Benchmarking the Competition in Sports Flooring
Victus Advisors conducted an independent competitive intelligence study for Connor Sports, benchmarking rival hardwood flooring manufacturers to inform pricing and product strategy.
Client
Connor Sport Court International
Sector
Brands
Project
Secret Shop Report for Connor Sports’ Hardwood Flooring Competitors
Year
2017
Client Challenge
Connor Sport Court International, a manufacturer of hardwood sports flooring, was preparing to hone its go-to-market pricing and prioritize features for new product development. Its focus centered on two products: portable wood courts of the kind used in NBA arenas, and pre-finished permanent flooring designed to cut installation labor and ongoing maintenance. To set pricing well, Connor needed an objective, real-world view of how its leading competitors positioned themselves on price, installation speed, maintenance and performance. That kind of intelligence is rarely available through published materials alone.
Approach
Victus Advisors conducted a competitive intelligence study, posing as a prospective buyer to secret-shop four leading hardwood flooring manufacturers. Working from a consistent scenario — a private investor group planning several pay-for-play indoor basketball and volleyball facilities in southern Virginia and North Carolina — Victus contacted each competitor's sales channel and gathered comparable quotes and commentary on a portable court and a 36,000-square-foot permanent floor. Victus then documented each vendor's responsiveness; pricing; installation timelines; maintenance and downtime requirements; stated sports performance characteristics; and self-described competitive advantages, along with the marketing materials each provided.
Benefits to Client
The study gave Connor a clear, side-by-side view of how its competitors sell against it in the real world. It captured comparable per-square-foot pricing for both portable and permanent floors, along with installation timelines, downtime estimates and each rival's positioning claims. Those benchmarks gave Connor a concrete reference for setting its own go-to-market pricing, plus a candid read on how competitors characterized their products — and Connor itself — in head-to-head sales conversations. Together, the findings equipped Connor's team to refine pricing and focus new product development on the features that matter most to buyers.