Competitive Product: Definition + How to Analyze One | Coursera

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Learn what competitive products are, what they mean for your business, and how to conduct a competitive product analysis.
Competitive products, including physical and digital products, experiences, and services, are products that your target market may choose over yours.
A competitive product analysis helps you evaluate competitors to identify where you stand in your industry and differentiate your products from theirs.
Three types of competitive products include direct competitive products, indirect competitive products, and replacement products.
You can identify and analyze your competitors based on those identified in your business plan or marketing strategy.
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Competitive products are goods and services that your target market might choose over yours. You can identify a competitive product by how similar its features and solutions are to your product.
Product competition is a natural part of doing business. It can offer surprising benefits, including differentiating your company from others and remaining energized to innovate. Having a competitive product means that your product meets consumers’ needs and expectations. For example, consider the Apple iPad and Amazon Fire. Both offer users a tablet experience and fulfill similar needs at varying prices.
Competitive products can include:
Physical products, such as clothing and toys
Digital products, such as e-books, online courses, and media streaming apps
Live experiences, such as parties, performances, and festivals
Professional services, such as consulting, coaching, and designing
In a competitive market, you will encounter companies that challenge your market share in different ways. Three main types of competitive products to consider when investigating your competition are:
Direct competitive products offer the same experience at similar price points as yours and target the same market. Examples of companies offering direct competitive products include McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s.
Indirect competitive products are products in different categories and potentially available at different price points, but targeted to the same market. For example, patients may choose between pharmaceuticals and naturopathy to treat their conditions.
Replacement products offer customers alternatives to your products to solve the same problem. For example, a hungry customer might choose to pick up a packaged meal at Starbucks rather than find a sit-down dining experience if Starbucks is more convenient.
Identifying and analyzing competitive products is important when launching a business, developing new products, or enhancing existing ones. For example, a new rideshare company would need to examine services through Uber and Lyft to understand how to design a more appealing experience.
This kind of examination is called a competitive product analysis. Competitive selling becomes 82 percent more effective when combined with conversational intelligence tools, according to the 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence report by Crayon [1].
By taking these steps, you can:
Learn where you stand in your industry and how you compare to well-known brands.
Differentiate your products and services.
Fill market gaps and reach untapped niche markets.
Offer unique customer experiences.
Market your products’ advantages over competitors’ products.
Note this distinction: A competitive analysis is a holistic examination of competing brands, while a competitive product analysis focuses on the products themselves.
Follow these four steps to conduct your competitive product analysis.
Even if you’ve already conducted a competitive analysis as part of your business plan or marketing strategy, take time to re-examine competitors, with a particular emphasis on competitive products.
Gather as much publicly available information about competitors as you can from annual reports, websites, sales and product pages, email subscriptions, customer reviews, and social media.
For each competitive product, answer the following questions:
What are the distinguishing features?
How often are the features updated?
What are the benefits or outcomes of consuming this product?
What kind of marketing messaging does your competitor use to attract target consumers?
How is the product presented visually in photographs, videos, or mockups?
How much does it cost?
What are the competitors’ sales figures?
What kind of promotional tactics does the competitor use, such as free trials, discounts, coupons, and value adds?
What do customers like and dislike about the product, according to reviews, testimonials, or social media posts?