One way to be one step ahead, in your particular industry, is by conducting a Competitive Analysis on your closest competitors. The first step is identifying your competitors and try to better understand their strengths and weaknesses. Look at what their customers say they are doing right and what they are doing wrong. You can do this by identifying what Social Media platforms they are on, any current news or reviews and any other online communities they may be associated with.
The next step would be to categorise your competition into those that are Primary Competition, Secondary Competition and Tertiary Competition. Track their basic demographics such as location, product offerings, mission statement, industry category and their marketing strengths and weaknesses. You can also visit their stores or websites to take a look at the experience they provide their customers, to help identify their marketing position. Comparing their product offering and pricing compared to yours is a great way to identify anything you may be lacking.
Finally, you would want to continue tracking these things so as to help predict the next moves of your competitors and try to stay a step ahead of them.