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Top analysis techniques your competitive intelligence or strategic

planning team should master

50 Competitive Intelligence Analysis Techniques

7 OCTOBER 2013 | BY ESTELLE METAYER

Analysis is often where the ball drops as far as competitive intelligence analysts are concerned. Yet this is the
only way the team can truly extract insights from the data and the intelligence gathered, and have a chance to
play a role in the companys strategic planning process. You will find below 50 analysis techniques you should
master. This is not a complete list, and it should be adapted depending on the strategic needs of your company,
as well as the nature of your business.

I have ranked them by theme, but also suggested the level of complexity. The techniques marked with an
asterisk* are included in Competias course Advanced Analysis Techniques.

Industry Structure and Competitiveness

1-SWOT*

A structured method to analyze both internal and external factors that are likely to affect a companys success.
This framework needs little introduction as it has been used and overused in virtually every strategic planning
discussion I have been part of. I would caution analysts that SWOT might be useful to organize information, but
certainly not to guide strategic decision making. It needs to be combined with the TOWS matrix to gain
additional insights.

More: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05.htm
Complexity: low

2-SCP Framework ( Structure-Conduct-Performance)*

The SCP framework is process to understand how players behavior and external shocks can affect an industrys
future profitability and growth. It can be at times difficult to run as it requires executives to project into the

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future, but insights are real and lead to great strategic discussions.

More on McKinseys site (includes an audio file): http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/strategy

/enduring_ideas_the_scp_framework
An example of analysis here: https://www.frost.com/sublib/display-market-insight.do?id=170405929
Complexity: Medium

3-ADL Matrix

This analysis helps one understand how an industrys maturity and competitive position affects strategy. It
compares two axes: industry maturity (ranging from embryonic, growing, mature, to aging) and competitive
position (from dominant to weak).

More here: http://www.comindwork.com/weekly/2013-05-06/productivity/adl-matrix-portfolio-management

Complexity: Medium

4-Porter's Five Forces*

Porters framework provides a checklist to analyze the competitiveness level of an industry based on the balance
of power. When using it, do not forget it is only the start of your analysis. The next step includes defining which
strategy would augment chances of success: cost structure strategy, differentiation strategy or integration
strategy.

More: about Michael Porters work at Harvard Business School

Complexity: Low

5-Industry cost curves

Using supply curves, the frameworks helps you anticipate capacity investments, plant closures, and pricing
changes for a product.

More: http://xray-delta.com/2012/04/24/do-you-know-how-to-use-this-classic-tool-industry-cost-curves/

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Complexity: High

6-Value Net

This analysis extends the five-forces framework by examining the role of complementors (companies from which
customers buy complementary products or services) and their effect, which is the mirror image that of
competitors.

More: https://faculty.fuqua.duke.edu/~moorman/GeneralMills/Section2/Section2Documents/SandBLandscape-
p31-35.pdf
Complexity: Low

7-The Space Matrix

This is a valuable method for analyzing the competitive position of an organization. It highlights two internal
dimensions (financial strength and competitive advantage) and two external dimensions (industry strength and
environmental stability) to determine the organizations strategic position in the industry. The companys
strategic strength is then defined as aggressive, competitive, conservative or defensive.

More: https://faculty.fuqua.duke.edu/~moorman/GeneralMills/Section2/Section2Documents/SPACE%20Matrix.pdf
Complexity: Low

8-PEST

This framework is used in the early phases of strategy development to describe the landscape and environment in
which a firm operates ( PEST stands for Political, Economic, Social and Technological). Note: It is sometimes
transformed into SLEPT (Social, Legal, Economic, Political, Technological), PESTEL (Political, Economic, Social,
Technological, Environmental/Ecological, Legal), STEEPLE (Social, Technological, Economic, Environmental, Legal,
Ethical), etc.

More: http://66.147.244.90/~stratey0/portfolio-view/framework-of-the-week-78-pest-analysis-revisited/
Complexity: Low

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9-Inflection point analysis

An inflection point is: An event that changes the way we think and act. This analysis identifies when and where
inflection points are likely to happen.

More: I like the short explanation here: http://www.safehaven.com/article/22158/inflection-points-a-short-

explanation
An example by Accenture in the US Biopharmaceutical Industry
Complexity: High

10- Hypercompetition

By leveraging Richard dAvenis frameworks of competitive cycles, analysts can predict future industry dynamics.

More: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNbIWLT_HV4 and get the book http://www.amazon.com

/Hypercompetition-Richard-A-Daveni/dp/0029069386
Complexity: Medium

Future market size estimation and analysis

11-Evaluation and Estimation of the Market Size*

These techniques will allow you to calculate the size of the market even when no study exists or no information is
publicly available. Many methodsfrom top-down to bottom-up and extrapolations from market segmentscan
be triangulated to get the correct answer. The main advantage of these analyses is that they lead to a good, solid
strategic definition of the industry or market boundaries and helps highlight blind spots.

More: from Harvard http://hbr.org/product/marketing-analysis-toolkit-market-size-and-market-/an/510081-

PDF-ENG
Complexity: Medium

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12-Lifetime value analysis

This customer lifetime value analysis consists of predicting the revenue a customer will generate over his or her
entire lifetime.

More: https://www.custora.com/tour/feature_predictive_customer_lifetime_value_clv_retail
Complexity: Medium

13- Supply and demand curves

In microeconomics, supply and demand is an economic model of price determination in a market. It concludes
that in a competitive market, the unit price for a particular good will vary until it settles at a point where the
quantity demanded by consumers (at current price) will equal the quantity supplied by producers (at current
price), resulting in an economic equilibrium for price and quantity.

More: a good primer here http://www.oup.com/us/pdf/microecon/ch02ppt.pdf

Complexity: High

Customer intelligence

14-Journey map

The journey map describes the journey of a user by representing the different touchpoints that characterize his or
her interaction with the service.

More: http://www.cmo.com/articles/2012/10/30/customer-journey-mapping-10-tips-for-beginners.html
Complexity: Low

15-Personas

The personas process includes the development of archetypal users to direct the vision and design of new
products or services.

More: http://www.findandconvert.com/persona-analysis/
Complexity: Medium

16- Value chain analysis

A systematic approach to analyze your value chain, and identify where to create the greatest value for the
customer.

More here: https://depts.washington.edu/oei/resources/toolsTemplates/value_chain_analysis.pdf and here

http://www.provenmodels.com/26
Complexity: Medium

Growth path analysis

17-Three Horizons*

The Three Horizons framework provides a structure for companies to assess potential opportunities for growth
without neglecting performance in the present. The concept was developed in the book, The Alchemy of Growth:

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Practical Insights for Building the Enduring Enterprise.

Listen to an explanation here: http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/strategy

/enduring_ideas_the_three_horizons_of_growth
A guide here: http://paul4innovating.com/2011/08/17/the-navigation-of-the-three-horizon-framework-
an-emerging-guide/
Complexity: Low

18-Staircases to Growth*

The staircase approach is a method to map a companys possible growth path by continuously compounding
skills and options. I have used this framework extensively to either map a competitors past staircase (and hence
anticipate future moves) or as a tool for a strategy team to brainstorm about strategic options.

More: The excellent McKinsey Quarterly article here is a must read : http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/growth
/staircases_to_growth
Complexity: Medium

19-Seven degrees of freedom

This analysis is based on the belief that the success of a strategy is based on the ability of a company to identify
its strengths and build on them.

For more, read The Mind of the strategist by Kenichi Ohmae http://www.economist.com/media/globalexecutive
/books/mind_of_the_strategist_e_03.pdf
Complexity: Low

20-Directional Policy Matrix*

The directional policy matrix allows you to pick growth avenues based on market attractiveness and company
strength. It has also been called the GE matrix, as GE uses this analysis in its strategy process. It can be run
qualitatively or quantitatively, depending on the learning style of your executives.

More: read here http://www.changefactory.com.au/articles/business-strategy/making-good-strategic-choices-

directional-policy-matrix/
Complexity: Low

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21-BCG Matrix

Frankly, I hesitated to include this analysis here. The BCG matrix is a framework to help decision making on
existing product lines. Developed in the 1980s, it has been used to evaluate how a company should think about
its portfolio based on two criteria: the relative market share of a product and the market growth rate. I wont
spend too much time on it as it often leads to erroneous decisions (niche strategies do not fit very well in here).

More on Wikipedia http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/BCG-Matrix

Complexity: Low

22-Ansoff Growth Strategy Matrix

The Ansoff Matrix (first published by the Harvard Business Review in 1957) is sometimes called the
Product/Market Expansion Grid. It shows four growth options for business formed by matching up existing and
new products and services with existing and new markets.

More: quick summary here http://www.timeanalyzer.com/lib/ansoff.htm

Complexity: Low

23-Strategy diamond

The framework (developed by Donald Hambrick and James Frederickson) puts the economic logic at the center of
the analysis. Four dimensions are analyzed: Arenas, Vehicles, Differentiators, Staging and Economic logic.
Strategy is about making important choices, and the real power of a Strategy Diamond is that it integrates
important choices into a bigger picture instead of as a piecemeal approach.

More: http://66.147.244.90/~stratey0/portfolio-view/framework-of-the-week-84-strategy-diamond/
Complexity: Medium

24-Familiarity Matrix

Its two axesfamiliarity with market factors and technology or serviceare both divided into new familiar and

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new unfamiliar. The market dimension refers to the amount of knowledge possessed by the diversifying company
of various characteristics of the market and the competitors within it. Newness of a market is the extent to which
the company has previously targeted it.

More here: http://www.mbaknol.com/strategic-management/a-new-business-strategy-familiarity-matrix/

Complexity: Medium

25-Core competence analysis

An organization's core competencies are its strategically important capabilities that are central to fulfilling its
missionand providing an advantage inthe marketplace. Core competencies aredifficult for competitors to
imitate, and they provide companies with a sustainable competitive advantage. This analysis often forms the first
step into the Staircases to growth analysis.

More: http://118.97.114.250/me_/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/7171_Gallon-et-al-Putting-Core-Competency-
Thinking.pdf
Complexity: High

Financial analysis ( for the non financial specialist)

26-ROCE Tree*

The ROCE Tree is a simple method to compare players in an industry and understand structural differences in
performance. I like it allows you to simply present on a one-pager insights from both the balance sheet and
income statement, and relate these to shareholder value. This is a great analysis for non-financial professionals to
master.

More: http://archive.webpronews.com/enterprise/enterpriseonline
/wpn-13-20040513GainingFinancialInsightswiththeROCETreePart1.html and an illustration here
http://utwt.blogspot.ch/2010/03/sgx-listed-palm-oil-stocks-fy-2009_16.html
Complexity: Medium

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27-Cost structure comparison / Value chain analysis

When no information is available on the competitors costs, this analysis provides a structured approach to
identify and calculate differences. It is helpful when one has no access to the actual competitor cost information
(which is always the case), and allows an alternative analysis method. As you can imagine, there are not many
companies advertising about how they do the analysis. This is one of the most powerful analysis tools I knowit
helps anticipate product margins, bidding prices and sustainability of pricing strategy.

More here: http://www.imanet.org/PDFs/Public/Research/SMA/Value%20Chain%20Analysis.pdf

Complexity: High

28-Monte Carlo simulation

Forecasting or predictive analytics can best be described as statistic modeling enabling prediction of future
events or results, using present and past information and data.

More: http://www.palisade.com/risk/monte_carlo_simulation.asp and an example in financial reporting here:

http://www.strategy-at-risk.com/2012/06/05/budgeting-revisited/Complexity: High

Competitor's Management Team Profiling

29-Myers Briggs' psychological profile* of competitors management team

Used in alliances, acquisitions or for competitors, a powerful tool to understand leadership differences and
anticipate reaction to industry events.

More: http://www.myersbriggs.org/
Complexity: Medium

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30-Power Structure

This is a model to look at a company from the outside and understand who the decision makers and those in
situation of power. This is an extremely useful analysis for any analyst supporting a proposal and bid team, or
working with sales.

More: Web-based Analysis for Competitive Intelligence by Conor Vibert. An example here.
Complexity: Medium

Future Trends' Analysis

31-Alien Eye Analysis*

The futurist Edie Weiner suggests there might be only two kinds of intelligent life forms that do not suffer from
educated incapacity: aliens from other planets and children. This analysis allows a management team to look at
its existing company, products, and industry with a drastically new vision, allowing it to avoid blind spots. New
realities emerge when looking at analysis with an unbiased view.

More: FutureThink http://www.amazon.com/FutureThink-Think-Clearly-Time-Change/dp/013185674X

/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379070811&sr=8-1&keywords=futurethink
Complexity: Medium

32-Scenario Planning*

This analysis, spearheaded by Shell in the 1970s following the companys inability to forecast future oil prices,
allows a company to look at possible futures, develop a system to flag events, and prepare alternative action
plans. There is abundant literature on the subject, so the sources below are just a starting point.

More: by Harvard
An example at Shell .
The Monfleur Scenarios ( South Africa) http://www.gbn.com/articles/pdfs/gbn_montfleur%20scenarios.pdf

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Amazing work done by the team at DPDHL on the future of the logistics industry.
Complexity: Medium

33-Trend mapping

I include here tools that help map large amounts of information to identify trends and patterns.

More: there are so many resources online, that choosing has been a challenge. I like the light tutorial on how to
analyze trends in Excel , an example of three data visualisation tools about macro-economic data here and the list
of visualization tools here.
Complexity: High

34-Assessing uncertainty

A McKinsey framework of four levels of uncertainty can be helpful to select the right set of strategic tools.

More: http://66.147.244.90/~stratey0/portfolio-view/framework-of-the-week-40-four-levels-of-uncertainty/
Complexity: Medium

35- Precursor analysis:

This term comes from the chemical industry and describes the analysis of weak signals that might have led to an
incident. The same methodology has been used sparingly by competitive intelligence analysis to pre-empt
competitors moves: In the aftermath of catastrophes, it is common to find prior indicators, missed signals, and
dismissed alerts that, had they been recognized and appropriately...

More: http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11061
Complexity: High

Competitive Strategy Exploration

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36-Blue Ocean Strategy*

When competition gets intense, companies need to break out of fierce bloody competition and create uncontested
market spaces. This process helps identify untapped market opportunities.

More: http://www.blueoceanstrategy.com/
An app on Apple's itunes store.
Complexity: Medium

Source: Blue Ocean Strategy

37-Business Model Generation*

The excellent work by Alex Oesterwalder opens the door to companies that need to rethink their business model.
It offers a practical step-by-step process to find new ways to create value and analyze a companys current model.

More: http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com/ or http://alexosterwalder.com/

Complexity: Medium

38-3-C framework

Together, the strategic three Cs form the marketing strategy triangle, matching between the Company, (current
and potential strengths and weaknesses), Customers (served and not served), and Competitors (current and

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prospective) needs to be considered.

More: Duke's introduction is quite thorough.

Complexity: Medium

39-Three value disciplines

Treacy and Wiersema propose a set of three value disciplines similar to Porters generic strategies. The three
strategies are Operational Excellence, Customer Intimacy, and Product Leadership.

More: https://faculty.fuqua.duke.edu/~moorman/GeneralMills/Section2/Section2Documents
/CustomerIntemacy.pdf
Complexity: Medium

40-Innovation Ambition Matrix

The Innovation Ambition Matrix is a variant of another 22 growth framework, comparing the axes of where to
compete (existing vs. new markets) and how to compete (existing vs. new capabilities).

More: http://66.147.244.90/~stratey0/portfolio-view/framework-of-the-week-81-innovation-ambition-matrix/
Complexity: Medium

41-Strategic Blindspots*

One of the most difficult habits to develop in learning to drive a car is to beware of blind spots that area along
the periphery of the car where we cannot see whats happening. Despite the rear-view and side mirrors, there
remains an annoying small area where passing vehicles or pedestrians cannot be seen. If you neglect your blind
spots when changing lanes or turning, you put yourself and your car in jeopardy. A strategic blind spot analysis
will help you identify if your management team is prone to such blind spots, and how to correct this.

More: An article I wrote on these for the Institute of Internal Auditors: http://www.theiia.org/intAuditor/in-the-

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profession/2013/pay-attention-to-the-blind-spots/ . More here http://tejas.iimb.ac.in/articles/67.php

Complexity: High

42-Strategic Chessboard

AT Kearney proposes four distinct strategic approaches using these two dimensionspredictability and a
company's ability to shape or adapt to its industry.

More: http://www.atkearney.com/paper/-/asset_publisher/dVxv4Hz2h8bS/content/playing-on-the-new-strategy-
chessboard/10192
Complexity: Low

Predicting Competitors Future Strategy

43-Porters Four corners

The Four Corners Model to help organizations analyze their competitors' positions, and predict their future
courses of action.

More: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/porters-four-corners-model.htm#sthash.GKpm8UTH.dpuf
Complexity: Low

44-ValuePerform analysis

The ValuePerform Analysis generates a set of spider webs showing:

Importance: How well are your priorities aligned with your strategy?
Perfomance: How well are you actually performing on the critical issues?
Potential: Identification of those areas where you MUST improve to execute your strategy successfully?

More: http://www.tbkconsult.com/services/strategy-analysis/
Complexity: Low

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45-War gaming

This is a process to anticipate competitors likely moves by getting your executive team to play out various
scenarios and responses as if they were the competitors themselves, responding to one of their strategic
moves.

More: http://www.rolandberger.com/media/pdf/rb_press/RB_Wargamingneu_20080301.pdf
Complexity: High

46- Game theory

Often defined as the study of mathematical models of conflict and cooperation between intelligent rational
decision-makers, game theory can provide a path of analysis to anticipate a competitors future moves. The
approach involves distilling all possible analyses of a rivals response to a particular strategic move into a
sequential consideration of three questions:

Will the competitor react at all?

What options will the competitor actively consider?
Which option will the competitor most likely choose?
More: McKinsey (pdf)
Complexity: High

Which analysis are you running that is not on that list ?

Filed under:
analysis competitive intelligence analytical strategy war gaming scenario planning financial analysis SWOT Porter

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McKinsey

Comments Leave a comment

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Posted by Jean-Paul David said:

09/09/2014 9:46am (2 years ago)

You can also add the Podium-Gallows Approach designed

to prioritize international markets:
http://www.mercadex.ca/index.php/en/loutil-podium-
potence

Posted by Tema Frank said:

21/07/2014 6:51pm (2 years ago)

What a wonderfully thorough list!

Posted by Karthick Swaminathan said:

06/04/2014 7:22am (2 years ago)

Very insightful and useful for someone who is interested

in CI. Thanks a lot.

Posted by David said:

21/02/2014 7:24am (3 years ago)

Best thing I have seen today. Thanks a lot.

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