Mastering Your Healthcare Competitive Analysis: A Comprehensive Seven-Step Framework

How can your healthtech business shine among competitors? 

Contrary to common belief, positioning isn’t just about your product – it’s about standing out in your buyers’ minds. Think of it as an ongoing dialogue showcasing your uniqueness. Curious about what sets you apart? Familiar with your competition? 

Our guide outlines seven essential steps for crafting a strategic HealthTech competitive analysis. Following these steps define your position and enhance communication with potential buyers.

1. Assemble Your Team and Tools
2. Study Yourself
3. Define the Competition
4. Spy on Your Competitors’ Websites
5. Study Your Competitors’ Content
6. Excavate Your Competitors’ Analytics
7. Discover Your Competitor’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Think About This

• 90% of businesses report that their industry has become more competitive in the last three years. HealthTech exploded and nearly doubled in size in 2020 following a record year of HealthTech companies releasing IPOs in 2019. Nasdaq observed, “More HealthTech companies are popping up by the day.”
• 69% of B2B buyers chose a vendor because they “demonstrated a strong knowledge of the solution and business landscape.”
• 65% applauded a vendor’s “strong knowledge of our company and needs.”
• 66% indicated “easy access to pricing and competitive information” was “very important” in their decision-making.
• Only 40% of marketers integrate competitive analysis insight into strategy

Breaking down your competitive landscape serves several important purposes:

• Spot New Competitors: Uncover emerging rivals in the field, especially with the HealthTech market growing significantly – nearly doubling in size in 2020 due to a surge of HealthTech IPOs.
• Track Competitor Tactics: Keep tabs on your known competitors’ evolving strategies. Just as you adapt, so do your sharpest competitors.
• Set Fresh Benchmarks: Establish goals and key performance indicators that build on past successes and consider your competition’s achievements, providing a clearer roadmap to attract new customers.
• Define Your Identity: Analyze your strengths and weaknesses from your competitors’ perspective, allowing you to differentiate yourself more effectively. This approach was exemplified by Sam Walton, who evaluated competitors to improve his own stores.
• Avoid Technology Bias: Communicate in a way that resonates with your audience, regardless of their familiarity with your technology. Overemphasizing technology can alienate potential customers.
• Enhance Focus and Reduce Risk: Your competitive analysis will reveal winning strategies and pinpoint where you can pull ahead from rivals, offering a sound basis for focused marketing investments.
• Discover Unique Selling Points: To truly stand out, you must know what distinguishes your HealthTech product. You can effectively present your distinct value proposition by understanding what your competitors lack.

Step #1: Assemble Your Team and Tools

Don’t tackle this alone – it’s a big task. You’ll gain better insights by involving others who interact closely with customers. Form a team with specific roles:

1. Data Coordinator: Collects information and ensures input from others.
2. SEO Specialist: Familiar with reporting tools and Google Analytics.
3. Top Sales Rep: Understands customer perspectives deeply.
4. Customer Service Expert: Deals with customers daily.
5. Your Involvement: Lead the effort; don’t delegate.

Provide a common worksheet and template for data entry. This team approach focuses on customer issues and sparks differentiation and marketing ideas. It benefits your understanding and clarity within the C-Suite too.

Step #2: Study Yourself

Approach the attributes you’ll measure for competition with objectivity. Engage in the worksheet and construct your profile. This practice aids in delving into the market. Evaluate your company and marketing impartially, striking a balance between being critical and equitable.

Step #3: Define the Competition

When examining your marketplace rivals, focus on how you and your competitors address customer issues. Many HealthTech companies fall into the trap of personal biases and past conflicts. While the industry might be tightly connected, your goal is to provide a superior solution to your customers, not to settle old scores. The common question arises: “How many competitors should we analyze?” We suggest studying two competitors from each category—direct competitors and search competitors.

Direct Competitors

You’re probably well aware of these prominent players—they’re the ones that come to mind first. However, don’t just focus on these well-known names. Expand your scope by referring to analyst reports, G2, and Becker’s.

Ask yourself:

• Which companies have you lost business to?
• Who does your sales team frequently hear about?
• Who do you often cross paths with during trade shows or virtual conferences?

Search Competitors

Prospects are conducting around 65% of their research before you even enter the picture. The landscape has shifted to self-guided exploration. Meanwhile, other companies are intercepting your traffic. Are you identifying them?

Consider the following:

• Who dominates your primary keywords?
• Which advertisers surface when your successful keywords are searched?
• Who competes for your branded keywords?

For each competitor – be it direct or within search results – delve into these aspects:

• Their distinct value proposition
• Product features they emphasize
• The tone and style of their marketing content, spanning blog posts, landing pages, and more
• Their corporate culture, values, mission, and team composition
• Visual branding elements, imagery, and overall identity

Additionally, evaluate their performance. Gauge their execution on a scale of 1 to 10 for each category.

Step #4: Spy On Your Competitors’ Websites

In the realm of HealthTech, marketing often revolves around a website, and this digital space can play a significant role in shaping customer perceptions. Explore each competitor’s homepage with a customer-focused perspective, shedding biases to ensure you don’t overlook crucial insights. Assess both desktop and mobile experiences. 

Consider the following:

• First Impressions: What initial thoughts arise?
• Homepage Clarity: Can you discern their purpose within seconds?
• Navigation Ease: How intuitive is their navigation?
• Visual Consistency: Does their visual brand identity remain cohesive?
• User-Friendly Design: Is navigation straightforward, or does it lead to confusion?
• Load Time: Is it acceptable or frustrating?

This analysis offers valuable insights into how competitors present themselves to potential customers.

Step #5: Study Your Competitors’ Content

In the realm of HealthTech, content holds undeniable significance, transcending company sizes. Your competitors’ content merits more than just a fleeting glance. Delve into what they communicate and how they convey it. These insights unveil their traffic-driving content strategies, making this analysis pivotal; allocate sufficient time here. Pay attention to content volume, quality, and distribution channels.

For head-to-head product rivalry:

• Investigate their perspectives on the product directly competing with yours. Their product and content pages likely divulge comparisons, pricing, resources, and more.

Inbound marketing scrutiny:

• Uncover their approach to inbound marketing through content. Evaluate similarities, posting frequency, content diversity, length, and the balance between gated and freely accessible content.

Content optimization assessment:

• Gauge their optimization prowess. Scrutinize their internal linking and meta structure. With Google incorporating site performance into its ranking algorithm, this facet’s significance has grown.

Regarding social media:

• While B2B SaaS, including HealthTech, isn’t as heavily invested in social media as consumer brands, don’t overlook your competitors’ social channels. Outline their LinkedIn activity and incorporate other relevant platforms.

Seek out their use of news:

• Explore their navigation for a “News” tab or check their site map to discern how they leverage news releases and mentions in trade publications. Extend your search to news aggregator sites like Cision.

Ultimately, this meticulous analysis of your competitors’ content strategies gives you a deep understanding of their tactics and can significantly influence your approach.

Step #6: Excavate Your Competitors’ Analytics

In today’s self-driven landscape, comprehending your competitors’ employment of SEO and SEM is paramount for amplifying traffic and capturing leads. The abundance of available analytics might appear overwhelming, making an SEO expert an indispensable asset to your analysis team.

Web-scraper programs gather data from diverse sources, though precision can vary. 

An equitable approach enables direct comparison with your competitors using identical sources and metrics. Tools such as SEMrush, Screaming Frog, or SpyFu are recommended for a thorough analysis. Concentrate on these pivotal metrics:

• Organic Keywords: Examine the top five, considering volume and cost-per-click (CPC).
• Monthly Ad Expenditure.
• Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Coverage.
• PPC Keywords.
• Ad Text.

Understanding these metrics provides a comprehensive view of your competitors’ strategies, guiding your own tactical enhancements.

Step #7: Discover Your Competitor’s Strengths and Weaknesses

What sets you apart from your competitors? What strengths and weaknesses define you? These inquiries prompt a deep exploration into your leadership, board, operations, and interdepartmental collaboration. To aid your quest, we’ve compiled a list of resources:

• Revenue Insights: Discover their past-year earnings (Crunchbase, Owler, LinkedIn).
• Employee Insights: Gauge their workforce and hiring trends (Glassdoor, LinkedIn).
• Leadership Overview: Identify board members and C-suite executives (LinkedIn).
• Funding Details: Uncover funding sources and rounds (Crunchbase).
• Reputation Analysis: Evaluate external sentiment, positive or otherwise (G2, Google Reviews, BBB).
• Upgrade Frequency: Assess how often they update software, products, or services.
• Event Presence: Count their annual trade show attendance and booth size.
• Virtual Conference Engagement: Observe their participation and visibility.

Remember, these data points offer only part of the narrative. Once you’ve amassed this information, convene your analysis team to delve into a crucial aspect: the essence of these brands. In our experience, every company possesses a distinct essence, though many fail to define and draw motivation from it. Brands lacking this essence are often stagnant and uninspiring.

What embodies the soul of a brand? It’s the answer to “why” questions, encapsulating the brand’s personality. 

Bonus Step: Set Up Your Competitor Tool

Many CRMs, including HubSpot and Pardot, have a competitor tool included with premium memberships. This tool pulls data from many internal sources and helps you create a dashboard to look at certain factors. The CRM tool updates the dashboard on an ongoing basis.

The research you conduct to fill in the Competitive Analysis Template will prepare you to set up your CRM’s competitor tool and get the most out of it. Take the time to set it up completely, then monitor it monthly.

Evaluating Your HealthTech Competition. Evaluating Yourself. Actions to Take.

Once your analysis is complete, transfer the data to your presentation. This milestone isn’t the end – what’s next?

Identify strengths and weaknesses: Spot where you differ from competitors and where they excel. These insights guide your marketing strategy and future goals.

Empower your team: Educate department heads and team members about your competition. Share brief profiles to enhance company-wide awareness.

Stay vigilant: Competitors are active too. Monitor their progress, noting successes and failures. Use tools like Google Alerts, Talkwalker, and Mention.

For deeper insight, tap into our tools and multidisciplinary experts. Book a strategy call for a competitive edge.