As a sales professional —whether you're working with electrical supplies, plumbing services, or construction materials—competition is fierce. Whether you're bidding on a job or trying to land a big account, you know that staying ahead of the competition is crucial. But with so much information out there, how do you really know what your competitors are doing better than you? And more importantly, how do you find gaps in their strategy that you can exploit to position your business as the best choice?
This is where AI—and specifically tools like ChatGPT—comes in. AI has revolutionized many industries, and sales is no exception. One of the most powerful uses of AI for sales teams is the ability to analyze competitors' websites and uncover opportunities you may have missed. In this post, I’ll show you how to use AI to find gaps between your website and your competitors' and how to leverage that knowledge to improve your product positioning, pitch strategies, and ultimately close more deals.
How AI Can Quickly Analyze and Compare Multiple Sites
Manually analyzing your competitors’ websites can take days, if not weeks. You’d have to sift through product pages, pricing structures, customer testimonials, blog posts, and more. It’s a time-consuming process, and even then, you might miss key insights simply because there’s too much information to digest.
With AI tools like ChatGPT, this process becomes faster, more efficient, and way more insightful. AI can scan multiple websites at once and quickly identify key information such as:
The products and services they’re promoting most heavily
Pricing structures
Customer reviews and feedback
Blog and content strategies
Social media presence and engagement
Instead of you manually combing through all this information, AI does the heavy lifting for you. It breaks down the complex data into simple, digestible insights that help you understand how your competitors are positioning themselves in the market.
For example, say you're a plumbing supplier, and you want to compare your website to two other competitors in your area. By inputting their URLs into an AI tool, you can get a breakdown of:
What products are front and center on their site (are they promoting water heaters more than faucets, for example?)
How their pricing compares to yours, and whether they offer any discounts or bulk-buy incentives you might not be aware of
Their content strategy (are they using blogs, tutorials, or customer testimonials to engage potential buyers?)
Customer service features (are they using chatbots or offering free consultations to close deals?)
Once you have this data, you can begin to look for gaps and opportunities to capitalize on.
Identifying Content or Product Gaps in Competitors' Websites
One of the easiest ways to find opportunities to outperform your competitors is by identifying gaps in their content or product offerings. AI tools can help you quickly spot these gaps by comparing their product lines to yours and pinpointing where they might fall short.
For example, let’s say you run a small electrical supply company. After analyzing a competitor’s website, AI might identify that they don’t offer a specific type of wiring that’s commonly used in commercial buildings. If that’s a product you stock, you’ve just found an opportunity to market yourself as the more comprehensive supplier.
Another common gap you might find is in their content strategy. Many businesses, especially in the trades, neglect their blog or fail to create valuable content that addresses customer pain points. If you discover that your competitors aren’t educating their audience through blog posts, tutorials, or FAQ sections, that’s your chance to stand out. You can fill the gap by creating content that speaks directly to the needs of your customers—whether it’s “5 Tips for Installing Water-Efficient Plumbing Fixtures” or “How to Choose the Right Wiring for Your Commercial Project.”
The key here is to out-educate your competitors. Customers in the trades industry want to feel confident in their choices, and by providing them with valuable, actionable information, you position yourself as the expert in the field. AI helps by identifying the content areas where your competitors are falling short, so you know exactly where to focus your efforts.
Leveraging Insights to Craft Better Pitches and Product Positioning
Once you’ve identified gaps and opportunities in your competitors’ websites, the next step is to leverage those insights to improve your own sales pitches and product positioning.
This is where AI shines, especially when it comes to personalizing your sales approach. AI can help you analyze not only what your competitors are doing, but also what your potential customers care about. For example, if your competitor’s website is loaded with information about eco-friendly products and you notice that customers are responding well to that, you can tailor your own product positioning to highlight the sustainability features of your products—even if you hadn’t focused on that before.
Say you’re an electrical supplier, and after analyzing competitor websites, you notice they’re heavily promoting low-cost, budget wiring. Meanwhile, your products are higher quality and longer-lasting, but that messaging isn’t front and center on your website. Armed with AI-driven insights, you can shift your pitch to focus on the long-term value and durability of your products, rather than trying to compete on price alone.
Additionally, AI can help you identify emerging trends that your competitors haven’t picked up on yet. Maybe there’s a growing demand for smart home systems in the electrical industry, or touchless faucets in the plumbing world. If AI identifies a trend that your competitors haven’t addressed, you can position yourself as the leader in that space by promoting relevant products before they do.
How AI Enhances Customer Engagement Features
In today’s digital age, customer engagement is just as important as the products you offer. AI can help you analyze how competitors engage with their customers—whether through chatbots, email marketing, or personalized landing pages—and identify ways to improve your own engagement strategies.
For instance, if AI shows that a competitor is using a live chat feature on their website and it’s driving customer inquiries, you might consider adding a similar feature to your site. Or, you could go a step further and integrate AI-driven chatbots that not only respond to customer questions but also help guide them through the buying process.
Similarly, AI can help you analyze how competitors are using email marketing to nurture leads. If you find that your competitors are sending automated follow-ups after a site visit or offering exclusive discounts through email, you can adopt similar strategies to keep your leads engaged.
Conclusion: Outperforming Competitors with AI Insights
Competition is tough, but with AI, you can gain a significant edge. By analyzing competitors' websites with tools like ChatGPT, you can quickly identify gaps in their product offerings, content strategies, and customer engagement features—allowing you to craft better pitches, improve your product positioning, and close more deals.
The key is to use AI to work smarter, not harder. It takes the heavy lifting out of competitor analysis and turns it into actionable insights that you can use to grow your business. In a competitive market like electrical, plumbing, or construction supplies, those insights can be the difference between winning a big contract and watching your competitor walk away with it.
So, if you’re not already using AI to analyze your competition, now’s the time to start. The opportunities are endless—and with the right approach, you’ll find yourself miles ahead of the competition.
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