Competitive intelligence

If you are the head of an organization that offers a product or service, it is likely that you understand some of the variants of your market, the forces that drive them and the winds that you can find to come to fruition or face a furious storm. You can make use of competitive intelligence systems that will allow you to establish and deeply understand the goals, objectives and plans of your company.

But … what is competitive intelligence in your company? We will let Sonia Gógova describe it to us, just as she does in her book:

  • Competitive intelligence is a process. […] It is a dynamic, systematic, recursive process.
  • Competitive intelligence is based on relevant information and data about the competitive environment (macro- and micro-).
  • Competitive intelligence handles data and information from the past, present and forecasts, trends, prospects for the future.
  • Competitive intelligence is aligned with the specific needs of the company and implies a deep knowledge of our own organization.
  • The procedures for obtaining information in competitive intelligence are legal, ethical.
  • The analytical phase of competitive intelligence is based on specific techniques. [1]

Let’s take an example, Motorola is one of the companies that went far thanks to the use of competitive intelligence systems. It is said that in the 1930s, some of its leaders traveled to Europe and observed such a climate of tension that they had no doubt that a war was coming. Back, they put their engineers to work developing a lightweight receiver, a radio. “The result was the ‘Handie-Talkie’, the only portable radio available when the US went to war.” You can imagine that in the 1930s competitive intelligence did not have the advances and resources that we have today, and the difference that the application of its rudiments made was overwhelming.

L’Oreal, for its part, does not lose sight of seven vital areas to remain among the leaders in its field: society and its changes (fashion, concerns, trends, demographic statistics, etc.), technology (the most innovative research in biotechnology and dermatology), competitiveness (the interests of competitors and their constant evolution), geography (revealed by the new markets: India, China …), geopolitics, legislation and trade with its distribution opportunities.

How important is it to have facts, analyzes and documented evidence on hand, both from the inside of your body and from the outside? It is vital, it determines actions, strategic movements in the short, medium and long terms. Ethical, reliable information, based on strict quality management, make a notable difference.

Master Research is a market research agency specialized in competitive intelligence. Market intelligence that helps you achieve your business goals. Contact us to explain how.

 

[1] Competitive intelligence. Spies? Oracles? Strategists? Gogova, Sonia. Diaz de Santos. Spain: 2015.