Notes for owners · Business growth
Competitor research in two hours: what to collect and what to ignore
A two-hour plan for researching three competitors: which prices, reviews, ads and customer questions to collect, which numbers to skip, and what decision the notes should end in.
The GullySales team · Updated 17 Oct 2026 · 5 min read
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Competitor research is worth doing when it ends in one decision: where you will say something different, or where you must match what buyers already expect. Collect four things for each of three competitors: how they price, what their customers praise and complain about in reviews, what they say in their ads and listings, and the questions their customers keep asking. Leave follower counts, logo opinions and "they look big" impressions out. Two hours is enough, provided you set a timer for each part.
Which three competitors, and why only three?
Pick the one you lose deals to, the one buyers call cheap, and the one buyers call safe. You already know these from your own lost quotes. If you cannot name them, ask your last five buyers who else they spoke to.
A fourth name mostly adds an hour of work and a longer document that nobody opens again.
The two-hour plan
| Minutes | What to do | What to write down |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 30 | Get each competitor's price list or quote as an ordinary enquirer | Price per unit, minimum order, what is charged separately (delivery, setup, samples), payment terms |
| 30 to 60 | Read the 20 most recent reviews of each, good and bad | Words buyers repeat; what went wrong; how the owner replied |
| 60 to 90 | Read their ads, listings, website headline and pinned posts | The one promise they lead with; the proof they show; what they never mention |
| 90 to 120 | Read the questions customers ask under their posts, in reviews and in comments | The three questions that come up most; which ones the competitor answers |
Keep one sheet with a column per competitor and a row for each of those items. If a cell is empty after the time is up, leave it empty and say so. A blank is information too.
Asking for a quote without spoiling it
Ask as a real enquirer would, with a real quantity and your own name. Five questions are enough: the rate at your usual order size, the minimum order, what is charged on top, how payment is split, and what happens if the goods arrive wrong. Do not give a false name, and do not request a quote you will never read. Write the answers down straight away, while the tone is still fresh as well as the figures. If they will not quote without a visit, note that too. It tells you how much effort a new buyer must spend with them.
What to collect, and the reason for each
Price structure, not just price. A competitor at a lower headline rate who charges for delivery and samples may cost the buyer more. Note what is bundled.
Reviews that name a reason. "Good service" tells you nothing. "Delivered on the day they promised" or "had to chase for the invoice" tells you what buyers weigh. Tally reasons, not stars.
The promise in the first line. Many competitors lead with the same thing: quality, experience, best price. If all three do, the gap is whatever none of them claims, provided you can honestly deliver it.
The three questions. A buyer who asks "is GST included?" under a competitor's post has told you what their page left out. Put the answer on yours.
What to ignore
- Follower counts. They show what a page has paid for or collected over years, not who buys.
- Design quality. A plain site that answers a buyer's questions can do more than a polished one that leaves them unanswered.
- One angry review. Wait for a reason that appears three times.
- Claimed years and client lists. Unverifiable.
- Traffic estimates from free tools. They are rough guesses for small sites. Use them, if at all, only to tell a busy site from an empty one.
An invented example: a uniform supplier in Vadodara
Imagine an invented uniform supplier in Vadodara that keeps losing quotes to a larger firm and to a roadside tailor. The sheet shows three things. The larger firm quotes a per-set rate that includes stitching but charges extra for name embroidery. Its reviews praise the fabric and complain about slow refills. The tailor is cheapest, and not one review of the tailor mentions a second order. Under the larger firm's posts, buyers keep asking whether sizes can be changed after measurement.
The supplier's first plan was to match the tailor's rate. That would have made the supplier the cheapest among people who do not reorder. The sheet pointed to the size question instead, which none of the three answers. The supplier added a line to the quote saying sizes can be exchanged once after the first fitting, and left the rate alone.
It was not free. The line meant keeping a few extra sizes in stock, tying up cash, and a larger rival could copy it in a week. But the supplier could honour it from its own stock, which is why it was safe to print, and the question stopped appearing in enquiries.
Turning notes into one decision
When the two hours are up, answer three questions on the same page:
- Which price element do all three share, so a buyer expects it from you too?
- Which complaint appears in the reviews of at least two competitors?
- Which question goes unanswered by all three?
If your answer to the second or third is something you already do, change a headline or a quote template now. If you do not do it, decide honestly whether you could. If you could not, drop it. Claiming a gap you cannot fill earns the same bad review you just read.
Repeat the sheet only when you lose a deal you expected to win, or when a competitor changes how it quotes. A calendar date is a poor trigger. If you want help turning the gap you found into the words on your page, see market positioning and messaging and the marketing hub. With your three names and your sheet in hand, tell us what you need.
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