. How to Conduct Competitive Intelligence on Your Business Rivals
How do you use competitive intelligence?
Competitive intelligence (CI) is the gathering and analysis of information about a company's competitors. It is a strategic tool that can be used to make business decisions, assess opportunities and threats, and develop marketing and sales strategies.
There are a number of ways to gather CI, including online research, attending trade shows and conferences, subscribing to industry publications, and conducting market surveys. Once the information is gathered, it must be analyzed to identify patterns, trends, and opportunities. This analysis can be conducted using a variety of methods, including SWOT analysis, business model analysis, and Porter's Five Forces analysis.
The information gathered through CI can be used to make informed decisions about a company's business strategy. It can also be used to develop marketing and sales strategies that will help a company gain a competitive advantage.
What is a competitive intelligence report?
A competitive intelligence report is a formal document that includes analysis and information about a company's competitors. The report should identify the key competitors, their strengths and weaknesses, and any potential threats or opportunities. The report should also provide insights into how the company can best compete against its rivals. What are two things competitive intelligence should achieve? There are two primary goals that competitive intelligence should achieve:
1. Understand what your competitors are doing in order to stay ahead of them
2. Understand your own strengths and weaknesses in order to make better business decisions
In order to achieve these goals, competitive intelligence analysts need to be able to gather and analyze data from a variety of sources. This data can come from public sources, such as financial reports and press releases, or from more private sources, such as customer surveys or employee interviews. Once the data has been gathered, it needs to be analyzed in order to identify trends and patterns that can be used to inform business decisions.
What does competitive intelligence include?
Competitive intelligence includes a variety of activities designed to help businesses gain an understanding of their competitors. This can include activities such as monitoring their marketing activities, analyzing their financial data, and tracking their product development. Competitive intelligence can also involve conducting customer surveys and interviews to gather insights into their needs and preferences.
What are the methods of competitive analysis?
There are several methods of competitive analysis, all of which aim to give businesses a better understanding of their competitors and the market they operate in. The most common methods are Porter's Five Forces analysis, the resource-based view, and SWOT analysis.
Porter's Five Forces is a framework that analyzes the level of competition in an industry and identifies the key factors that determine the intensity of competition. The framework was developed by Michael Porter, a Harvard Business School professor, and has been a popular tool for businesses for many years.
The resource-based view is a framework that looks at the internal resources and capabilities of a firm and how they can be used to create a competitive advantage. The framework was developed by the Boston Consulting Group and is a popular tool for strategy consultants.
SWOT analysis is a tool that businesses use to identify their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It is a popular tool for businesses of all sizes and is often used in conjunction with other methods, such as Porter's Five Forces or the resource-based view.