competitive intelligence

A Practical Approach to Gain

Superior Competitive Intelligence

What you can do right now to gain

superior knowledge about your competition

© 2010 MCH Management Associates

Chicago

312-735-5022

[email protected]

Elements of Competitive / Business Intelligence

1. Competitive intelligence - what information is important to

us?

2. Customer/supplier intelligence - what do we want to know?

3. Customer relations - what do we want our customers to

think of us?

4. Protecting the company - how do we manage what others

know about us?

5. Internal relations - managing ourselves – what is our

attitude?

© 2010 MCH Management Associates 2

Competitive Intelligence

• What do we want to know?

– Who gathers this information for the company?

– Who should get the information you obtain?

• What can we learn from our mutual customers/prospects?

– Customers that have been burned often are willing to talk

• What can we learn from mutual suppliers?

3© 2010 MCH Management Associates

• What can we learn from competitor’s employees?

– Organizational chart for competitor’s key employees

– Who is disgruntled or looking for a job?

– Interviewing former employees (never miss a chance?)

– The impact of alcohol – excessive lubrication

• Often you can trade competitive information about a common competitor with a competitor

4



• What do we already know and can piece together from our own employees?

• What can we learn from public information sources?

– Scour the internet? LinkedIn?

• Industry associations – who participates?

– Statistics? Other data?

– Making good contacts – have a visible, open profile

• Ethics – what is acceptable and what is wrong?

– What do you do with confidential information that “falls in your lap?”

– Your risks?

5



Customer / Supplier Intelligence

• Who are our key accounts?

– Key targets - “conquest” accounts?

• Who are our key suppliers?

• What should we be trying to learn?

– Key customers, other customers, key prospects

– Key suppliers

• What should we do with this information once we obtain it?


• Who are we cultivating as customer/prospect sources of information?

– Who are the decision makers?

– Who are the abusers of power?

• How do we determine what they are really thinking of us?

– What do they use to measure us?

7

Customer / Supplier Intelligence


Customer Relations

• Who is “The Company”?

– Phone calls - What can we do better?

• Image

– Who do you want to do business with?

• Attitude

– Winners smile


• How do we promote our company?

• How do we get credit for the good we do?

• How do we combat anticipated “bad mouthing” by competitors?

• What do we do when we make a mistake?

– Damage control – quick action versus letting it fester

– Ask the customer what they think is fair

– Turnaround opportunity

9

Customer Relations


• Purchasing negotiations

– Their opportunity to make a good deal

– Their routines (good cop/bad cop)

• How to get higher prices

– Every change is an opportunity to increase the price, make it easy

• Making commitments

– Who makes price commitments?

– Who makes delivery commitments?

10

Customer Relations


• Never criticize your own in front of others!

• Never lie, but don’t tell what they do not ask

– When to stop talking

• How to handle unreasonable requests

• How to stall - higher authority

11

Customer Relations


Protecting The Company

• What do we need to keep confidential?

– “Loose lips sink ships”

• Protecting confidential information:

– Who has need to know?

– What information is valuable?

• Qualifying who we openly talk to

– What should you assume?

– Scams


• Who should be informed of attempts to gain information about us?

• What you should and should not tell headhunters

– Gain respect versus tell all you know

• What do we ask of our employees?

– What can we expect?

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• Whose property is “company work product?”

• What should/can you tell employees who leave?

– What about documents they take home?

– Confidentiality of information on computers?

– Patents, copyrights, confidentiality agreements?

– Usefulness of non-compete, non-solicitation, non-disparagement agreements?

14



Internal Relations

• Referrals for good potential employees – a referral is a wonderful compliment!

• Importance of morale– Who is responsible for good company morale?

• Recognition – your co-workers are “customers” as well• How to handle “malcontents”

– What do you do if you see inappropriate actions that clearly could damage the company?


Conclusion• Intelligence gathering = awareness plus common sense• Management must set high expectations! • Your choices:

A systematic, purposeful ethical process that is ingrained into the company culture

orA haphazard, hit-or-miss process

with no specific expectations


competitive intelligence

Business

competitive

customer relations

information

employees

company

customers

learn

protecting