Analyzing the Competition
Understanding your competition helps you see where your business fits in the market and what makes it unique. This research can show you who your main competitors are, what they offer, how they market themselves, and where opportunities exist for improvement.
Finding Local Competitors
If your project focuses on a specific city or region, start by identifying similar businesses nearby.
Use these tools to find and compare local competitors:
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Reference Solutions This link opens in a new windowLists businesses across the U.S. by location, size, industry, or keyword. Use it to find local competitors or create a map of businesses in your area.
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Mergent Intellect This link opens in a new windowIncludes data on public and private U.S. and international companies. You can search by company name, industry code, or keyword to see competitors, financials, and contacts.
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Nexis Uni This link opens in a new windowProvides current news, press releases, and legal filings related to your competitors.
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County Business PatternsProvides annual economic data by industry and location, including number of businesses, employees, and payroll, so it can help understanding the local business landscape.
For all other library databases, see the Library Databases page. To view business and economics databases only, filter by subject or go here.
Analyzing Competitive Activities
Once you’ve identified your competitors, look for information that helps you analyze their business activities and strategies.
When analyzing competitors, look for:
- Who they are and where they’re located - which businesses offer similar products or services?
- Who their customers are - who are they trying to reach, and how do they advertise or connect with them?
- What they do well and where they could improve - think about pricing, quality, marketing, or customer experience.
- How your business could stand out - what could you offer that’s different or better?
Recommended Databases for Competitive Analysis
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ABI/INFORM This link opens in a new window
Full text of business and financial journals, including essential scholarly journals and the most important trade journals.
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Business Source Premier This link opens in a new window
Full-text for thousands of journals, covering all disciplines of business. (Coverage: Varies according to journal, some back to 1922.)
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Gale Business Insights This link opens in a new window
Full-text company and industry intelligence on global corporations.
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Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Full-text information from news, business, and legal sources, including U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1790. Though not required, you have the option to create a personal account that will give you access to special features such as alerts, saved searches, folders, history, annotations and more.
For all other library databases, see the Library Databases page. To view business and economics databases only, filter by subject or go here.