Free Competition Analysis for E-Commerce Startup

For anyone who has completed research regarding e-commerce, there are some common catch phrases that we all come across. 'Competition Analysis' is one of those catch phrases. Competition Analysis is part of the business plan. And it is an important part.

However, completing some of the tasks that are required for Competition Analysis can be overwhelming and expensive. This is a disadvantage for e-commerce startups with limited budgets.

The following is a suggestion that has worked for us at Rothline Entertainment, an e-commerce site located at http://www.rothline.com. After reviewing information on completing Competition Analysis, we immediately knew we could not afford to have an outside source complete these tasks. We were also overwhelmed with the idea of attempting to complete the tasks ourselves.

We brainstormed regarding who our competition is and how well they are doing. One of the free tools that helped us the most with Competition Analysis was http://www.alexa.com/site/ds/top_500

This site allows searching for e-commerce sites in specific industries in order to view status, link popularity, ranking, etc. For our company we began by selecting five companies that best fit our industry and were in the top 500. We took a look at what they were doing, and they must be doing something right if they are in the top 500.

We made a list of their strengths and weaknesses and compared our strengths and weaknesses to theirs. This was the best free Competition Analysis tool we had come across. It provided information on our competition and allowed us to begin carving out what our special niche could be and how to compete. The only thing that it cost was time.

For a startup e-commerce site with a limited budget I recommend trying this approach for Competition Analysis. This approach does not have to be your only tool but it can be a beneficial tool to add to your marketing toolbox.

About The Author

Lawrence Roth, Web Manager
Rothline Entertainment is an online catalog for computer and video games and pc software - http://www.rothline.com, http://stores.ebay.com/Rothline-Entertainment

sales@rothline.com


10 Reasons To Survey Your Visitors, Subscribers And Customers

1. To find out what type of content visitors want... Read More

The Clickbank Crash of 2003: Lessons Learned

I had a rude awakening recently. I checked the days... Read More

7 Key Steps To Reduce Refunds and Chargebacks

One sure-fire way to loosing out big time on your... Read More

Do Your Online Brokerage Business With Zero Down

If you have little or no capital but you want... Read More

Say Something Worth Talking About

I recently published a short e-book called 'One Thing I... Read More

Choosing on Order Fulfillment Service

When your eCommerce business grows to the point where you... Read More

Ecommerce Marketing Plan

Concept of ServiceThe current work deals with marketing offer of... Read More

Are You Making These E-Commerce Excuses? (part 2)

Last time, we started to take a look at the... Read More

Retirement Signature Frames ? The Perfect Retirement Gift!

When most people think of a retirement gift, they think... Read More

Shopping Carts and the E-Aisles

Have you ever gone to the store and thought you... Read More

Google to Compete with PayPal?

PayPal is secure in its domination over the electronic payment... Read More

Web Users Crave Familiarity

The sad truth is, general Web users would love it... Read More

How To Accept Credit Cards Online

Anyone with an online business, whether for auctions, services, or... Read More

How To Stay Cutting Edge In Online Business

Let's face it, there's just way too much information out... Read More

How to Receive Payments for Your Online Sales

Once you decide which products you are planning to sell... Read More

Online Business- What Makes It a Success!

Only a few manage to sell everything under the sun... Read More

10 Tips To Build, Manage And Profit From An E-Commerce Website

Just because you've built your e-commerce website doesn't mean the... Read More

Rules for Achieving Online Success

The Internet brought a great deal of benefits to our... Read More

Why This Is The Perfect Time To Start Charging For Website Subscriptions

If you're a writer, researcher, subject matter expert, enthusiastic hobbyist,... Read More

Credit Card Merchant Account Basics

Knowing which credit card merchant account to get can be... Read More

PayPal Powered

Three years ago I was doing some work for a... Read More

What Does It Take to Make Money Online?

What a loaded question! Let's narrow that down a bit... Read More

How To Start An Internet Business ? Site Layout

The fourth step of how to start an Internet business... Read More

7 Questions to Ask A Potential Internet Merchant Account Provider

Recently I went looking for an online merchant account, with... Read More

Selecting The Right Shopping Cart For Your Website

Shopping Cart Installation And SetupShopping cart technology has evolved to... Read More