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The Web has provided the competitive intelligence professional with a
wealth of information and tools to make life easier in the top
corporations in the world. Whether it be a free database of articles on
a specific industry or a fee-based resource filled with company
profiles, professionals can log on to the Web, punch in a couple of
keywords and watch the information flow right before their eyes. There
is nothing like conducting a search, finding the necessary information,
analyzing the data and presenting the final product.
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In a perfect "online" world, professionals can be furnished
with data within seconds regarding any present or potential competitors
with a simple search. Unfortunately, this is not the case for some
professionals who are working in countries, sectors ( private and
public) and industries where online information is a luxury. Without
sufficient outlets of information, individuals are stuck with analyzing
small amounts of data that can be insufficient to analyze and draw
conclusions.
One valuable source of information that is often overlooked when a
competitive intelligence task is undertaken is the human resource in a
company. Human intelligence can provide both raw data and analysis on
competitors and issues in respective industries. This type of
information may be able to fill in the blanks and answer questions
competitive intelligence may have to complete their information
gathering and analysis tasks.
This article will suggest the individuals that competitive
intelligence professionals should talk to when information is in short
supply for a particular product or a competitor. To obtain the right
information from people "in the know," professionals should
attempt to have a close relationship with the following people and
departments:
President
Depending on the size of the company, access to the president can be
limited so the opportunity to talk to him or her can be rare. Presidents
are always networking at local, national, and international industry
events where there is a great deal of information traded in discussions.
They may be the first individuals to learn about a merger, a purchase,
or a restructuring of a competitor from another president, analyst, or
industry expert at an informal or formal dinner, over a drink or a golf
game. For individuals who are fortunate to talk to the president after a
networking opportunity, a quick follow-up meeting is necessary to
capture the information which the president can offer. The best way to
collect the information is to ask the 5 W's of the most important
issues.
- What have you learned?
- Who is involved?
- Where is this going to happen?
- When is this going to happen?
- Why is this going to happen?
Answers to these questions may be delivered in the form of department
meeting, a memo or a quick e-mail. It is important that competitive
intelligence professionals have access to the information reported by
the president at all times.
Marketing
The personnel in marketing can be a second pair of eyes for
competitive intelligence professionals when it comes to monitoring the
competition. The various units within the marketing department will be
able to share their insights on the following:
- Media buying department - How much did the competitor pay for the
television spot for their 30-second advertisement on a national
network two years ago?
- Creative department - What is the main message behind a
competitor's ad campaign? Who are they trying to reach?
- Market research department - Are there any shifts in customers'
attitudes towards the competitor's products or services?
The best way to have access to this type of information is to have
the personnel post any relevant data on an intranet.
Sales
Salespeople are an excellent source of raw intelligence on customers
and competitors. The personnel in sales are the individuals who have the
rare opportunity to talk to customers. Talking to customers during a
sales pitch is a good time to ask:
- What are their likes and dislikes on current products and services
on the market?
- How price sensitive are they?
- What product / service improvements are they seeking?
- What is the best way of following up with them without being too
pushy or a bother?
- What kind of client support do they need to be comfortable with
the product or service?
As for information on competitors, the sales team can gather data
by:
- Networking at trade shows with other salespeople in the
industry
- Having customers compare competitors' products or services
- Hiring sales personnel from the competition when possible.
Although sales teams have vital information to be used in strategic
planning decisions, it is very difficult for competitive intelligence
professionals to obtain the information from them. Steve England's
article Getting
CI Help From the Sales Force published in Competia Online Magazine,
offers an eight-step plan that a competitive intelligence professional
can use to work with a sales team to get the information needed to
execute the proper strategies to overcome the top competitors in the
industry.
Finance
The finance department is responsible for knowing how much money is
invested to improve their company's products or services. With the
proper tools and intuition, this department can inform the right people
on how much competitors are spending on new projects announced in the
press. The personnel who are well plugged into the financial community
can come across information on new developments and the new injections
of cash in rival companies. In addition to help competitive intelligence
professionals, the finance department can produce analysis of
competitors' financial situation to have an idea when the firm is going
in the future and what is their capacity of taking on new initiatives to
be competitive. The information which may originate from the finance
department be made available by:
- E-mail
- Intranet
- Hard copy
Engineering
Companies that have an engineering department may want to have
individuals participate in a "reverse engineering" session to
collect information on competitors' products. Reverse engineering
involves engineers analyzing what goes into successful and poor products
that are available on the market. Through proper analysis, engineers can
deduce competitors':
- Cost of production
- Technical "know how" behind building and designing
products
- The use of different technology to perfect different products and
services
The majority of the information supplied by engineers is often
technical and requires explanations with the use of graphs and models.
The information is usually presented in a PowerPoint presentation which
can be easily stored on an intranet.
Research
and Development
Similar to engineers, individuals who work in the Research and
Development department can be used as an outlet of information to
understand the core technical competencies of rival companies. This
department tends to keep information over the years for their own
reference, which can be easily transferred to the company's competitive
intelligence unit. Personnel in Research and Development can also offer
insight on new emerging technologies that competitors may use in the
future to gain market share. As a result, the people in R&D can
assist competitive intelligence professionals with monitoring
competitors' abilities to utilize new technology to improve a product
before that product is launched. Information flowing from the R&D
department can be made available in hard copy or on an intranet.
Human
Resources
The human resources department comes into contact with a large number
of individuals who are looking for new career opportunities. On
occasion, there are individuals who are looking to stay in the same
industry and find themselves being interviewed by a company's rival of
their former employer. Given this situation, human resources managers
has an opportunity to obtain the following information on competitors
through an interview to:
- Key performance criteria
- Knowledge and skills needed at the company
- Organizational culture and structure
- Behaviors and attributes of top management
This type of information can be collected on video or audio tape, if
permitted, and then transcribed to be available on an electronic medium.
The information can be used to complete a competitor's profile.
Conclusion
With the vast amount of information made available on the Web, it is
hard to believe that competitive intelligence professionals can be stuck
for data on competitors. In situations where there is not enough
information to complete a tasks, industry professionals are called on to
make assumptions that may be inaccurate. One source that is often
ignored and not used in some companies is human intelligence. To reap
the benefits of having the personnel with the networking opportunities
and the skills to acquire information that is not stored online, be
prepared:
- To have an environment that makes it easy to share information
electronically or verbally
- To work closely with those who can provide technical data in
layman's terms
- To be patient with those who do not see themselves as information
gatherers and analysts
- To use the information to fill in the gaps which may be apparent
in the first attempt of electronic data gathering
- To verify any hunches professionals may have regarding competitors
Want to know
more?
The following books are available at Amazon.com:
- Measuring the Effectiveness of Competitive Intelligence: Assessing
& Communicating CI's Value to Your Organization by Jan P.
Herring
- Competitive Intelligence : How to Gather, Analyze, and Use
Information to Move Your Business to the Top by Larry Kahaner
Articles
- Basic
Interview Techniques by Bruno Vanasse
- Competitive
Intelligence - Get Smart - by Gina Imperato
If you liked this article from Competia Online Magazine, read this
month's Intranet Corner article. Take advantage of the 30-day free trial
at http://www.competia.com/magazine
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