Being involved in online selling means that a person will be operating in a highly competitive retail market. In order to keep abreast or better, to keep ahead of the competition, it is vital that the online retailer is well informed about the success or otherwise of rival product.

The Competition

Firstly it will be important to know what product is out there that is targeting the same market that the online retailer is aiming for. Similar product should be tracked down.

In order to do this there will need to be frequent excursions to retail outlets to analyze what is for sale within them. All advertising media should be carefully scrutinized for rival product.

Examinations should be made of magazines, newspapers, flyers, on line, catalogues, radio and television to detect similar products being marketed.

Once similar rival product has been found there needs to be a careful note made of how it is being marketed. Checks should be made to compare the rival product to the online seller’s own interests. Any discrepancies should be noted.

Is there a difference in price between the products? Is the quality the same? Are the packaging and shipping terms similar? How does the marketing compare with the online seller’s own? Is the product promotion more appealing and likely to attract more potential customers or not?

After there has been an analysis undertaken of the rival product it may well be necessary for the online retailer to undertake a review of their own marketing and product.

It is vital that their product is at least as good as that of the rival interest, selling at a similar price and is actually targeted successfully to the same market. This review may well mean re pricing, drawing up a different advertising campaign or redesigning a website.