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How to optimize your Competitive Intelligence?

Key steps…

Context : Competitive Intelligence aims to collect, analyze, and interpret information about competitors.

Competitive Intelligence is a dynamic process that should never be overlooked, as its impacts (both positive and negative) can be significant, and that, regardless of your company’s size.

Doing it is good, doing it correctly is even better! 😎

Here are, for us, the key elements to monitor regularly, the main steps to follow, and the tools to use.

What are the most important aspects to consider in Competitive Intelligence?

Closely monitoring your competitors is essential to stay informed about market evolutions and adjust your strategies regarding product, pricing, marketing and innovation.

Don’t let anymore the launch of a new product line, a major acquisition, or a technological advancement catch you off guard!

  • Global strategy ⚔️ : where are your competitors heading and how do they plan to get there?
    Every company has a vision, and your competitors are no exception. What are their objectives for the coming years? Which markets are they aiming to dominate? Understanding their action plan will help you position your own strategy and stay ahead.

  • Product/Service development 🛍️ : don’t get left behind!
    Stay vigilant and observe how your competitors improve their products and services to identify emerging trends and key areas of innovation. Identify what gives a competitive edge on the market and adapt your offer wisely. Or better yet, be the one setting its own innovations and affirm your technological leadership.

  • Partnerships and acquisitions 🤝 : decode your competitors’ alliances.
    With Competitive Intelligence, discover who your competitors are forming strategic partnerships with, whether they are considering acquiring a brand, or if they plan, for instance, to participate in key industry events. These insights will help you anticipate their next moves and adjust your own strategy accordingly.

  • Marketing strategy 📣 : get inspired by the best practices!
    What strategies make your competitors shine? Identify powerful messages, winning SEO tactics, and advertising campaigns that captivate their audience. Use these insights to understand how the companies in your market perform and then, use it to gain the advantage.

  • Sales development 📱 : anticipate your competitors’ strategies.
    Are they looking to conquer new sectors or strengthen their presence in an existing market? Do they have a flagship product or are they betting on a diversified offering? Tracking these trends enables you to position and adapt your offer accordingly.

  • Financial performance 📈 : how do you compare to your competitors?
    Compare revenue figures, market shares and other key indicators of your competitors, and refine your strategy, identify growth opportunities… Build a solid action plan for the next year. Leave nothing to chance!

Detect weak signals before they turn into major trends!
No more surprises, you now have everything under control. 🔍

What are the different steps to follow in a Competitive Intelligence process? And what tools can I use?

Image illustrating the different stages of a competitive intelligence approach: 1. define your needs, 2. identify your sources of information, 3. collect, 4. analyze and interpret, 5. share.

Define your needs

Competitive Intelligence requires organization, so start by defining your objectives. Before you start searching, make sure you know your direct and indirect competitors, and the priority substitute products you have to consider, along with the indicators you will evaluate them on. 📋

A recommended tool for this step is a spreadsheet.

Identify your information sources

Before starting your Competitive Intelligence, you also have to decide where to search for the information you need: competitors’ websites, their social media channels, blogs, review platforms, specialized magazines, financial reports… 🕵️‍♂️

Knowing where your information comes from allows you to choose the right collection platform that meets best your needs.

Illustration of different sources of information.

Collect data

Let’s go! 🚀 You know your goals and your primary sources. Now, collect your data online. To be faster and more efficient, automate this step. How? By using a tool like Cikisi, a Market Intelligence solution that makes the process easier.

Check out our Competitive Intelligence Use Case and see why Cikisi is your ally! 👆

Analyze and Interpret

Now that you have your Competitive Intelligence data in hand, it’s time to process it – 🧠 to make sense of it.

To analyze and interpret raw data, make sure to organize your workflow and use data visualization tools for clear reports. Then, summarize your findings so they can be easily shared. 🧩

Discover the Share section of Cikisi with our dashboards and reading portals! 👆

Share your insights

Final stretch…! Share your findings with your team or other relevant stakeholders to solidify the strategic decisions that will be taken in consequence.

Discover the Share section of Cikisi with our newsletters! 👆

Some tips for you

  • Stay organized 📅 : Set your objectives in advance and structure your sources, topics, and research to avoid being overwhelmed by data.

  • Automate the process 🤖 : Use automated collection tools and save time.

  • Process your results 🧪 : Don’t stop at data collection, turn insights into concrete actions.

  • Summarize ✍️ : Produce actionable reports to effectively use the information with your teams.

  • Be discreet 🤫 : Research information about your competitors, but don’t make it obvious.

Conclusion

Congratulations, you can now start your Competitive Intelligence process with a structured approach! 🎉 But this is only one part of the job. To build a comprehensive Strategic Intelligence, you can complement your work of competitive intelligence with market intelligence – technology intelligence – trends monitoring – web intelligence. Need any help? You are lucky, Cikisi is versatile and does it all! 💡

Without commitment, ask for a demo of Cikisi’s tool and judge by yourself! 👆

Learn more about competitive intelligence: A Must to ensure business sustainability