1 Day Marketing Blog
What Are Your Competitors Doing?
Most Ipswich business owners can tell you exactly what their competitors charge. Ask what they’re doing online, and you’ll usually get a shrug.
That’s a problem. Your customers are looking at both of you before they decide who gets the job. If you don’t know what they’re seeing on the other side, you’re guessing at your own marketing.
Why This Matters More Than You Think
You don’t need to out-spend the competition. You need to out-position them. That means knowing three things:
- What they’re doing well, so you can match it
- What they’re doing badly, so you can beat it
- What they’re not doing at all, so you can own it
That third one is where the real opportunities sit. Most trades and small business competitors in Ipswich are doing the bare minimum online. A bit of Facebook, a Google Business Profile nobody’s touched in a year, maybe a website from 2018. Gaps like that are easy to find and easy to exploit.
Where to Look
You don’t need expensive tools for this. Start with what’s free and visible to anyone.
Google search. Search for what you do plus your suburb. See who shows up first, and look at their listing, their reviews, and their website. That’s your competitive set, whether you like it or not.
Google Business Profile. Check how many reviews your competitors have and how recent they are. A business with five reviews from last month is winning more trust than one with fifty reviews from three years ago.
Their website. Is it mobile-friendly? Does it load fast? Can you tell what they do and how to contact them within five seconds? If not, that’s a gap you can close.
Social media. Are they posting? How often? Is anyone engaging, or is it just noise? A quiet or inactive page tells you exactly how much attention they’re putting into this channel.
Reviews themselves. Read what customers actually say, good and bad. Complaints about slow response times, poor communication, or missed appointments are gold. If you’re better at those things, say so, clearly, in your own marketing.
Turning What You Find Into Action
Spotting gaps is only useful if you act on them. A few ways to do that:
- If competitors are slow to respond, make speed of response a stated part of your offer
- If their reviews are old or thin, push harder on collecting fresh ones
- If their content is generic, get specific about your suburb, your trade, and real jobs you’ve done
- If their website is outdated, make sure yours works properly on a phone, because that’s where most searches happen
None of this needs to be complicated. It’s about noticing what’s missing and filling it before someone else does.
The Bigger Picture
Checking on competitors isn’t a one-off task. Markets shift, new businesses turn up, existing ones improve or slip. A quick look every few months keeps you aware of where you actually stand, rather than where you assume you stand.
If you’re not sure where to start or don’t have the time to do this properly, that’s exactly the kind of groundwork that pays off before you spend another dollar on marketing.
FAQ
How often should I check what my competitors are doing?
Every few months is enough for most small businesses. Anything more frequent rarely changes enough to act on.
Do I need paid tools to research competitors?
No. Google search, Google Business Profile, competitor websites, and public reviews will tell you most of what you need to know.
What’s the most useful thing to look at first?
Reviews. They show you what customers genuinely care about and where competitors are falling short.
Not sure where you actually stand?
A one-day marketing audit shows you exactly what’s working, what’s not, and where your competitors are leaving gaps.
Call 0417 700 058
