How do you use competitive intelligence to assess and monitor your own competitive position and performance?

I believe setting goals and metrics for the CI program is the second step. The first and most fundamental step is to understand your CI stakeholders' roles and responsibilities and the decisions they have to make. These 'decisions to be made' should be framed as questions to be answered -- Key Intelligence Questions (KIQs). For example: What are the emerging needs of our customers? These KIQs should drive the goals and metrics. Stakeholders are not concerned about your CI goals and objectives. All they care about is access to the information that can help them do their job - make good decisions! KIQs provide a lens to view and filter information that is not just interesting or looks important — but is actionable for stakeholders!

As an experienced executive leader, defining your goals and metrics is a crucial first step in using competitive intelligence to assess and monitor your competitive position and performance. It’s important to approach this process with a strategic mindset and a focus on actionable information. Define the KPIs that measure your success and having clear objectives will guide your competitive intelligence efforts and ensure they are aligned with your overall business strategy. Remember, as a leader, your role is not just to manage, but to strategize and make informed decisions. Your ability to define clear goals and metrics can significantly impact your competitive intelligence capabilities and ultimately, the success of your organization.

Using competitive information effectively requires a strategic approach. Start by defining clear goals and metrics to accurately assess your competitive position and performance. This ensures alignment with organizational goals and facilitates focused analysis. By setting measurable benchmarks, you can track progress, identify areas for improvement, and adjust strategies accordingly. Remember, competitive intelligence is not just about collecting data, it is about gathering actionable insights to make informed decisions and maintain a competitive advantage.

What tends to drive competitive intelligence research - These tend to be specific to the company, the industry it sites in, it's size, strategic objects plus other factors. Some examples to consider Understand Market Position Identify Competitive Threats Benchmark Performance Identify Market Trends and Opportunities Inform Strategic Planning Innovate and Improve Products/Services Protect and Grow Market Share

O cenário empresarial atual é cada vez mais competitivo e volátil, o que torna fundamental que as empresas se mantenham atualizadas sobre as tendências do mercado e o ambiente competitivo. Nesse contexto, a inteligência competitiva é uma poderosa aliada para fornecer informações estratégicas que impulsionem o sucesso e a tomada de decisão empresarial, com melhores resultados e menos riscos.

I'm going to give a bit of a contrarian opinion. While keeping tabs on competitors is important, and SWOTs can give you some insight - solving the customers problem is better than anything. Finding out the customers problem is the first step and you can't do that without talking to the customer. So spend some time researching competitors - no more than 5-10% of your time - and spend 50% talking to you customers - current, potential and former - and learn what problem they need solved - then solve it. That will drive success.

Many people get into CI because they regard this more like a trend. But not always you need to use CI tools. This is why setting a clear objective first is so important. Why do you need CI at the first place? Answering this question should your first step.

Remember, too — your competition may not be another product or service. In the 80s and into the 2008 financial crisis Sony used to say that sales of camcorders were an early indicator of economic downturns. Understanding larger market trends is critical to knowing to who, when, and how to market your products.

I can think of at least ten resources you can use - Industry Reports Trade Associations Business Directories Patent and Trademark Databases SEO and Social Media Tools Financial Information Networking and Industry Events Job Boards and Company Websites News Media and Press Releases Voice of the Customer / Customer Feedback and Win/Loss Analysis

"The current business landscape is increasingly competitive and volatile, making it crucial for companies to stay updated on market trends and the competitive environment. In this context, competitive intelligence is a powerful ally to provide strategic information that drives business success and decision-making, yielding better results and minimizing risks."

Using competitive intelligence is essential to assess and monitor your competitive position and performance. By diligently identifying competitors and market segments, businesses gain important insights into their strengths, weaknesses, and market dynamics. This strategic approach enables organizations to make informed decisions, refine their strategies, and stay ahead in an ever-changing landscape.

Firstly, ensure you know what it is you want to find out, and about whom. This will determine how you collect the intelligence. Primay research Secondary research Qualitative methodologies Quantitative methodologies CI Software Mystery shopping

"Assess the Need Conduct an internal analysis to understand the challenges faced by the management and sales team, and how the lack of strategic information may be impacting decision-making."

In these times of Artificial Intelligence, the data collection stage is already carried out by numerous information service providers. However, the analysis, correlation of data, and recommendation of scenarios and actions are still carried out by humans. And this is the differentiator of the Intelligence professional: knowing various analysis models that will aid the decision-making process of company managers. Therefore, having professionals with analytical skills, market knowledge, research experience, and an aptitude for working with data collection and analysis technologies will be a differentiator.

Leveraging competitive intelligence (CI) is essential to evaluate and improve your competitive position and performance. By using CI wisely, organizations can gain deeper insights into market dynamics, competitor strategies, and industry trends. This vision allows for informed decision making and strategic planning. Effective use of CI involves a systematic approach that includes data collection, analysis, and dissemination. Through robust communication channels, stakeholders can share and act on CI information, driving agility and competitive advantage. Making CI a strategic imperative enables companies to solve complex problems, take advantage of opportunities, and sustain long-term success.

With competitive intelligence today often based solely on desktop research using secondary online information sources and CI software tools, the information collected via this approach will also be available to your competitors. And whilst general competitor information is often available freely in every sense of the word, intelligence tailored to meet the organization's needs, validated, and well presented to be of use to decision-makers often required a specialist research provider,