Why competitor monitoring is often overlooked by Product Managers

It's common knowledge that Product Manager is both the most wanted job in tech and the most hated by those who are PMs out there.

Big Tech vs. startup Product Managers

Being a Product Manager at a Big Tech and being a PM at a small startup is nothing alike. In a large org, you have access to a lot of resources, ranging from UX researchers to Product Marketers, content writers, etc. When in smaller startups, being a PM essentially means being a jack of all trades. Being resourceful then becomes a critical trait of successful startup PMs.

As a result, some things have to go. Many PMs spend most of their time in meetings trying to manage challenging stakeholders or clicking on buttons in Jira in a rush to prepare the next sprint (hard to accept sometimes but c'mon, it's true). It’s hard to find time for things that don’t speak! As a result, competitive analysis is often overlooked.

Competitor analysis is all about data

Even though, at some point, competitor analysis will come into the game. Yes, you need to be customer-obsessed and competitor-aware, but having this awareness comes at a cost. All PMs out there have worked on competitive analysis, and in general, this ends up being a Spreadsheet or a Notion database listing all competitors, their features, pricing, etc. As soon as such a competitor matrix is finished (sometimes before), its content is out of sync.

Don't get us wrong, there is value in having slightly outdated content. It's still relevant. But it's 10x better to have up-to-date competitor intel.

OK, so. After having spent a fair amount of time compiling a table with competitor data, PMs will go back to their more urgent duties and forget about it. Until the time the data is needed again. Sadly, when the need resurfaces, the data at hand is barely reliable, and the research work has to start again, delaying further the actual outcomes of any competitive analysis.

Why competitor monitoring is overlooked

That is why, competitor monitoring is too often overlooked by PMs. Not because PMs don't want to analyze and monitor competitors, but because it's simply too time-consuming to monitor competitors efficiently when you have too many other things to focus on. There is also this fallacy that it’s hard to prioritize preparing the data when you don’t need it, and when you need it, facing the initial cost of putting the data together may result in the competitor analysis being deferred or overly simplified.

This neglect is also a byproduct of the overwhelming focus on immediate tactical duties. The urgency of day-to-day operations often takes precedence over the importance of ongoing competitive insights. In fast-paced environments, it's easy to push long-term strategic tasks aside for short-term operational needs.

Now, that situation may also be due to the fact there is a low perceived value in conducting competitor analysis among certain Product Managers. If you are more leaning towards the technical side of product management, it's probable that conducting user interviews and spending time checking competitors' assets (websites/apps/socials) isn't your go-to task, and you’d rather spend time with your dev team tackling another problem.

Ignoring competitor monitoring can be detrimental in the long run. While it might seem like a low-priority task, staying updated on your competitors is crucial for making informed strategic decisions and maintaining a competitive edge.

The solution: automated competitor monitoring

We believe competitor monitoring for product managers (and similar roles) should be automated and always up to date so that PMs can do what they do best instead of compiling data points in a spreadsheet to produce their competitive matrix. Automation not only simplifies the process but also enhances accuracy, ensuring that the data you rely on is as current and relevant as possible.

This is why we are building CompetitiveWatch, the #1 competitor monitoring tool for product managers!

In summary, while competitor analysis may seem like a secondary task amidst the myriad responsibilities of a Product Manager, its importance cannot be overstated. Embracing automated solutions for competitor monitoring is not just a smart move; it’s a strategic necessity.