ci workshop ausit qld 230211

8/7/2019 Ci Workshop Ausit Qld 230211

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COMPETITIVE

INTELLIGENCEfor service providers

Presented by Sam Berner, Arabic CommunicationExperts

[email protected]


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OUTLINE of WORKSHOP

Definitions

Reasoning

Types of Competition

What CI to gather?

How do harvest?

What to do with the wheat?


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(1) Definitions


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Services (us!)

Fragmented industry of large # of smallmicro businesses

@ no single entity with a significantmarket share,

@ no single influencer to set an agendafor the industry

Dependent on location (oh, yeah!) Close personal control of ownership Training = higher competitive advantage Deals in concepts not products => open

to replication (competitive threat) Key unit of inventory is TIME (cannot be

returned/reused/resold) Best marketing is WOM (so be WOW!)


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Competitive Intelligence (CI)

Systemic & Ethical program

for gathering, analyzing, and

managing externalinformation

that enhances yourmarketplace competitiveness

through a greaterunderstanding of yourcompetitors and the

competitive environment.


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(2) Reasoning


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Why gather CI?

Thrive + Spot + Protect

Increases sales and market

share Protects your business fromnew threats

Helps grow existing business

making it easier/better atspotting opportunities

Develops sustainable

competitive advantage dealwith stuff before the stuff deals


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Difficulties

Invisible marketing

No goods to look at

Output hard to measure

Invisible pricing

Constant change incompetition

Generalisations aredangerous

Trying to hit a moving target


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(3) Types

of Competition


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Overview

1. The client

2. The influencer

3. The Big Brother

4. Traditional competitors

5. Internal competitors

6. Left-field competitors


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The Client

Biggest and most overlooked competitor Decision making, emotional experiences

with other services (bad apples) Lumps you with the rest Substitutes you with people from outside

your industry Apathy Reluctance to change supplier even if they

suck

Unable to plan/decide ahead DIY mentality Ignorant Has perceptions Too many/too few similar service providers

= paralysis by analysis


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The Client what to do?

Befriend and stay in touch

Keep up to date on their

industry news Understand the psychology of

key decision makers

Build trust and relationships Keep an eye on personnel

changes

Beware the minions with smalldo s ndrome or ur e to show


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The Influencer

Decision makers, colleagues,friends, other consultants

involved in the purchasedecision.

Subjective? Irrational?Biased?

Flat hierarchies create MANYinfluencers

Delegation creates

influencers


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The Influencer what to do?

Find them -> target them ->educate them

Remove gatekeepers if theyare not worthy working with

Pay attention to the creation of

new influencers


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The Big Borther(or is it Sister?)

Public sector undercuttingprivate sector(TIS)

Favouritism Capping wages

Using cheaper labour

Flooding market withcompetitors

Legislation/regulations that

hampers the marketplace


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The BS/BB what to do?

WEEP?

Unionise?

Work together with other smallbusinesses (not necessary T/I)to badger the BS/BB until they

change what is irritating you(optimistic long-distanceapproach)


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Direct Competitors

Offer exactly the same, or very similarservice

Say that they do so Offer viable alternatives Operate in the same market as you Serve the same clients as you Difficult to compare, but compared they

will be by your clients Partial and full competitors

Most not high profile, very niche, and oftenhidden

Copycats Pop up quickly, easy to set up If there is one major provider, you might be

seen as second-best


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Direct Competition what to do?

Define who they are fromclients point of view

Identify the ones you dontcompete with they canbecome allies

Gather CI that is need-to-know not nice-to-know

Approach partnershipscarefully


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Internal Competition

Things you do to sabotageyourself:

Adamancy Time management

Personality issues (shyness, ego,etc)

High mindedness Inability to change

Over-promising

Perpetual upgrading

Not enough CPD and industry info


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Left-Field Competition -

Definition Other factors that arise out of

nowhere, unexplained and

unpredictable, to disrupt yourbusiness.


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Left-Field Competition - Types

Changes in demand 24/7 New entrants with better technology

New technology Globalisation >> increased competition Crowd sourcing Off-shoring Unionisation

Economic boom and recession Client rationalises operations Hidden competition (outside in T/I) Commodisation Associations


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Left-Field Competition What to

do? Keep your eyes and ears

open

Research a lot Think of various disaster

scenarios

Change tactics (marketing,delivery, even product)

Stay positive see it as a

challenge


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(4) What CI to

Gather?


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Types of CI

Locus

Strategy

Product/service Marketing

Competence

Quality of Service Pricing and Cost

Identity, ownership, staff


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Locus

Define your industry sector asyour client sees it: Agencies

(national/multinational/government) Freelancers Outsiders that are hidden

competition Associations

etc. No defined turf Here and overseas Maybe not in your industry?

Dont be snobbish.


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Strategy

How do they respond to LF competition? What is their positioning statement? Is their service newer/more innovative? What is their mission statement?

What values to they apply to their decision making? Can you fill in any gaps they have left? Are they making themselves a brand-name? How does their expertise compare to yours? What is their market-niche? Are they setting a trend?

Are they optimising what they are good at? What is the services mix? What are the modes of delivery? How do they maximise client retention? How do they come across in their pricing strategy? What are their alliances?


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Product

Service is largely invisible,tailored to each customer.

How do you compare oranges topotatoes to exotic birds?

It is what you offer over andabove that defines thedifference.

So define the service FIRST.

Cat-in-the-bag for client, difficultto evaluate.

It is about THE POTENTIAL TODELIVER.


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Product (cont.)

What is your competitors potential

CPD? Marketing? Businesscommunication? References? Previous

clients? What do these previous clientssay?

Are they focused?

Do they provide added-value

Do they provide integrated services?

If you lose a job to them, do you knowwhy?

What are their future plans?

Sherlock Holmes at work here.


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Marketing

Mostly not visible

P2P & word of mouth

Many contracts awarded on ahandshake

If you are always a

bridesmaid, maybe it is timeto look for a differentboyfriend?


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Marketing (cont.)

What is their hook? Do they host events? If not, do they regularly speak at other

peoples events? Do they sponsor? Are they on professional databases that

provide referrals? If not advertising, but busy what is the

secret?

What are their CRs like? How do they segment their market? Is

theirs more fertile? How much of their advertising is smoke

& mirrors?

How much are they spending on it?


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Marketing (cont.)

YOU ARE LOOKING FOR

WHAT THEY DO RIGHT& GO ONE BETTER.YOU ARE LOOKING FOR

WHAT THEY MISSED &

STEP IN.


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Competence

Where do they deliver theirservices?

How are their servicesdelivered?

How long have they been

delivering? How long have they retained

clients?

Is their delivery steady?


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Quality of Service

How do they satisfy their clients? How are they different and

better?

How available are they? How does the end product

compare with what theyadvertise?

How do they measure clientsatisfaction? How do they handle complaints? Do they have an 1800 number?

Are they engaged with theircustomers?


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Pricing and Cost

The most difficult part of CI

Impacted by client perceptions of

price and value Often all you get is a range.

The best CI here has to do withknowing your customers budget.

Cant be understood withoutknowledge of competitors costs.

Beware of smoke-&-mirrors


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Pricing and Cost (cont.)

For fee or for free? What is being provided? Is it leading to something else?

Does the price offered make sense? Are they trying to monopolise? How are they charging? Are they bundling services? Is there preferential pricing for long-

term clients? Big projects? Are they using bluff tactics? Do they low-ball their bids? Marketing $$ vs income $$


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Pricing and Cost (cont.)

ADVICE

If you decide that you are

overpriced(a)Adjust pricing; or

(b) Emphasize the additional

value added.DO NOT UNDERCUT. YOU

ARE THE LOSER.


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Identity, Ownership & Staff

What qualifications they have? How are they perceived by clients? Are they going an extra mile? Any bad apples?

Who is doing what? SWOT analysis What age range are they? How many? What experiences and expertise? How long have they been doing that? How long have they been with the same business? How do they manage their knowledge? Internally

and externally. How do they keep up to date? Who do they have drinks with?


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Where to Look?

Look in NAATI directory AUSIT, ATA, ITI, others

Mailing list brokers Ads in industry publications Press releases Yellow pages and industry

directories

Websites (quote forms and content) RSS Google news and blogs Expos, conferences, academic

publications Social media


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Where to Look? (cont.)

Newsletters/get onto their mailinglists

ads, press releases, photos

Forums, chatrooms, social media

Brochures, logos, letterheads, BC

Keep an eye on new entrants

Use FOI where possible (Contractsawarded)


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Where to Look?

Look in: Conversations

Use someone to do a phone review

of what clients think of their services Toll-free number

Customers/suppliers who left them

Tap into current and former clients:

Ask clients if they mind sharingquotes/proposals

Network with clients/suppliers.Keep eyes and ears open.


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How to collect CI?

Develop a CI mindset

THINK: what information you

SHOULD be receiving, butarent

Analyse your competition. Thiswill make you see patterns

better: What sort of competition do they

represent?

What external competitive forces

are you reckoning with?


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How to collect CI? (cont.)

Look at any major clients you lostand analyse them

Identify clients you would like to win,

and study your competition for eachof them.

Keep records of bids you lost, andreview them

Collect > Read > Think > Analyse >Use..

Be cost effective let as much infoas possible come to you.

Ask What can I do better with this


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Your CI Checklist

1. Make the commitment

2. Identify needs and objectives

3. I

dentify the sources ofinformation

4. Use technology

5. Compile a report (brief)

6. Take action on the results7. Evaluate against objectives

8. Make changes


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The CI Grid

Create a grid showing:

Where your competition wants tobe

Where you are at the moment

Is that good?

Should you be somewhere

else?


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Lest you forget

Avoid: Forgetting that your competitors will

also be trying to gain intelligenceon you.

Spending money on researchingthose who are no longer yourcompetitors - move with the market.

Overstepping the ethical line. Imagining that by simply copying

competitors or beating themfractionally to market is the key tosuccess; seeking greaterdifferentiation from the competitionis the route to a market advantage.


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Resources

Google gatheringcompetitive analysis read

a lot of this stuff before doingyours.

Watch videos (heaps online)

Go to a university and spend

a day browsing books on thetopic. Local libraries suck inthis field they should beunder 658.47 (or if at UQ,under HD38 7

ci workshop ausit qld 230211

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