Why Competitor Analysis is a speed trap (and why I lost a deal saying so)
Too long, didn’t read summary:
When a growing agency needs to fix its marketing, the temptation is to move fast by mimicking competitors. But as this story of a lost deal shows, mimicry is not a strategy; it’s a shortcut to invisibility.
The mistake: Choosing competitor analysis (fast/tangible) over customer interviews (slow/insightful).
The symptom: A website that looks "professional" but fails to convert because it describes what you do instead of why it matters to the buyer.
The cost: Without customer-led direction, every marketing effort—from LinkedIn posts to landing pages—feels "heavy" and eventually stalls.
The verdict: Speed creates movement, but only direction (informed by your customers) creates true momentum.
Yes, I lost a deal recently.
On paper, the buyer chose a faster option. In practice, I believe he lost way more than I did.
This is a story about why the decision felt reasonable at the time, but is likely to backfire within six months (if not sooner).
But let’s start at the beginning.
Meet Josh: A growing agency owner at an Inflection Point
Josh owns an agency with a fun name. He started as a freelancer and, over the past five years, grew the business into a team of more than 20 people. Very impressive.
Operationally, things were working. But strategically, they weren’t fully clicking.
Josh wanted his agency’s marketing to be more intentional and aligned:
The website needed to look more professional
The messaging needed to speak to specific, higher-value audiences
His LinkedIn presence needed clearer boundaries about what to say, what not, and why
In short, he was looking for direction.
This is a common stage for growing agencies: the work is solid, referrals still come in, but growth starts to feel harder than it should. When you are building, you tend to be more reactive; saying yes to smaller jobs than you’d like to. The website is pieced together between the client jobs. You have content ideas but they are a matter of a temporary inspiration and not a structured approach.
Then, all of a sudden, you need a system that brands and consistently pushes signals out in the world that you are a serious and a reliable agency that really knows its craft. Because — who would hire an agency bad at its own marketing?
That’s where Josh was.
Our first call: Why customer insight matters more than execution speed
We e-met one Thursday afternoon, London time.
I had applied to Josh’s project. Before redesigning the website or producing more content, he wanted to understand how his agency was actually perceived.
According to him, I was the only applicant with the specific skill set he was looking for (qualitative research and service messaging).
The plan involved interviews with his current and former clients as well as prospects who never converted.
He wanted honest feedback, even when it might be uncomfortable.
Several things he said stood out:
“Last year was about setting operational expectations as we scaled. Now we need to market ourselves properly—and we know that’s something we neglected.”
“Before we change the website or create more content, we want to make sure the way we talk about our services matches how our clients talk about them.”
“I know the findings might be uncomfortable, especially from former clients. I still want the feedback.”
“We landed a dream client, and to be honest, I still don’t fully understand how they found us. That made me realize we don’t really understand our demand.”
These are the words of someone standing at a strategic inflection point.
Josh was asking for direction and position, and he knew the only place to find the answers was with customers.
Side note: Why are in-depth customer interviews so important for service brands?
In-depth customer interviews are vital for service brands because services are inherently intangible and experiential, making traditional quantitative data insufficient for capturing the "why" behind consumer behavior.
Unlike physical products, services rely heavily on emotional touchpoints and interpersonal dynamics; interviews allow brands to uncover the nuanced pains, motivations, and unspoken expectations that occur throughout the customer journey.
By engaging in open-ended dialogue, brands can identify specific friction points in their delivery, such as a lack of trust during a consultation or a confusing onboarding process, that metrics like NPS scores often miss.
The plan: Customer-led positioning and messaging
We agreed on a straightforward approach:
Eight in-depth interviews with a mix of current, former, and lost clients
Synthesis of patterns across perception, objections, and decision drivers
Clear messaging pillars grounded in customer language
Actionable recommendations for the website and online presence
I sent a proposal with a fair price. Budgets are tight right now—I’m aware of that.
Josh came back and said his budget was exactly half.
So I adjusted the scope to respect the constraint while protecting quality.
And then came the twist.
The twist: Choosing competitors over customers
The same day Josh asked me to reduce scope, he posted a new project.
This time, he was looking for someone to “structure” the website by analyzing competitor sites and mirroring their page layouts.
The budget for that work?
Just slightly under what I had originally quoted.
So the issue wasn’t budget.
It was speed and tangibility.
Competitor analysis feels fast. It looks concrete. You open a few tabs, take notes, and start building.
Customer interviews take time. They involve scheduling, conversations, transcripts, synthesis, and patience.
For a growing agency under pressure, the faster option feels safer.
But it’s also where so many of them get stuck.
When you’re small, mimicking the market helps you fit in.
When you’re larger, listening to customers is how you stand out.
By choosing competitors over clients, Josh chose speed over distinction.
The invisible cost of surface-level messaging work
There’s a second problem that often goes unnoticed.
When someone analyzes competitor websites without a deep understanding of positioning and buyer psychology, they bring back surface observations.
They notice:
A “Process” page—but not the objection it’s meant to resolve
A catchy headline—but not the value proposition underneath
A list of differentiators—without knowing which ones buyers actually care about
The result?
Pages that describe what happens instead of why it matters.
Messaging that sounds polished but interchangeable.
Language that fills space instead of reducing buyer uncertainty.
This is how agencies end up with websites that look “better” but convert no differently.
One month later: The symptoms of missing direction
A month after our conversation, I checked Josh’s website.
It looked the same.
I checked his LinkedIn profile.
He stopped posting a few weeks ago.
I can’t say with certainty what’s happening internally. But I know this symptom intimately.
When messaging lacks a clear point of view, decisions feel heavier than they should. This shows in how much time and effort it takes to create something meaningful, be it a landing page or a Linkedin post.
And it’s not a skill issue, but rather the lack of understanding what we are really optimizing for.
Conclusion: Speed creates movement, direction creates momentum
I get Josh. I don’t see his decision as careless or irrational. It made sense in the moment.
When pressure is high and results feel urgent, choosing the faster path feels optimal.
But speed and direction are not the same thing.
Shortcuts can create activity. They rarely create momentum.
Listening takes longer upfront.
It also reduces rework, hesitation, and second-guessing later. It also helps you identify your secret sauce and your edge. And, more importantly, it gives you enough perspective to share your own perspective.
Don’t be like Josh.
A great website does start with studying your competitors. But then it’s your job to infuse your competitor insight with your personality and edge.
If you’re ready to start listening to the people who actually pay you, let’s talk.
Book a no-strings-attached call →
