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Cost-Effective Competitive Intelligence If you want your business to play hardball, you need a clear understanding of what your competition is up to — before they've actually made a move. To gain this insight, you need a competitive intelligence (CI) program, which includes gathering information on key competitors and analyzing the data to piece together their business strategies. CI programs are not just for big business. Smaller companies can take advantage of a wide range of free or inexpensive resources to unearth information about competitors. Information is out there for the taking, if you know where to look and devote time to collect and analyze it. Use these cost-effective methods to bolster your CI program: Enlist employees and partners Everyone in your organization can be a CI asset. Your salespeople should know what prices and features your competitors are offering. Loyal customers will likely know how competitive products are being positioned against yours. Educate your employees on the factors that are critical to your company's success and encourage them to leverage their relationships to uncover the information you need. Cultivate expert relationships Market analysts, trade associations and journalists are continually looking for information. By creating a relationship with these sources, you can sometimes learn about new developments before they're published. Writers and editors, for example, often gather much more information than they print and may be able to give you insight into your competitors' plans. Encourage these experts to share with you by sending them interesting tidbits you come across. Hunt down press releases and news Your competitor's promotional activities are a key component of your CI program. Companies regularly announce new hires, plant and office openings, new products and prices, and other initiatives. Search trade publications and local newspapers and business journals for recent announcements. Scan PR Newswire (www.prnewswire.com) and BusinessWire (www.businesswire.com), which many companies use to distribute news releases. Harvest trade shows Industry events are a great source of CI. Collect product brochures, press releases, price sheets and other information. Take suppliers and vendors out for meals to learn what your competition is telling them. Go to mixers, parties and hospitality suites. Get your team together frequently to debrief and identify the information you still need to collect. Pull credit reports A credit report may provide a picture of a competitor's cost structure. Many credit reports include information on UCC (Uniform Commercial Code) filings, which may tell you about loans and leasing arrangements related to equipment purchases. Knowing the kind of equipment your competitor has may enable you to decipher product line enhancements, manufacturing capacity and other key insights. Mine local filings Public documents can be a window into a competitor's office or plant. Building inspection reports often contain floor plans that can help you deduce production processes or capacity. Property tax assessments can provide the value of a competitor's plant and equipment. Environmental reports and land-use filings may give you a heads-up on expansion plans. Track job postings Knowing the types of people competitors are looking to hire may provide clue to their plans. A bevy of recruiting ads for a certain category or location of job, or details on specific skills or experience, may indicate a competitor's future growth strategy. Look at local and national newspapers, competitors' web sites and online job boards for job postings. |
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