When developing a marketing strategy, taking a deeper look into your competition is key to determining how you will position your organization, where you will spread your message, who you will target, what mediums you will use, and when will be the best time to launch your campaign. Competition is a key part of every industry and when studied well can be used to drive innovative thinking and demand continuous improvement. 

We recommend before conducting your competitive review, that your organization has an up-to-date communications audit. Having an updated benchmark of where your organization stands internally will aid your analysis when compared to competitors. 

Think of a competitive review as a chance to reflect on your own business and discover what sets you apart.  Nonprofits can also take advantage of doing this research when developing their messaging or outreach strategies. There are many good causes out there, how to differentiate your organization to capture not only potential donors’ attention but ultimately support is the crucial question that communications audits and competitive reviews alike are working to answer. Understanding what donors value in an organization and how they allocate their support is a necessity, you can read our 2024 Donor Survey findings here. 

Competition is usually local, but broadening the scope of what you consider to be competition is a great way to generate alternative marketing ideas. But first, let’s start with the basics…

Begin by selecting what you think your organization’s top three to five competitors are, and then narrow in on your top competitor. 

From there, create a competitive matrix. Pick two metrics that best cater to your organization’s mission and industry and then place your organization and competitors accordingly to create a clearer picture of where your nonprofit is relative to your competition. We recommend considering and even placing where you would like your organization to be in the future on your competitive matrix to identify where your organization needs to improve to reach this goal. 

 

Example of a competitive matrix

The competitive matrix offers a general overview of the competitive landscape, but for a complete competitive review, we need to dig a little deeper. Researching the following for your top 1-2 competitors will give you insights into specific ways you can adjust your marketing plan to rise above the competition and gain donor support. 

  • The Basics: Organization size, marketing budget, service location(s), logos, and brand colors.
  • Mission, Vision, and Values: What do they list as their mission, vision, and values? Are these apparent in their marketing materials? 
  • Tagline: Do they have a tagline? Is unique to their organization and differentiated?
  • Target Audiences: Who is this organization addressing in its message? What demographic qualities are they using in their marketing materials? Compare their target market to your nonprofit’s persona profile. 
  • Messaging Clarity: How well do they communicate their mission and values? Are they consistent in their messaging?
  • Unique Value Proposition: What does your competitor claim to do that is different from other organizations? 
  • Beneficiaries: Who is benefiting from this nonprofit?
  • Marketing and Communications Content: This is one of the larger pieces of the competitive review puzzle. Look at all marketing content from websites and social media to mailings, billboards, print, etc. Take note of the types of content (blogs, videos, success stories, email marketing, fundraising content, PSA’s, events). What is their engagement like? How often do they put out new content? 

When looking at these components ask yourself: 

  • How is your organization different? 
  • What are you doing better? 
  • What can you highlight in your messaging and communications that is unique and will resonate with your target audiences?
  • What stood out to you when looking at your competitors’ materials? Was it compelling, and how so? How do your promotional materials compare?
  • Where are your competitors leading? Do they have a strong social media presence, and are they showing great results? Are they good storytellers? What are they doing right, and what can you learn from it?  
  • Where are your competitors lacking? What strategies aren’t working? Could your organization do them differently or better?  
  • What gaps do you see? Are there opportunities? How could your nonprofit fill those gaps?

We recommend compiling your findings into a deck that can be referred to and updated as needed. Visually seeing your competitor’s marketing materials in contrast with your own can help paint a better picture of where your organization stands relative to the competition.

To analyze and evaluate your findings, you can use frameworks such as SWOT analysis, Porter’s five forces analysis, or PESTEL analysis, to identify and categorize the i factors that affect your competitors’ performance and your nonprofit’s potential.

Now you know how to conduct a competitive review! For more nonprofit marketing tips be sure to check out the rest of our Williams Whittle Blog here.