{"id":41543,"date":"2023-10-20T15:14:43","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:14:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/competeshark-a-time-machine-to-track-your-competitors-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:14:43","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:14:43","slug":"competeshark-a-time-machine-to-track-your-competitors-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/competeshark-a-time-machine-to-track-your-competitors-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"CompeteShark a \u201ctime machine\u201d to track your competitors – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Two Sydney-based entrepreneurs have created a \u201ctime machine\u201d that allows marketers to track retrospectively or in real-time what their competitors are doing and how their own changes impact on customer decision-making.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CompeteShark, co-founded by Kiran Kumar and Shaun Thambyah, is a SaaS startup that analyses specified competitor websites and instantly notifies the user when a change is made.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The changes are on a micro-level, and can be anything from A\/B tests to updated copy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

These small changes can be crucial for marketers, Thambyah says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Customers are generally price-conscious or offer-conscious, they go wherever the best deal is,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIn highly commodified markets like insurance or retail the competitive landscape has the biggest impact over what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe offer a time machine feature that can show why your conversions were down on Thursday night. You can have a look and pick a time before and it\u2019ll show you what your customers would\u2019ve experienced across your website and your competitors\u2019 websites.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Seed funding<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CompeteShark has just become the Sydney Seed Fund\u2019s seventh investment, with the group contributing a $150,000 cash injection to get the startup off the ground.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This was as much about bringing a knowledge partner on board as the seed money, Thambyah says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe look to them to bring a bit of experience to the table,\u201d he says. \u201cWe were looking for someone that aligned with what our vision for the product and market was.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The money will be used on marketing and advertising, as well as being put towards the technology and data science side of things.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe big part isn\u2019t just content, it\u2019s the data side of what we capture,\u201d Thambyah says. \u201cWhen we start capturing huge volumes of websites we\u2019ll start to see some really interesting information.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to have the right team available to help unearth that content and analyse it to get valuable insights.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

While there are many other services out there allowing people to access older, cached versions of websites, CompeteShark is unique in its automation and time, Thambyah says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are lots that do very generic stuff across social networks, and some across websites,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBut our core focus is purely content. As companies are moving towards more automated experiences, the customer experience is becoming very dynamic. For any marketer to track that stuff manually is now impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lessons in feedback<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The pair originally came up with the idea for the service while working together on digital projects at Suncorp.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We were working with a lot of marketers and we kept getting asked the same questions on a regular basis: \u2018something\u2019s happened to our conversions and we can\u2019t explain why, so can you guys work it out?\u2019\u201d Thambyah says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe spent a lot of time looking at the system and other aspects of our own data to work out why the sales were down for a particular period of time. What we realised very quickly was it may not actually be something you have control over, it might be what\u2019s going on in the competitive landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In terms of major lessons gained from the development process, Thambyah says it\u2019s important to seek out early feedback and advice.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cGet as much feedback as possible, even if it\u2019s early stage,\u201d he says. \u201cGet it out as early as you can and be in a position where you can roll that feedback back into the platform. Get it validated from a few people and keep iterating on that development journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It\u2019s all about the customers<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CompeteShark is now open in a public beta now, and users can sign up for a free two-week trial.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For the moment the key focus is on servicing all of the needs of the customers, Thambyah says, while another investment round will be opening in the near future.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe love a customer, that\u2019s the primary objective,\u201d he says. \u201cWe want to acquire customers and make sure we\u2019re providing a service that our customers love. There are quite a lot of them but we still converse with them one-on-one to see what\u2019s working.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about creating the best product out there and giving that to the customer.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Want to grow your business with Instagram?\u202fStartupSmart School can help<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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