Collect the claims
Visit four or five competitor homepages and ads. Write down their headline claims, one per line, as “Competitor: claim”.
Claim
Smile Studio: Gentle, caring dentistry
Claim
Bupa: Nervous patients welcome
How to audit what your competitors say
Every competitor says “gentle, caring, family friendly”. If your copy says it too, it disappears. A quick audit shows what’s table stakes, what’s claimed but empty, and where nobody is standing.
You’ll recognise it
- The client’s top three claims are also on three competitor homepages
- The brief says “stand out” but lists category clichés
- You can’t remember which brand said what
Why it happens
Categories drift towards the same words because everyone copies the leader. Writing the claims down side by side makes the sameness obvious, and shows you the space that’s left.
The approach
3 steps, in order
Each step gives the next one something to work with. The worksheet below follows the same order.
Mark the clichés
Which words appear more than once? Those are table stakes: you can’t win on them.
Table stakes
Gentle · caring · welcome
Find the empty space
What would customers love to hear that nobody is saying?
Nobody says
That it’s fine to have left it years
Worksheet
Build yours as you read
Fill in each step. Your category map updates as you type. It stays in this browser until you choose to keep it.
More Strategy guides
Next problem?
I can’t say what makes them differentHow to write a positioning statementOne sentence everyone can agree onEvery page says something differentHow to build a simple messaging frameworkOne message, three pillars, real proofI’ve got research, but no insightHow to turn customer research into an insightFrom a pile of quotes to one useful truth
Questions
Good to know
How many competitors?
Four or five is plenty. Include the market leader and one that’s doing something different.
What if the client’s best claim is a cliché?
Keep it if it’s true, but don’t lead with it. Lead with the empty space.
Do I need an account?
No. Your worksheet stays in this browser. Leave your email and we’ll send it as a PDF.
Who writes these guides?
ProCopywriters, the UK’s professional body for copywriters, with members who do this work every week.
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