Competitive intelligence professionals analyze competitors to improve a company’s success. They are not corporate spies, as their work is legitimate and based on careful observation and research. The three main branches of business intelligence are strategic, tactical, and counterintelligence. Competitive analysis also involves making a company more competitive.
Competitive intelligence professionals are business people whose job it is to analyze how their company’s key competitors are doing, which allows the company to use that information to improve its prospects for success in the marketplace. The job involves a lot of research and observation as well as the cultivation of internal contacts. Competitive intelligence professionals are often likened to a sort of corporate spy, but the work they do is not surreptitious. Corporate espionage is illegal almost everywhere, which helps ensure intelligence officials keep their observation tactics legitimate.
Many of the world’s largest companies employ entire competitive intelligence departments whose sole function is often to keep tabs on other market players. To stay at the top of a given industry, a company not only needs to have a compelling product, it also needs to stay ahead of the competition. Executives often want to know what major rivals think so they can launch countermeasures, undermine competitors’ sales, or otherwise eliminate threats before those threats become palpable. Competitive intelligence professionals are the agents of this knowledge.
Almost every country has corporate laws that prevent deception and direct spying on competitors in the business environment. Most are limited to overt acts of espionage, such as bribing employees, bugging offices, or stealing documents. Information that can be gleaned through careful observation and careful thought is permitted. Reason-centered intelligence is something in which competitive analysis professionals specialize.
There are three main branches of business intelligence. The first is strategic intelligence, which involves analyzing the basic facts about a competitor, including his goals, his sales strategy and the techniques of his marketing staff, to name a few. The things the competitors do fit well into this category, as well as their weaknesses. This type of information can be gleaned through interviews with current and former customers, as well as close observation of sales teams in action.
Tactical intelligence is related but focuses on competitors’ sales terms. How deals are negotiated, whether fixed prices are really fixed, and any bundling or discount agreements usually fall into this category. Marketing decisions and day-to-day business strategy choices are also included, along with a company’s plan for future sales or proposed product developments. Understanding what’s coming and when will be important information for competitive intelligence professionals in this field.
Ultimately, counterintelligence provides a company with the means to protect its information from the prying eyes of competitors. Most companies assume that the same tactics they are employing in the field are somehow being used against them. Competitive intelligence professionals in this discipline typically focus on document security measures, information security seminars, and sales rep training sessions.
Competitive analysis usually also includes making a company more competitive in and of itself. This is especially true for companies that may not be at the top of their industry. Competitive intelligence professionals will often study how the largest and most successful companies operate to learn how to drive improvement and better succeed against market forces and competitive entry.
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