Improving Your Competitive Intelligence

It doesn’t take a huge effort to build a better flow of external information. The Internet provides access to all sorts of competitive information, some of which is available for purchase, but much is free. Systems can be set up to detect changes on competitors’ and customers’ websites, or notify you of press releases from industry players. You can even set up a “Google Alert” for your own company name, as well as competitors and customers. Compared with research efforts fifteen years ago, the ease of getting quality information is almost ridiculous. Some other options for developing better outside information might include:

• Buying data about competitors and customers—from any one of the many companies that make this their business.
• Developing your own data—you can survey clients and market experts or use your customer service communications to gather new information about changing markets. Think about your website, your phone centers, or any other point of outside contact.
• Finding ways to look beyond your present markets—participate in industry gatherings, attend presentations, and read as much as possible, always with an eye to how this could affect your business. For more on this idea, see the Industry Spotlight below.
• Engaging in strategic conversations—we are big believers in talking with people outside the company as a way of sensing an industry’s direction, new developments, and others’ impressions of your strengths and weaknesses. These conversations also flatter the people with whom you conduct them, prompting them to become closer strategic partners. For more on this approach, read Issue 13 of Trekking.

After receiving data from all these sources, many companies set up distribution networks internally to share the information. This may be done via dashboards, where statistics are involved (e.g., semi-conductor chip prices), or with intranets and blogs to share feedback. Whatever way you choose, the best way to start is to keep it simple—just take on a few small projects that have a direct impact on business units and take it from there.

In our teaching and speaking, we often use a presentation that shows the “cone of silence” used in the 1960’s television show Get Smart. Without external information, you and your management team are limited to your own ideas. Lift the cone, open the windows, and let the fresh external information refresh your thinking.

- Michael Oleksak   2006