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The competitive landscape virtually has increased and businesses are taking resort to market intelligence research for achieving an edge. This ongoing process is termed competitive intelligence. Today, we will have a look at competitive intelligence, its benefits and how to incorporate it into the overall business strategy.
What is Competitive Intelligence?
Competitive intelligence is the process of collecting information about the business environment, industry, competitors, products, etc. for analysis. The aim of competitive intelligence is to derive insights for future strategy. Competitive intelligence is a crucial part of creating a successful competitive strategy. It ultimately offers a competitive advantage to a business.
Most businesses face fierce competition in the market. It is important for a business to study competition marketing strategy to get an insight and use the information for developing effective strategies. For any business, competitive intelligence research and market intelligence can make a difference. You can transform yourself from a struggling business to a thriving one!
Companies that have a clear idea about the competitive landscape of their industry can gain a competitive advantage with the help of market intelligence. Gathering information and analyzing it helps a business create strategies accordingly for finding gaps and developing a competitive analysis picture. PriceIntelGuru does an in-depth analysis of your data and gives the best insights.
Competitive Intelligence Examples
Airline Industry
The airline industry is a suitable example of competitive intelligence. Airline companies change the prices of their flights daily on the basis of external information. If airline company A increases its prices, company B will follow suit. Customer information is also taken into account for price adjustments on an internal level. Especially during times of inflation or recession, an airline business must know in real time about the competitor’s pricing and promotions.
Tech Startup
Tech startups are yet another example of competitive intelligence. Well- established companies have higher budgets, advanced technology, resources, and data. But startups can outperform them when it comes to specific niches. Focusing on a specific field or process and reacting or adapting to the insights gained from competitive intelligence can help startups in offering superior solutions for customer pain points.
Airbnb is an example of how cleverly a startup leveraged technology, consumer insight, and socio-demographic change for changing the face of the hotel industry. When you identify an unmet need by considering customer reviews and feedback, it offers an opportunity to capture that part of the market where even big brands are yet to enter.
Common Types of Competitive Intelligence
Competitive intelligence can be divided into two, namely tactical and strategic. Tactical intelligence focuses on the short-term and offers insights on increasing revenue and capturing market share. Strategic intelligence on the other hand focuses on long-term and offers insights on major risks and opportunities for an enterprise.
What are the Goals of Competitive Intelligence?
1. Win Deals
It is not easy to make a prospective buyer choose your brand when there is a long list of alternatives. To make it happen consistently, the sales team need must be well-acquainted with the skills to communicate your unique selling point and the value you offer. It is only possible with competitive intelligence. You need to know about competitors’ products/ services to convince the buyers that you are the best choice.
2. Improved Market Positioning
Market positioning helps marketers to establish a differentiated value for the solution they offer. Competitive intelligence is important for achieving the attention of prospects. It can help your business succeed as the marketers get empowered with the insights for improving the market positioning.
3. Optimize Product Roadmaps
Before marketers and sales representatives come into the picture, it is the product management team that is responsible for creating the product. The product should be created in such a way that it offers unique value to the buyers. They need competitive intelligence to know about their competitors. This helps in creating a product that stands out from the rest.
4. Retain Customers
Customers that have made a purchase once will definitely hear about the competitors. It is important for the account manager to still prove to the customers that your product is still the best available solution in the market. Competitive intelligence equips the sales representatives to gain knowledge for communicating the same to the buyers.
5. Long-term Business Strategy
A business needs to build a long-term strategy for growing the business, improving the market share and revenue, breaking into the adjacent markets, the risk factors, and how to shield against them. Competitive intelligence will help in answering these questions and make plans accordingly. When executive leaders have the insight for producing and implementing long-term strategies, it leads to the success of the business in the competitive landscape.
Benefits of Competitive Intelligence
Data is everything and competitive intelligence can offer several benefits if used correctly.
1. Market Understanding
All businesses conduct market monitoring or research which means that your competitor might have some information that you don’t! Competitive intelligence can be used for improving the understanding of customers and discovering newer insights. Evaluate the competitor’s product positioning and brand message to understand the buyer pain point they are targeting. This information and comparison can help in finding gaps in your own strategy. It is an effective technique for competitors that have similar customer profiles.
2. Set Benchmarks
The performance of your competitors provides an idea about how to measure your performance. For example, if a competitor is active on a specific social media platform, their engagement level is a great indicator of how your posts might perform. It will act as a guidepost for your strategy. It also offers an opportunity to learn from the competitor’s mistakes.
3. Informed Decisions
Every individual in a business can benefit from competitive intelligence analysis. The sales team can alter its pitch depending on the competitor’s strengths and weaknesses. The marketing teams can customize their messages to keep pace with the competitors. Similarly, product teams can design their blueprint around competitors’ product features and gaps. Robust competitor intelligence empowers each team in the business to make strong decisions.
How to use Competitive Intelligence?
Now, you understand the basic concept of competitive intelligence. Let us get into the details of how you can use it in the best manner for effective results.
1. Define Objectives
Getting the real impact of the concept or tool first requires you to delve into the basic objectives. You must identify the specific areas where you need insights, such as competitor strategies, market trends, customer preferences, or potential disruptions. Then align your CI efforts with your overall business goals to ensure a focused and purposeful approach.
2. Monitor Market Trends
You need to keep a close eye on the market and its changing trends. Then analyze industry reports, market research, and consumer surveys to gain insights into evolving preferences and demands. And staying informed about the transforming trends allows you to adapt your strategies proactively.
3. Track the Performance Metrics
Benchmarking your performance against your competitors is one of the vital key performance indicators (KPIs). Then, you should also consider analyzing metrics such as market share, revenue growth, customer satisfaction, and product quality. This comparison allows you to gauge your standing in the market and identify areas for improvement.
Gain Leverage with Competitive Intelligence
Competitive intelligence plays a crucial role in the success of a business in the virtual arena. Great examples can be witnessed in diverse industries wherein the companies were able to outperform their competitors by collecting and interpreting the data and transforming the insights into strategies.
Don’t miss out on the chance to outsmart your competitors. Contact us today!