Your competitive strategy is essential to standing out, attracting loyal customers, and thriving in a rapidly growing and crowded wellness market. Today, we’ll guide you through the five basics of competitive strategy, using the sleep meditation app Calm as a case study. You’ll learn how to:

1. Assess the market type

2. Evaluate the competitive landscape

3. Build your competitor matrix

4. Generate a benefits analysis

5. Defend your competitive advantage

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Step One: Assess the Market Type

⚔️Types of market entry

Market entry is a critical component to the sustainability of your business. Consider whether you’re entering:

• White Space: A market segment with little or no competition

• Fractured Market: A market with various small players but no clear leader Expanding in such a space allows for differentiated positioning

• Saturated Market: A highly competitive space with well-established players

You’ll also want to consider your market entry strategy such as a first-to-market entrant to a fast-follower. Each strategy affects how quickly you need to establish your competitive advantage.

📘Calm’s market entry strategy

Calm entered the market as a fast follower to Headspace, and used tactical partnerships with famous people to benefit from similar brand equity and customer trust headspace had recently built.

🔐Webinar on market entry

Upgrade to watch our webinar about types of market entry strategies and how to choose the entry tactics for your specific market. We’ll guide you through how to select the best strategy for your business and how to adapt strategies as you scale.

Step Two: Evaluate the Competitive Landscape

🕵️‍♂️Identify your competitors

Understanding the types of competitors you’ll face is the foundation of competitive strategy. Here’s an overview:

• Direct Competitors: Offer similar services to the same target market. These competitors target people seeking accessible, app-based mindfulness and mental wellness solutions.

• Indirect Competitors: Different business models but target the same customer needs. Think of indirect competitors as substitutes—where might customers go if Calm and similar apps didn’t exist?

• Analog Competitors: Similar business models but target a different market. Analogs are important to consider because they validate your business model and represent potential expansion opportunities down the line.

🧩Uncover gaps in the market

Once you’ve identified your competitors, you need to uncover any gaps in the market. This is also an important step in communicating your market opportunity in your business plan. To get started, consider:

• Who they serve: Identify competitors target demographics and the pain points they address.

• What they offer: Examine competitor products, services, and unique features.

• How they communicate value: Look at competitors marketing messages, brand voice, and customer engagement tactics.

• Market trends: Research how competitors in the market have shifted positioning overtime.

• Market timing: Understand why the timing for your business is right based on macro or micro economic trends.

📘Calm’s competitive landscape

Calm’s direct competitors include other meditation and mindfulness apps like Headspace, Insight Timer, and Breethe. Calm’s indirect competitors provide alternatives to app-based wellness such as in-person meditation studios, wellness-focused YouTube channels, and therapy services. For Calm, analog competitors include app-based wellness platforms like Peloton.

🔐Assess your competition

Need help identifying your competitors and uncovering opportunities in your market? We’re here to help! Upgrade to book your monthly coaching session with Erin today.

Step Three: Build Your Competitor Matrix

Once you understand the landscape, the next step is to identify the two key factors your business will compete on. With these two factors, you will design a competitor matrix to include in your pitch deck or business plan. Some common competitive factors in the wellness industry includes:

• Price (affordable to premium)

• Customer Experience (standard to personalized)

• Product Quality (basic to high-end)

• Accessibility (in-person to fully remote)

• Service Scope (broad wellness vs. niche wellness like corporate or mental wellness)

📘Calm’s competitive factors

Calm competes on “Service Scope” and “Customer Experience.” Initially focused on meditation, Calm expanded quickly to cover a broad range of wellness services sleep, stress, and general relaxation. They’ve prioritized customer experience by offering personalized recommendations based on your preferences and data collected from using the app.

🔐Design your own competitive matrix

Consider upgrading to access our competitive matrix PowerPoint template and step-by-step instructional video to build your own competitive matrix.

Step Four: Generate a Benefits Analysis

With your competitive landscape and focus defined, the next step is a benefits analysis. This will help you identify and communicate the unique value your business provides over competitors. Ask yourself:

• What unique benefits do I offer? Identify both tangible and intangible aspects, such as proprietary content or a unique brand ethos.

• How do these benefits meet my customers’ needs? Make sure these align directly with your audience’s desires.

• What’s the most compelling reason to choose my business? Highlight what makes your brand the best choice for your audience.

📘Calm’s benefits analysis

Calm’s benefits include convenient, diverse wellness tools aimed at helping users manage stress, improve sleep, and focus. Their partnerships with prominent figures (like LeBron James) add credibility, while their content base—from meditation to sleep stories—caters to varied wellness needs. Calm’s approachable brand encourages self-care as an accessible, daily practice, making it appealing to a broad wellness audience.

🔐Use our benefits analysis template

Upgrade to access our benefits analysis PowerPoint template to design a slide for your business pitch deck.

Step Five: Defend Your Position with a Competitive Moat

A competitive moat is a unique advantage that protects your business from competitors over the long term. Moats in wellness often include:

• Proprietary content: Exclusive resources or methodologies, like Calm’s unique sleep stories and celebrity collaborations

• Brand reputation: Establishing a trusted, recognizable name

• Customer relationships: Building a loyal, engaged community

• Proprietary technology: Offering unique technology or IP developed internally

📘Calm’s moat

Calm’s competitive moat is a combination of brand reputation and proprietary content. Their library of sleep stories, meditations, and guided exercises is distinct, making Calm a trusted leader in digital wellness. Their data-driven recommendations reinforce their content’s value, creating a self-sustaining advantage.

🔐Building your moat

Upgrade to gain access to our “Competitive Moat” template, which will guide you through identifying and creating a defensible advantage for your business.

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