The Competitive

Intelligence Center
presents:

Conducting Effective
Competitive Reviews
 A 1998 SCIP Survey asking members what CI tools were
most used and most effective:
• Tools for Analyzing CI • Effectiveness of Tools
– Competitive Reviews 88.9% – SWOT Analysis: 63.1%
– Financial analysis 72.1% – Competitive reviews: 52.4%
– SWOT analysis 55.2%
– Financial analysis 45.5%
– Scenario development:
53.8% – Win/loss Analysis: 31.4%
– Win/loss Analysis: 40.4% – War gaming: 21.9%
– War gaming: 27.5% – Scenario development: 19.2%
– Cojoint analysis: 25.5% – Cojoint analysis: 15.8%
– Simulation/modeling 25% – Simulation/modeling: 15.4%
SWOT analysis and Competitive Reviews are the most effective CI tools
 Why Perform A
Competitive Review?

To use past and current information

about competitors to be able to
anticipate their future moves…
so you can craft both offensive and
defensive strategies accordingly.
A Competitive Review is a critical
component of
a Competitive Intelligence
system
Lets get started….
A Competitive Review has the following
4 Key objectives:
1. Identify competitor strategies – now and in the
future.
2. Predict and monitor competitor’s likely responses
to your strategies and tactics.
3. Understand a competitor’s strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats (SWOT).
4. Determine how well a competitor’s capabilities
and resources are to support their chosen strategies
to gauge the likelihood of success.
The Competitive Review process requires the following
knowledge about a competitor:
 Future goals and potential
 Current strategy – at all levels
 Strengths and Weaknesses
 Context: Assumptions held about the firm and the
industry

Goal: Combine these elements together to develop a

Competitor’s Response Profile…as shown in the
following illustration…
 What is the competitor doing
What drives that competitor?
and capable of doing?
Future Goals Current Strategy
At all levels of management At all levels of management
And in multiple dimensions And in multiple dimensions

Competitor’s Response Profile

• Is the competitor satisfied with it’s current position?
• What likely moves or strategy shifts is a competitor likely to
make?
• Where is the competitor vulnerable?
• What will provoke the greatest retaliation by the competitor?

Assumptions Capabilities
Source: Competitive Strategy, Techniques for
Held about itself and Analyzing Industries and Competitors Strengths and
the industry Michael E. Porter Weaknesses
Performing a Competitive Review
To be effective, the output of a competitive
review must be:
– timely,
– credible,
– concise,
– relevant and
– accessible to decision makers
Performing a Competitive Review
Step 1: Plan your review at 2 levels:
• Tactical level
• Strategic level
Step 2: Define Requirements
Step 3: Gather intelligence
Step 4: Develop profiles and benchmark each
competitor
Step 5: Disseminate and explain findings
Performing a Competitive Review
Step 1: Plan your review at 2 levels: Strategic
and Tactical and
• Identify rivals: current and potential
• Define review key objectives at Strategic
and Tactical levels
• Relate any comparisons to customer value,
innovations and shareholder value
Step 2: Define Your
Requirements
Step 2: Select from Common Information Categories:
Company Products Marketing/Sales
Profile /Services
•Name •Number of •No. of employees
•Locations products/services •Sales/employee
•Brief history • Product/service mix •Segmentation strategies
•Press releases •Diversity of product and •Branding and image
•Major transactions services capabilities •Advertising and
•Key investors •Market share promotions budgets
•SIC code, Industry focus •USP, position/customer •Key customers
value • Probable growth vectors
•Mission
• Current Growth vectors
•Key Strategies •4 p’s: price, product,
• Size promotion and place
•Growth rate
•Quality (distribution channels)
• Intensity of competition
•R&D capability •Cost of sales
Step 2: Select from Common Information Categories:
Human Operations Management/
Resources Executive Profile
•Quality and skill levels •Production capacity •Background checks
of personnel •Scale and Critical mass •Personalities
•Attrition and/or turnover •Administration •Motivations
rates capabilities •Aspirations
•Labor costs •Outsourcing •Styles
•Level of training and arrangements •Past track records
development •Overhead costs (successes and failures)
•Benefits as a % of total •TQM/ISO compliance •Depth of managerial
staff costs •SLAs/Service/Pricing talent
•Labor relations Guarantees • Compensation packages
•Organizational structure •Flexibility •Outside directors
•Succession plan
Step 2: Select from Common Information Categories:
CI Capacity Technology Strategy

•Profile of the unit •Business process •Positioning of the

•Reporting relationships sophistication company
•Dedicated CI unit? •Commercial System(s) •Resource allocations
• Level of sr. mgt support platforms •Mission, vision and
•eCommerce capabilities value proposition
•Vulnerabilities
•Proprietary systems •Goals and objectives
•SBU integration
•Scope of responsibilities •Intellectual property and •Synergies
patents •Core competencies
•Sophistication
•Internal development •SWOT
•Tools for CI
capability vs. reliance on •VRIO
•Deal support function? outside providers
•Outsourcing
relationships
 • Step 3: Gather Information from your
Information Base and leverage personal
networks:
Sales force Business Intelligence:
Internet
Industry Marketing
Resources Databases/CRM
studies
Market Product kits
studies
Pricing schedules
Trade
Fact/spec. sheets
publications Pool of Information Resources
USP/Branding &
positioning
Press RFIs, RFPs
releases Client
Events Market
wins/losses
White papers studies,
Tradeshows
secondary Client
Newsletters research
Seminars defectors
Step 4: Develop profiles and
benchmark each
competitor
 Use the framework VRIO = Value, Rarity, Inimitability, and
Organization for Decision Making
1. Value - each marketing and sales resource is assessed for its ability to
add value to the firm to help exploit an opportunity and/or minimize a
threat.
2. Rareness - is the resource that your organization possesses rare…
providing your firm with a competitive advantage?
3. Inimitability – how sustainable is this competitive advantage or is it
easily imitated or copied by competitors?
4. Organization – does the organization have the capacity to take
advantage of the valuable, rare and inimitable resources?
 
Only those marketing and sales resources that pass the sequential VRIO
assessment are deemed competitively valuable resources.

Source: Strategic and Competitive Analysis, Methods and Techniques for analyzing business intelligence,
by Craig S. Fleisher and Babette E. Bensoussan, Prentice Hall, 2003.
Sample Profile report formats are available at:
Compiling the Competitive Review
• Company Profile Report

• Merger/Acquisition Checklist

• Employment Review

• Company Strategy Report

• Products & Services Report

• Finance Report
Step 5: Disseminate Profiles and
explain findings
See The Competitive Intelligence Center’s
List of online resources entitled: “Library”,
“Helpful links” and “More” for a
comprehensive list of online resources to
assist you in Compiling Your Review

This presentation is © copyright 2001-2002

by The Competitive Intelligence Center
Additional Recommended Reading:
Strategic and Competitive Analysis, Methods and Techniques for
analyzing business intelligence, by Craig S. Fleisher and Babette E.
Bensoussan, Prentice Hall, 2003.
Proven Strategies in Competitive Intelligence, John E. Prescott and
Stephen Miller, John Wiley & Sons, 2001

This presentation is © copyright 2001-2002

by The Competitive Intelligence Center