Build Your 2025 Marketing Strategy: Week 3, Audience Insights & Competitor Analysis
Week 3: Audience Insights & Competitor Analysis
Welcome to Week 3 of our mini-series, where we’re helping you build your 2025 marketing strategy on a page.
If you’re just joining us, don’t worry — you can catch up here Week 1 (Vision & Purpose) and Week 2 (Strategic Goals). You can also download the Strategy on a Page template to follow along.
This week, we’re focusing on two key areas: audience insights and competitor analysis. These elements help you understand your customers and market position, giving you the clarity to make smarter decisions about where to focus your efforts next year.
What Are Audience Insights?
Your audience is at the heart of your marketing strategy. Understanding who they are, what they need, and how they behave will help you craft campaigns and messaging that truly resonate.
For many businesses, there’s no “one-size-fits-all” customer. You might have multiple audience personas, each with unique needs, challenges, and behaviours.
For example, a café might cater to busy commuters grabbing their morning coffee as well as families seeking a relaxed weekend spot.
By identifying these personas, you can tailor your marketing to speak directly to each group.
How to Define Your Audience Personas:
Identify key groups: Think about the main types of customers who interact with your business. What are their demographics (age, gender, location) and psychographics (values, interests, challenges)?
Consider buying behaviour: How, when, and where do they interact with businesses like yours?
Involve your team: If you have staff who interact directly with customers, ask for their input—they may notice things you haven’t.
Audience Insights Examples
To help you get started, here are examples of audience personas across some different industries:
Charity
Persona 1: Monthly donors aged 30–60 who care deeply about environmental issues and want to support long-term change.
Persona 2: Young professionals aged 18–25 looking for meaningful short-term volunteering opportunities.
B2B Company (Accountancy Firm)
Persona 1: Established small business owners seeking reliable, ongoing financial support.
Persona 2: Start-ups needing hands-on guidance with compliance and financial planning in their early stages.
Online Retailer (Eco-Friendly Skincare)
Persona 1: Eco-conscious women aged 25–40 who prioritise sustainable, high-quality products.
Persona 2: Teens aged 16–18 who care about the environment and are looking for affordable, beginner-friendly skincare options.
Local Business (Independent Bookshop)
Persona 1: Avid readers aged 30–50 who love curated book selections and rare finds.
Persona 2: Parents aged 25–40 searching for interactive story-time events and high quality children’s books.
By identifying and understanding these personas, you can create more relevant marketing that meets their needs.
What Is Competitor Analysis?
Competitor analysis helps you understand how your business stacks up in the market. It’s not about copying others - it’s about identifying gaps and opportunities to stand out.
A useful approach is to start with a SWOT analysis of your own business, identifying your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Once you’ve completed this, repeat the process for your top competitors. This exercise not only highlights areas where you can differentiate yourself but also reveals potential threats and opportunities to help shape your strategy.
Competitor SWOT Analysis Examples
B2B Company (Accountancy Firm)
Strengths: A competitor may offer a sleek client portal and automated reporting tools.
Weaknesses: They might lack personalised service for smaller clients.
Opportunities: You could position yourself as the friendly, high-touch alternative for small businesses.
Threats: Their strong online presence and competitive pricing could challenge your market share.
Local Business (Independent Bookshop)
Strengths: A competitor might have a wide range of rare and signed editions.
Weaknesses: They might not focus on family-friendly events or younger readers.
Opportunities: You could attract new customers by hosting regular storytime events for children.
Threats: A national chain offering steep discounts could draw customers away.
By completing a SWOT analysis for both your business and your competitors, you’ll gain clarity on what makes you unique and where you can improve.
Finding Your USP
Competitor analysis is the perfect time to define your Unique Selling Proposition (USP). By comparing your strengths to your competitors’ weaknesses, you can identify what makes your business truly unique. This might be:
A product or service competitors don’t offer.
A customer experience that’s second to none.
A value-driven approach that aligns with your audience’s priorities.
Examples of a USP:
B2B Company (Accountancy Firm): "Hands-on, personalised service tailored to small businesses, standing out from competitors that rely heavily on automation."
Local Business (Independent Bookshop): "Community-focused events, like children’s story-time or book clubs, that competitors don’t provide."
Your USP is what makes your business memorable and helps you stand out in a crowded marketplace. Add it to your Strategy on a Page template and use it as a guide for your marketing messaging and positioning.
Take Action: This Week’s Tasks
This week, focus on these two tasks:
Define your audience personas:
Identify your key customer groups and what makes them tick.
Note their challenges and how your business solves them.
Perform a SWOT analysis:
Complete one for your business and for your top 2–3 competitors.
Use this to uncover strengths to leverage, gaps to fill, and opportunities to pursue.
Add these insights to your Strategy on a Page template—they’ll guide your decisions as we move into channel strategy next week.
Additional Tips
Use data: Social media insights, Google Analytics, and customer feedback can provide invaluable information about your audience’s preferences and behaviours.
Look beyond the obvious: Think about the emotional needs of your audience, not just practical ones.
Keep it actionable: Focus on insights that will directly inform your strategy.
Download the Template
Haven’t downloaded the Strategy on a Page template yet?
It’s a simple, effective tool to help you pull together everything we’re working on.
Need a Fresh Perspective?
Sometimes it helps to talk things through. I’m offering a limited number of free 30-minute calls this week if you’d like help refining your audience insights or SWOT analysis. Book your spot here —sometimes a fresh perspective is all you need to spark new ideas.
What’s Next?
Next week, we’ll move on to channel strategy — figuring out the best ways to connect with your audience.
For now, take some time to reflect on your audience and competitors. These insights will shape everything you do moving forward.
Let’s make 2025 the year your business shines.