Product benchmarking is making its mark on digital adoption strategies. This underestimated lever deserves the full attention of decision-makers if they are to succeed in this complex change management process. By finely analyzing your offerings and practices in relation to market benchmarks, this competitive benchmarking tool sheds light on your priority areas for improvement. Armed with valuable insights, you’ll be able to make the decisions that will transform your business.
Product benchmarking is the methodical process of comparing a product or service with its main competitors in a given market.
To carry out this benchmarking exercise, all the characteristics of the product under scrutiny are studied in depth, whether in terms of functionality, ergonomics, technical performance or value for money.
The aim? Precisely identify the competitive gaps that need to be closed to match or even exceed market standards.
Above all, product benchmarking enables us to accurately assess the performance of a product offering across all its key characteristics, by direct comparison with competing market references.
This comparative analysis provides a revealing snapshot of the relative strengths and weaknesses of the solution under analysis. The end result is an objective overview of industry standards, and a pertinent reflection of the product’s competitiveness.
Identify priority areas for improvement
But the main benefit of product benchmarking lies in the precise identification of the levers on which to act to enhance the attractiveness of the offering examined.
By highlighting gaps in relation to best market practices, this diagnosis enables us to target priority areas for improvement in order to make up for shortcomings and match the competition.
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The first step is to put together a relevant panel of competing products to compare, representative of the benchmark solutions in the target market.
Selection is generally based on criteria such as market share, positioning (entry-level, mid-range, premium), or even the intended user target.
The challenge is to choose offers that are sufficiently comparable to obtain significant results.
Once the panel has been chosen, we need to determine the list of criteria on which the various products will be analyzed and rated.
The third stage consists of collecting tangible data on each of the selected products, for all the chosen criteria.
This data is collected using a variety of methods: product testing, customer surveys, specification analysis, market research, public data from publishers, etc.
This raw data is then analyzed to obtain numerical scores for each criterion.
By pinpointing customer expectations and the gaps to be bridged in relation to market benchmarks, this competitive diagnostic tool helps rationalize strategic choices:
In addition, by providing an objective barometer over time through regular waves of comparative analysis, product benchmarking ensures continuous monitoring of the competitiveness of solutions. It thus becomes a powerful catalyst for incremental innovation, enabling you to :
In addition, lessons learned from benchmarking can trigger a rethink of internal product development processes, typically leading to :
In this way, digital transformation feeds on the value delivered to the end customer.
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Last but not least, product benchmarking provides an objective framework for challenging the strategic vision embodied in digital products, and their relevance to the company’s business imperatives in the marketplace.
It fosters team alignment by fuelling discussions based on factual data and a shared diagnosis of the strengths and weaknesses of offerings in relation to the competition.
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So, by objectively dissecting the positioning of your offerings in the competitive maelstrom, product benchmarking arms you with valuable insights to set the course for value innovation and operational excellence. Admittedly, this comparative analysis exercise requires methodology and objectivity. But the competitive dividends are well worth the effort. At a time when digital disruption is mercilessly invalidating established models, benchmarking against the best in class is more important than ever.
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