1.) How do you get information on your competitors?

Regardless of your industry, I would say the best competitive intelligence will come from putting yourself in the shoes of the consumer and experiencing the competition.

It certainly seems that competitive intelligence is more accessible in the Internet marketplace, but the methods outlined above can be just as useful in the offline world as well.

Consider this, you’re the owner of a candy manufacturer that distributes product through various convenient marts and drug stores. The beginning of your competitive analysis could be as simple as visiting one of these retail outlets and “shopping” for candy, taking particular note of their placement, their packaging, and their price points. Then select two or three competitive candies (choose the ones that pose the biggest threat) to purchase. Look for any advantage, whether practical or aesthetic, in the wrapping, design or color of the candy, and of course the taste. Also see if there are discounts for repeat purchases offered, or see if there is any cross-selling (such as “Try our Brand X Milk with your candy”). You’ll find numerous points of contrast and comparison for your company to assess.

The best and most accessible intelligence will come from your assessment of the consumer experience.

When you start looking at competitive intelligence beyond the consumer experience, such as supply chain information, research and development, business models, etc… It becomes a game that is different for every industry. I would begin with any public records and financial statements that are available.

2.) How can I use competitive intelligence to increase revenue?

This is really a question of project management and resource planning.

For every point of Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat that you identify, formulate a plan of action. For every point that can not have a feasable plan of action, wipe it from the list, it’s dead weight in your decision making process. Once you’ve created a blue print for action for every Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat, estimate
(1.) The Revenue that Action Will Generate
(2.) The total investment cost, including opportunity cost, time and labor.
(3.) The time it will take to generate that revenue.

After this you should have a very informative list of projects from which you can prioritize your resources on a cost/benefit perspective. You’ll find that some are simply too costly, while others require minimal effort and may yield great returns.

Of course, the list of projects that you generate from your S.W.O.T. analysis should be acted upon in the context of whatever other projects you had on the table. In other words, don’t orient your entire organization around competitive intelligence. That would be Reactionary Thinking, which is the real enemy that competitive analysis seeks to defeat.

-Jason

On the internet its is easier to get info on your competition, just look at their website and order their product and you will get a wealth of information.

I do like that you mentioned the importance of an internal analysis as well. Just researching your enemies only gives you whats going on. It does not put it in a framework that you can practically apply it towards increasing revenues.

All in all, a nice post. thanks

john