True competitors, city by city

Summary:

Corporate teams often plan against “the usual” rivals. But at street level, in-market car buyers compare a different set of options in each city. This post shows how a team used monthly demand data from what people search and say to see real cross-shops by area, understand choice drivers (payment, trim, delivery, tech), and align offers and timing with when buyers actually look. The result: less time collecting data and marketing spend that works twice as hard. If you manage budgets, creative, or retail coverage for a sporty-premium compact, this is your playbook to compete with who shoppers actually compare, city by city.

The question

Who are we really up against in each local market, and what are in-market car buyers choosing on?

The problem

HQ assumed the same global rivals everywhere. Local demand told another story: soft mid-funnel and promos missing the months when people actually look.

What the team analyzed

• Search comparisons: “vs.” and “near me,” lease and finance queries, feature keywords

• Conversations: payment ceilings, trim, delivery time, in-car tech

• Pattern and timing: month-over-month rises, promo months, seasonal moments

• Where: city-level demand pockets

What they found

Three recurring cross-shop clusters: a local performance option, a global premium option, and a value performance option at a lower monthly payment. Top drivers: payment, trim, delivery, tech. Clear monthly bumps around finance promos. Big-city zones plus surprise pockets just outside city limits.

What they changed

• Offers and creative: lead with the driver that matters per city (for example, monthly payment plus performance trim)

• Timing: push test-drives and paid bursts in the months with visible lifts

• Coverage: shift budget toward city pockets growing month over month and trim low-yield areas

Results (what you can expect)

• Saved time collecting the data with one monthly view instead of chasing decks and tabs

• Marketing effectiveness doubled by focusing spend on true local competitors and the months that matter

Run this play next month

1. Define the segment: model, price band, use case

2. Pull this month’s compare terms: “[model] vs [model],” “best lease under €X”

3. Group cross-shops into 2 to 4 clusters

4. Rank drivers: payment, trim, delivery, tech

5. Mark finance promo months and seasonal moments

6. Shift 10 to 20 percent of spend to month-over-month growing city pockets, then measure and repeat

FAQs

Q1: What is cross-shop analysis in auto?
It reads how buyers compare models (“X vs Y”) and the terms they use (payment, trim, delivery) to reveal real rivals in each city.

Q2: How often is the data updated?
Monthly. You get a month-over-month view of who buyers compare, where interest is rising, and when to push.

Q3: What ROI can teams expect?
Time saved collecting data, and marketing effectiveness doubled when spend and offers align to real local competitors and timing.