The global perfume and fragrance industry is dynamic and rapidly evolving.  As the fragrance industry expands so also is how competitive it becomes. Hence, as a business owner, you need to have an in-depth understanding of the competition to stay ahead.

One such way to achieve this is by conducting a competitor analysis for perfume brands in the UAE’s fragrance industry. This competitor analysis will help you know your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses.

Whether you are a budding business or you have been in the market for long, having  fragrance industry competitor insights will avail your brand opportunities for growth. In this article, we will take you through five simple steps to help your fragrance brand perform an effective competitor analysis.

1.   Identify Key Competitors and Their Market Position

Identifying the key players is the first step to a successful perfume market competitor analysis. It provides you with details of who and whom you are competing against and their economic importance. To start with, you begin by researching businesses that offer the same service as you. Brands that are into your type of luxury cosmetics, the ones that have similar pricing options, marketing strategies, and target audiences as you.

These brands could be local or international, and with a strong market presence and brand loyalty.

How to Identify Competitors?

–       Use online tools to research brands that are often mentioned in the UAE fragrance market.

–       Check virtual stores like Amazon and Alibaba, for the highest-selling fragrance.

–       Do a customer survey to determine the brands they frequent and why.

Identifying these competitors and how they stand to influence your position in the market will put you in a better position of the fragrance industry competitor insights you should implement or add to your strategies.

2. Analyze their Product Offerings and Unique Selling Propositions (USPs)

After analyzing your competitors, the next thing to do is to examine their unique selling points or propositions as used by the “big boys” in the industry.

This alone suffices as an integral part of a competitive analysis for perfume brands. Here in the fragrance industry, examining your competitors’ product lines and unique selling propositions.

 Some of the factors to consider when doing this include;

Ingredients: Are their ingredients natural or artificial? Do they use rare or sustainable ingredients? Do their ingredients target a particular group? e.g. Do they refrain from using certain ingredients because some people are allergic to them or they don’t care about people’s allergies?

Fragrance Notes: Consider what their major fragrance note is. Is it floral, the oriental fragrances, or woody?

Client Appeal: Evaluate what makes their product appealing to customers in the market. What makes it stand out? Is it luxury? Or Longevity? Or its affordability.

Then lastly, look at their designs. Its aesthetics, and how it resonates with the market. What is the idea behind their choice of branding and packaging?

Taking all these factors into consideration will help you understand customer’s fragrance preferences in the UAE, how you can explore the loopholes to your advantage, and how you can pull a large chunk of them into your brand.

3. Evaluate Marketing and Advertising Strategies

There is hardly any big brand out there yet to hack digital marketing to boost their sales and engage customers. Fragrance market analysis reports highlight the impact of social media, digital campaigns, referrals, and influencer marketing on brand building.

You need to observe how your competitors are promoting their products online and how you can leverage that to create effective strategies for your brand’s audience.

For a start, influencer partnerships, ad campaigns, social media presence, and customer engagement are areas to start with.

4.  Assess Customer Reviews and Feedback

No product, no matter how great fits all choices. Some customers might fall in love with your product today and the next day, they are whoring after another product. This could probably be due to a shift in your service, pricing, or strategies.

One way to limit the effect of this is frequent customer feedback. Customer feedback is a powerful tool in the Fragrance Industry Competitor Insights. Reviews reveal how well a product meets the customer’s expectations. Reviews are like lenses to see where your eyes cannot reach. E-commerce websites, social media, forums, and blogs are popular platforms you can explore if you want to see reviews about some of your competitors.

5. Benchmark Pricing and Sales Channels

The fifth step is to finally complete a detailed competitive analysis for perfume brands, assess their distribution channels, pricing methods, and innovation stream. In a country like the UAE where consumers have varying buying power, finding a small tick that could upset the balance between affordability and luxury appeal could be all you need to charge the wide market and remain at the top of your game.

Some of the points to evaluate in this step include discounts and promotions, giveaways and freebies, multiple sales channels, knowing competitors’ presence at premium locations, etc. knowing where and how your competitors sell their products will be instrumental to your brand choosing an effective sales strategies to increase viability and accessibility for your target market in the UAE.

FAQs on Competitor Analysis in Fragrance Industry

How often should I conduct a competitor analysis in the fragrance industry?

While there is no specific duration, an average of every six months suffice for a large business model.

What tools can help with competitor analysis in the fragrance industry?

Some of the tools that can help you include SEMrush, Google Trend, and a couple of other social media analytic tools.

Why is it important to track both local and international competitors in the UAE?

This is because the UAE fragrance market is globalized, hence, monitoring local and international competitors will expose you to global trends, whilst localizing your brand effectively.

Last Words

By following the five steps above, your brand is on its way to gaining insights that will refine your strategy and help you stand out in a competitive market.