrelevant ones.

 

Q4: Can I just survey my own customers about competitors?

 

Yes, and you should! This is a fantastic starting point. Ask them which competitors they evaluated and why they chose you. This data is easier to get and highly valuable. However, it gives you only one perspective—the "win" perspective. To understand your weaknesses and the competitor's true strengths, you must talk to people who didn'tchoose you.

 

Q5: How often should I run this type of analysis?

 

Competitive landscapes shift. Aim to run a formal perception-based competitor analysis survey at least once a year. Run smaller, pulse surveys on specific topics (e.g., reactions to a competitor's new feature launch) as needed. Market perception is a dynamic metric, not a one-time check.