How to Master Competitor Monitoring with a Reviews API

Leverage your services with a Reviews API

How to Keep Track of the Reviews of Your Clients’ Competitors

Consumer choices are more diverse than ever, your clients face a unique opportunity: keeping an eye on their competitors. Specifically, monitoring what people are saying about them. We will here take a look at competitor review monitoring and how our Reviews API can be one way to utilize it.

WHY DOES MONITORING COMPETITORS' REVIEWS MATTER?

Online reviews are the word of mouth that can make or break a business. According to a survey by BrightLocal, 76% of consumers regularly read online reviews when browsing for local businesses. Google stands as the most trusted review platform across all industries. However, for accommodation businesses, Tripadvisor retains its niche, while Yelp continues to hold a significant share of trust, particularly within restaurants.

Now, imagine being able to access what your clients’ customers are saying about their competitors. Competitor reviews are about gathering valuable insights, and can reveal hidden strengths and weaknesses, customer pain points, and trends in the market.

HOW TO IDENTIFY THE COMPETITORS

To start monitoring competitor reviews, you need to know who your client’s competitors are. Begin by identifying businesses that offer similar products or services. These could be direct competitors, those in adjacent markets, or even disruptors in their industry. Think broadly, but don't forget the smaller and upcoming players. The key to successful competitor identification is to stay open-minded and adapt your list as the market evolves. Competitors may change, and new players might emerge. Regularly revisit and update the list to ensure you're keeping pace with the dynamic business landscape.

HOW TO ANALYZE COMPETITOR REVIEWS FOR INSIGHTS

Once you've started monitoring competitor reviews, they need to be analyzed:

• Read with Purpose: Don't just skim through the reviews. Read them with a critical eye, looking for patterns, recurring issues, and customer sentiments.
• Identify Trends: Note any emerging trends in customer feedback. Are there common complaints or praises? Are there recurring keywords or phrases?
• Spotting Pain Points: Identify pain points that customers mention regarding the products or services of your client’s competitors. These could be areas where they can differentiate themselves or offer solutions.
• Continue Collecting All Relevant Data: Continue to monitor and collect reviews for products or services for your client’s competitors. Over time, these will change and the analysis will give new results. Ensure you have a substantial dataset for comparison. 

LEVERAGING COMPETITOR FEEDBACK FOR YOUR CLIENTS’ BENEFIT

Competitor reviews can be a goldmine for improving your clients’ business. Here's how to leverage from it:

• Strengths and Weaknesses: Based on customer feedback, identify your clients’ strengths and weaknesses compared to their competitors. Use this information to enhance their marketing and product development strategies.
• Innovation Opportunities: Use competitor reviews to identify unmet customer needs. Your client can develop new features or offerings based on this feedback.
• Strategies for Improvement: Develop strategies to improve in areas where they lag behind their competitors. Focus on enhancing customer experience, addressing pain points, and having them effectively communicate their strengths.
• Marketing Insights: Craft marketing messages that address the pain points your clients’ competitors are struggling with. Have your clients show their customers that they understand their needs and why they are a better choice.

By leveraging competitive intelligence from reviews, your clients can also stay ahead of the competition:

Strategic Planning: Incorporate insights from their competitor reviews into their strategic planning process. Make data-driven decisions.

Risk Mitigation: Anticipate challenges your clients’ competitors are facing and plan accordingly. Have your clients ready to adapt to changes in the market.

Continuous Improvement: Use competitor feedback as a benchmark for continuous improvement. Strive to surpass their competitors in areas that matter most to their customers.

HOW TO PROTECT BRAND REPUTATION ONLINE

While monitoring competitor reviews, your clients may encounter negative feedback that can impact their brand. Here's how they can manage it:

• Mitigating Impact: If negative reviews about competitors threaten to tarnish their industry's reputation, consider them taking proactive measures to address the issues collectively. This could include industry-wide improvements.
• Building a Strong Online Reputation: Having them invest in building a strong online presence for their brand and encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews, which can help offset any negative sentiment.
• Ethical Practices: Always maintain ethical practices in review monitoring. Inform your clients to avoid engaging in false reviews or any behavior that could harm their competitors or the reputation of your clients’ brand.

With our Reviews API, you'll have access to over 15 million online reviews every month from major product and service sites worldwide. If that's not enough, we can set up monitoring of reviews specifically for your clients' products and entities, as well as their competitors, of course. This is a great resource for you to keep track of all relevant reviews from your clients’ competitors.