Internet Marketing Intelligence

Chapter 6
Competitive Intelligence

Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Internet Marketing Intelligence by Edward Forrest

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Objectives

Provide an understanding of what Competitive Intelligence (CI) is Examine the practicalities of an effective CI system Explain why it is important to know ones competitors Outline the present and future ramifications of the Internet on CI Provide a procedure for conducting CI online
Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Internet Marketing Intelligence by Edward Forrest

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Competitive Intelligence
An integral element in formulating business and marketing strategy Improves overall company performance Uncovers opportunities and problems Helps to anticipate future moves

Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Internet Marketing Intelligence by Edward Forrest

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What is CI?
A systematic way of identifying and gathering timely, relevant information about a companys existing and potential competitors. CI is central to an organisations strategic planning and initiate changes during the decision-making process. It is part of the value chain that converts data elements into actionable information, resulting in strategic decisions. The keys to the successful utilisation of CI are analysis of data and synthesis of info.
Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Internet Marketing Intelligence by Edward Forrest

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Leonard Fuld
President of Fuld and Company (a leading research and consulting firm) Regarded by many as a long-established expert on CI Defines what CI is and is not (see slide 6-6, adapted from Leonard Fuld http://www.fuld.com/whatCI.html/)

Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Internet Marketing Intelligence by Edward Forrest

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What CI is
1. information analysed to point that a decision can be made 2. Management tool providing early warning of threats and opportunities 3. Approximations and best view of market and competition

What CI is not
1. Database search 2. Crystal ball 3. Spying

4. Takes many forms

4. Internet or rumor chasing

5. Way to improve company bottom line 5. Slides, charts and written reports 6. A process, a way of life within the 6. A job for one smart person corporation 7. Integral part of the best corporations 8. Directed from the top executive 9. Seeing outside the corporate walls 10. Both short and long term 7. Invention of the 20th century 8. Piece of hardware 9. News story 10. Just numbers or quantifiable results
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Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Internet Marketing Intelligence by Edward Forrest

Practicalities of an Effective CI System

Provides a constant flow of timely and accurate information Without action, intelligence is useless Intelligence is derived from information analysis Collection of information is just the beginning of a successful CI system

Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Internet Marketing Intelligence by Edward Forrest

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Practicalities of an Effective CI System (cont.)

Uses both primary and secondary data Helps make informed marketing and strategic decisions Gain strategic advantage and reduce risks

Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Internet Marketing Intelligence by Edward Forrest

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CI Benefits to the Company

Reduces costs Lowers risks Adds value Increases productivity Increases reaction times By better understanding their competitors, a company is in a good position to anticipate and respond to them.

Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Internet Marketing Intelligence by Edward Forrest

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Sun Tzu (Military Strategist) The Art of War, 500BC

If you are ignorant of both your enemy and yourself, then you are a fool and certain to be defeated in every battle. If you know yourself, but not your enemy, for every battle won, you will suffer a loss. If you know your enemy and yourself, you will win every battle.
Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Internet Marketing Intelligence by Edward Forrest

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The Internets Impact on CI

Provides the opportunity for companies to conduct their competitor information searches online and in-house Reduces cost barrier Brings ability to obtain new information quickly and from wide variety of sources Can track competitors around the world

Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Internet Marketing Intelligence by Edward Forrest

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12 Steps for Conducting CI on the Internet

1. Check key CI resources 2. Search for company information 3. Search the web sites and personal pages of competitiors 4. Search for trade associations and conferences 5. Peruse job and career web sites 6. Survey competitors customers online
Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Internet Marketing Intelligence by Edward Forrest

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12 Steps for Conducting CI on the Internet

7. Utilise comparative-shopping services

8. Search news groups and read mailing lists

9. News that can be used

10. Personalise information searches

11. Outsource the CI function 12. Start your search engines

Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Internet Marketing Intelligence by Edward Forrest

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1. Check Key CI Resource Sources

Bidigital.com (contains The Competitive Intelligence Resource Index) http://www.bidigital.com/ci/ Pepper and Rogers Group Consulting http://www.1to1.com/ EDGAR http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml

Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Internet Marketing Intelligence by Edward Forrest

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2. Search for Company Information

One Source Information Services, Inc. http://www.onesource.com/company/comp any.htm/ The Report Gallery http://www.reportgallery.com/ American Business Information http://www.abii.com

Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Internet Marketing Intelligence by Edward Forrest

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3. Search the Web Sites and Personal Pages of Competitors

Competitors web sites provide:
information and insight on present and future marketing strategies relevant details about the company data about research and development operations

But be careful:
home pages can also contain lots of misleading information companies tend to post only their most optimistic messages
Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Internet Marketing Intelligence by Edward Forrest

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4. Search for Trade Associations and Conferences

Trade associations can provide useful and unbiased information about competitors. Conferences can be a rich source of information on competitors business and marketing positions.

Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Internet Marketing Intelligence by Edward Forrest

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5. Peruse Job/Career Sites

Help-wanted ads offer clues about where a company is heading in its pursuit of markets and technologies
CareerPath.com http://www.careerpath.com MonsterBoard http://www.mosterboard.com

Human-source information is more interesting and more accurate than secondary information.

Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Internet Marketing Intelligence by Edward Forrest

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6. Survey Competitors Customers online

Survey Competitors Customers:
to receive first-hand information on a competitors strengths and weaknesses to measure brand image, attributes, brand equity, advertising and promotional effects

ePublicEye http://www.epubliceye.com.sg/ Service Intelligence http://www.serviceintelligence.com/ Planet Feedback http://biz.planetfeedback.com/biz

Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Internet Marketing Intelligence by Edward Forrest

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7. Utilise ComparativeShopping Services

Shopping web sites can demonstrate a companys product is being compared and evaluated with respect to their competitors products
My Simon http://www.mysimon.com/ RoboShopper http://www.roboshopper.com/

Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Internet Marketing Intelligence by Edward Forrest

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8. Search Newsgroups and Read Mailing Lists

By joining a news group, researchers can obtain valuable information about what their customers think about their company as well as their competitors.
Deja News http://www.dejanews.com/

Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Internet Marketing Intelligence by Edward Forrest

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9. News That Can Be Used

Think Global, Snoop Local (Leonard Fuld)
News Link http://www.newslink.org/ OnlineNewspapers.com http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/

Search for personnel and company news also:

DataTimes http://www.datatimes.com/

Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Internet Marketing Intelligence by Edward Forrest

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10. Personalise Information Searches

By setting up their own personalised news page, researchers can have information collected for them on a regular basis.
Intel Brief http://www.intelbrief.com/ Market Guard 24/7 http://www.marketguard247.com/

Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Internet Marketing Intelligence by Edward Forrest

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11. Outsource the CI Function

Advantages of Contracting Out:
the objectivity of the consultant can offer expertise that few firms have inhouse reports are ready quickly and updated on a regular basis

Disadvantages:
cost and regularity of information Fulds http://www.fuld.com/ Hoovers http://www.hoovers.com/
Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Internet Marketing Intelligence by Edward Forrest

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12. Start Your Search Engines

As a last step, researchers should conduct a search using their favorite search engine(s)

Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Internet Marketing Intelligence by Edward Forrest

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Other sources relevant to CI

Society of CI Professionals http://www.scip.org
helps individuals obtain the CI skills necessary to turn CI into a competitive advantage contains publications such as newsletters and journals provides details of up-coming CI events such as conferences and seminars

Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Internet Marketing Intelligence by Edward Forrest

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Summary
CI is the continuous monitoring of competitors for information that can be used to plan strategic and marketing decisions. CI should be gathered through legal and ethical means. The Internet has increased the information available; however, researchers should consider the 12-step process to reduce information overload and make their research more effective.
Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Internet Marketing Intelligence by Edward Forrest

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