Should I research my competitors?

Competitor analysis requires time and effort and being proactive. Most SMEs are resource (time!) poor and are very much focussed on their day-to-day operations.

They really need to hire multi-skilled staff who have market research experience/savvy under their belts or outsource this service to bolt on consulting suppliers who can work with the business. The former can cost more for SMEs while the later is quite cost effective as you can pay on contract/project/activity/campaign basis.