VIDEO
LESSON 1: Know Your Competitors
In my opinion, the most successful plans always begin with GREAT research. So let’s do a little bit of research into the current activity of your industry and in your market. I find that MANY personal trainers/small business owners run confidently into opening their business without thoroughly considering all of the options that your clients have within your competitive market.
One of the most valuable and empowering exercises we have done since opening DIAKADI in 2004, is the creation of a thorough Competitor Analysis Spreadsheet (Gym Comparison or Trainer Comparison). It not only helped us understand what was happening in our market, but it helped us determine intelligent pricing, discover missed opportunities for us to consider new business development, and most importantly it gave us the confidence to stand behind the decisions we were making in the design of our business. The more research and detail you can uncover in this step, the more informed and more confident you will be in designing your most successful business.
*There is a brief competitor analysis spreadsheet for you to fill out inside your workbook. If you would like a more detailed comparison, feel free to use the gold highlighted links above that matches your fitness business (gym owner or independent trainer), to download a more expanded spreadsheet and fill this out during the exercises below.
EXERCISE
Your Competitor Analysis Spreadsheet
Based on your niche client, your offerings of products and services and your location, name your top 2 to 4 competitor businesses.
Based on your niche client, your offerings of products and services, name your top 2 industry leader businesses.
Using the Competitor Analysis Spreadsheet (Gym Comparison or Trainer Comparison) linked here, rate your business, your leading competitors and/or your industry leaders using the scale of one to five below for each of the attribute categories listed at the left. Your rating scores will help you in understanding where you rank in your market and industry for a wide range of categories. For each business you research, also list the PRICE POINT for each business (i.e. $100 per month membership fee or $90 per training session). Feel free to add in additional row categories at the bottom to address any specific items that directly relate to your business, industry or niche.
Based on your research in the chart above, list the top two STRENGTHS for each of the businesses.
List the main two WEAKNESSES for each of the businesses.
Reading the reviews for each business, list the two main points (good and bad) that frequently show up?
VIDEO + LESSON NOTES: on-going research
Based on the information you have gathered in your Competitor Analysis Spreadsheet above, what tweaks to your business vision and scope of practice should be made in order to guarantee that your business stands out among your competitors. We will discuss this more during our discussion of Differentiators.
Also, be aware of how saturated your market is with your competitors. Consider if possible changes to your location or focus market would help in reducing the volume of your competitors.
Most importantly, based on each businesses ratings and pricing, are you charging the right amount for your services? Many fitness businesses make the mistake of under charging in order to win over the low hanging fruit. My hope is that this research gives you the information and confidence to charge what you and your product are worth!
Keep an eye on your competitive market at ALL times. In the immortal words of The Godfather’s Michael Corleone, ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.’
