Every business owner wonders how their company stacks up against the competition. In fact, benchmarking can be an invaluable way to find out how your business can improve, according to Forbes.com.

To help you with business analysis, this article highlights several techniques to improve your benchmarking abilities.

Set Your Metrics

Metrics are important for any form of business analysis. Identify the data points that are most vital and relevant to your business. Sales revenue, operating costs, customer attraction and retention, and profits and losses are a good place to start.

Identify Your Competitors

In order to compare your business to its competition, it is important to know who that competition is. Do research to find out who the current big players in your field are. Also be sure to do research on emerging companies. This should cover both your current marketplace and any areas into which you hope to expand.

Research Your Competitors

The next step in your business analysis will be to research your competitors. Look at how they set themselves apart from others in the market. Check out the technologies they are using in areas like sales, advertising, and customer service. These can help you both borrow ideas for your own company and predict moves your competitors may make.

Develop an Action Plan

After you’ve seen how your business stacks up to its competition, it is time to develop an action plan. First, identify what goals you would like to meet. For instance, a clear goal could be to attain 50 new customers in the next quarter. The next step is to identify a method for doing so. In this example, you could use some of the customer-attraction techniques you saw your competitors using for your own company.

For more information on the business world, take a look at Elevation Financial’s other blog posts.