Yet, having your finger on the pulse of your competition will open up a powerful set of insights. How do you identify your key competitors?

👾 Explore search engines. The easiest way to do this is to google. Enter your primary and location keywords, and the top results will likely be your main competitors.

🧙🏼 Browse business directories. For local competitors, check business directories such as Yelp, Google, and YellowPages. Enter your product or service type and location to get a list of competitors, along with valuable reviews.

🎓 Discover review websites. Websites such as G2 can show you a multitude of products and services. Reviews reveal what competitors are doing right or wrong, giving you insights for your research.

👛 App marketplaces. Visit the App Store, Google Play, and Microsoft Apps, and look at download numbers, user ratings, reviews, and other data, such as app size and last update.

🦇 Look for company depositories. Research your competitors, or your future competitors, with databases such as AngelList, CB Insights, PitchBook, Mattermark, Tracxn and Owler, which all offer background, history, financial records and other information about an industry or business model or technology.

🍁 Check social media platforms and forums. Use social media groups and forums that your ideal audience is already hanging out in. See what they’re talking about when it comes to you or your competition – SocialBlade and SocialTracker can be helpful for this.

⛄️ Ask your customers. Customers are a good source of first-person intelligence regarding your competition; have someone on your team ask (by survey or your sales force) which other businesses they had on their list before narrowing it to you.