Competitive intelligence is an important part of your business strategy. Rather than relying on data and information that’s largely subjective, competitive intelligence can provide a more objective point of view.
1. Monitoring
Monitoring competitors is the first step to competitive intelligence. This includes researching and tracking competitors’ product offerings, pricing, marketing campaigns, and operational activities. It also involves identifying new opportunities or threats, such a emerging technologies, regulatory change, and macroeconomic trend. This is a process that can either be done in-house or by an external market research company.
The frequency of competitor tracking depends on the industry’s pace of changes. For example, businesses in rapidly changing industries like technology may need to conduct competitive intelligence more frequently in order to keep up with the competition. The overall business strategy will also affect the frequency of competitive intelligence. For example, an organization that is trying establish itself in a brand new market may have to conduct competitive intelligence frequently in order to understand the needs of customers and develop a successful go-to-market plan.
The next step in competitive Intelligence is the analysis of the data. It involves creating a model of competitive intelligence that is based upon the objectives from the prior step. This will help organize the information in a manner that is easy for you to analyze and understand.
The key to competitive intelligence success is to have a clear understanding of what you want to achieve, and how that will help your business to stay on top of the competition. To do this, you need to know your competitors inside and out. To begin, divide them into direct and indirect competitors. The former are the competitors that compete with you directly in your market, while the latter are those who offer products that don’t exactly match yours but could meet similar customer needs or fill gaps in your existing portfolio.
2. Analyzing
The next step in a competitive intelligence program is to start analyzing the data you’ve collected. You can use a variety of analysis models depending on your business goals to gain the competitive edge you need.
Once you’ve got the right tools, identify your primary competitors. This will allow you to focus on the type of information that you need and help you prioritize your CI activities. You can create a list with secondary competitors who you want to keep an eye on for future opportunities.
The State of Competitive Intelligence Report states that gathering competitive intelligence can take up to 33% of a CI teams time. The data must be sorted, organized and presented in a way that is useful to your teams.
It’s important to think of the data you’re collecting as a story that can be told. This story helps stakeholders understand how data can be used to make better decisions and stay on top of the competition.
Analyzing your competitor’s data by examining his or her actions and capabilities is the best way to do so. This will allow you to identify their weaknesses, and use them for your own benefit. You can do this by examining how they have changed their marketing strategy or the type of service or product they offer.
You’ll also want to evaluate their pricing structure and margins. This requires you to compare their prices against your own, as well as to other industry benchmarks. It involves using statistical methods like SIMALTO and conjoint analysis to determine what the market will pay for different types of products and service.
Lastly, you should look at the strategic plans and resources of your competitor to see how they are achieving their goals. This includes examining their current assets, such as websites or social media channels. It also means examining how they prepare for the future through developing new services or products. By studying a competitor’s patent applications, you can learn more about their future plans and anticipate any threats for your business.
3. Defining
Competitive intelligence activities focus on collecting and analyzing information about competitors. In order to develop a successful go-to market strategy, it is important to know how your competitors are positioning themselves on the market. CI can minimize your risk by giving you a clear picture about the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors. It can also identify opportunities that can be exploited to gain a competitive edge.
During the information gathering phase, you will want to seek out both primary and secondary sources. The primary source should be your direct interaction with customers and competitors, while secondary sources include industry publications, online discussion forums, trade journals and customer reviews. Ensure that the information you collect is timely and accurate to allow you to make informed decisions quickly.
Once you have collected the relevant information, it is time to analyze. It is important to create a framework for sorting and prioritizing the information according to your goals. This step can be crucial as it is easy to become overwhelmed by the amount of data you collect and lose sight of what your goals are.
To maximize the value of competitive intelligence, you should share your findings with all teams within your organization. This allows everyone to learn what their counterparts are doing, validate their own assumptions, and discover new insights.
If you notice that your competitor is using a certain marketing technique, it might be worth considering this for your company. Similarly, you can compare your target audience personas to your competitor’s to see what you might be missing.
Despite what some people believe, every business faces a level of competition. Even if you operate in a niche where there are no other competitors, you can still gain from knowing what products and services they offer. This is especially true if your competitors are offering a solution to a problem that your company hasn’t yet addressed.
4. Reporting
Competitive intelligence (CI) is different from business intelligence in that it focuses more on the competitors. CI is about giving companies the information they need to make informed decisions that will give an edge over their competition.
Whether it is identifying new ways to expand the market, identify new opportunities to increase sales or customer loyalty, CI can provide actionable insights. But the CIA doesn’t stop at gathering and analyzing information. It also includes communicating those results to key stakeholder.
When collecting CI, the most important aspect is not how much information you gather but how useful that information will be to your organization. You don’t want to waste time analyzing information that will not directly impact your business. This is why it’s a good idea to limit your analysis to the competitors that pose the biggest threat, not just any business. You’ll save yourself a lot of time by not collecting information on any competitors that don’t truly represent a threat.
Once the analysis has been completed, it’s important that the intel is shared with all key stakeholders. Depending upon the findings and the analysis, short-term tactics may be possible and longer-term strategies may be needed to keep the organization ahead of its competition.
Using CI in market research can reveal the gaps in the marketplace. It can also help businesses develop better products or services and improve marketing campaigns, by identifying customer needs and preferences. CI provides valuable insight into what their competitors are up to, allowing them to quickly identify threats or opportunities. CI can also be used to mitigate risk and ensure that the company’s strategies are ready for any contingencies. It’s easier to create a contingency plan by identifying the strengths of competitors and their weaknesses. This will prevent them from disrupting a company’s business or profit margins.
