How to run SAAS marketing competitor research with a dated evidence sheet

What to take away

A founder in Leeds or Reading can map the competitor set in a morning if the list is capped and the criteria are written down first.
Define the set by the job buyers are trying to do, not by directory tags or which firms bid on the same paid terms.
Record evidence with a date and a source for every claim, so the findings survive a change of marketing lead or agency.
Use the research to test two or three messages with real buyers before rewriting the whole site.

Decide what counts as a competitor

Start with the decision the buyer is making, not the product category. Two firms that look different in a directory can be shortlisted for the same budget line.

Does this firm count as a competitor?

Appeared in 3+ lost deals in last two quarters?

Yes

include on competitor list

exclude from competitor list

Write an inclusion rule before you collect anything. For example, a firm counts as a competitor if it appeared in three or more deals your sales team lost in the last two quarters, or if buyers named it unprompted. That keeps the list small and defensible.

If you are still shaping the buyer picture, the wider audience research guide for England covers the interviews and desk work that sit before this step.

Build the list from evidence

Build the competitor list from evidence

Gather names from your own CRM
Add sales call notes
Check review sites
Note firms your buyers follow
Ask two sales colleagues to add missing names
Freeze the list at five to eight names

For each name, note the segment it serves, the pricing model it publishes, and the market it sells into. Where a rival sells mainly to buyers in Scotland or Wales, say so, because the buying process and the procurement rules can differ from England.

Use analytics and ad data

Your own site data shows which rivals buyers search for alongside your brand. Set up the measurement properly before you draw conclusions, using the GA4 developer guide for collecting analytics data to confirm events and conversions are firing as expected.

Paid social gives you a view of how rivals position themselves to the same job titles. Review the LinkedIn ad best practices before you copy a format, and note the offer each competitor leads with rather than the creative style.

Record findings in one place

Keep a single sheet with a row per competitor and a column per question. Date every entry and name the source, whether that is a pricing page, a webinar recording or a sales note.

What to capture for each rival

The job it claims to do, in the buyer's words where possible.
Published pricing, or the pricing model if no figure is public.
The proof it leans on, such as named customers, certifications or integrations.
The segment it targets and the geography it names.

What to leave out

Claims you cannot trace to a dated source.
Feature lists copied from a homepage with no context.
Anything about a rival's internal team or hiring plans.

Where you plan to share data with a partner or integration, check the ICO guidance on data sharing before you move customer records between systems.

Test messages before you rewrite

Pick two claims that appear repeatedly across the competitor set and test them with buyers. A short message test beats a full site rewrite when the evidence is still thin.

For example, a team paying £400 a month for a research tool might test one headline about reporting speed and another about data accuracy, then measure which draws more demo requests over three weeks. Treat the figures as an illustrative example, not a benchmark.

If the tests point to a narrower group than you first assumed, revisit how you define that group using this guide to SAAS marketing target audience in England.

Common questions

How many competitors should I track?

Five to eight is enough for most SAAS firms. More than that and the sheet becomes a directory rather than a working document.

How often should I repeat the research?

Review pricing and positioning pages every quarter, and refresh the full sheet when a major rival changes its model or a new name appears in lost deals.

Can I do this without paid tools?

Yes. Your CRM, call notes, public pricing pages and review sites cover most of what you need. Paid tools help with volume, not with judgement.

What if I find nothing useful?

That usually means the competitor set is too broad. Narrow it to the firms that appear in your own lost deals and start again.