MY TURNBy Ann Schiola, CPSM, CIP, Finley Engineering Group

Has your A/E/C firm ever been surprised by market trends or the competition? Is the abundance of information available making it harder for your firm to succeed? As Peter Drucker states in his classic book, Management Challenges for the 21st Century, “The purpose of information is not knowledge. It is being able to take the right action.” Competitive intelligence helps A/E/C firm leaders identify risks and opportunities in the market before they become obvious so they can act to gain a competitive advantage.

Competitive intelligence (CI) is the action of defining, gathering, analyzing, and distributing intelligence about clients, competitors, and any aspect of the environment needed to support executives and managers in making strategic decisions for a firm.

The main driver for CI is increased pressure by firm leaders to anticipate external business challenges and take action before it’s too late. Firm leaders don’t like surprises. CI can help with:

¡ Providing an early warning system for future threats such as industry trends, new entrants in a market, or regulatory changes

¡ Supporting strategic and tactical decision-making for mergers and acquisitions, expansion into new markets, and pursuit analysis

Competitive Intelligence:

An Emerging Practice at Professional Services Firms

East Studio, Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. Design Architect: Flad Architects; Landscape Architect and Architect of Record: Browning Day Mullins Dierdorf; General Contractor: The Hagerman Group. ©Susan Fleck, fleckphoto.com.

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¡ Competitor analysis and learning what the competition knows about your fi rm

¡ Supporting strategic planning

Marketing professionals are in the best position to provide CI to their fi rms.

Many A/E/C fi rms conduct market research but that is usually backward-looking; there are little or no causal links, such as current market conditions, competition’s past performance, or client feedback. Competitive intelligence is about the future and can help a fi rm proactively forecast events.

While we often don’t hear the term CI, this is an emerging practice at some professional services fi rms.

Are Professional Services Using Competitive Intelligence?

In an effort to answer this question, I conducted a survey. Professional services fi rms are using CI; however, it is an informal practice. Twenty-six fi rms responded, ranging in fi rm size from 10 to 10,000 employees.

Respondents were given the defi nition of CI as stated in the second paragraph of this article. Over 65 percent of respondents indicated they perform CI, but it was referred to as market research or strategic planning. Other terms included: competitive analysis, go/no-go decision, or capture planning. Regardless of size, fi rms are using CI for many activities as shown in Figure 1.

Jarden Home Brands, Fishers, IN, makers of the iconic Ball® Jars, selected Axis Architecture + Interiors to renovate its headquarters. ©Susan Fleck, fl eckphoto.com.

“Rapid changes in market conditions, increasing competition, and fast-paced technological advancements are driving the demand for competitive intelligence programs at A/E/C � rms. Marketing professionals are in a unique position to lead this forward-thinking initiative.”

— � eresa M. Casey, FSMPS, CPSMPresident, On Target Marketing & Communications, LLC

Figure 1. Activities supported by CI.

Project pursuit/RFP

Client & industry trends

Win/loss analysis

Competitor analysis

Market expansion

Mergers & acquisitions

Scenario planning

Early warning systems

Ad hoc basis

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MARKETER OCTOBER 2016 41

Two large fi rms (500+ employees) report having a competitive analyst position. Other fi rms report that this position is shared across more than one job function. As shown in Figure 2, 85 percent of marketing staff are responsible for collecting the information and the majority report performing the analysis.

Regardless of fi rm size, 56 percent of respondents indicate the success of the CI effort is driven from the top down by management or an executive champion who is an advocate for CI at the fi rm. Nearly one-third of respondents, 32 percent, indicated that someone is tasked with CI on a full or part-time basis.

One of the biggest challenges that fi rms have is sharing CI. Only 20 percent of fi rms indicate they have a central location or process for sharing.

Most fi rms acknowledge the value of CI, but a return on investment for this activity is diffi cult to quantify. As shown in Figure 3, fi rm leaders are fi nding value from CI to help

with their strategic planning process, market positioning, and decision making.

Getting Started with CI

Hopefully this article has provided background and an argument for CI. But to get started, management support and involvement is critical. You must have at least one executive who is a corporate CI champion.

A 2011 SMPS Foundation Thought Leadership Series paper, Best Practices in Competitive Intelligence, by A. Krista Sykes, Ph.D., and Scott W. Braley, FAIA, FRSA, provides a comprehensive overview, ethical best practices, and list of resources for you and your corporate champion as you start the CI process.

The challenge for any fi rm is to fi nd a sustainable competitive advantage. Marketers are in a unique position to fi ll this need and help management mitigate risk, plan for the future, and avoid surprises. Good luck on your journey. n

East Studio, Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. Design Architect: Flad Architects; Landscape Architect and Architect of Record: Browning Day Mullins Dierdorf; General Contractor: The Hagerman Group. ©Susan Fleck, fl eckphoto.com.

“� e marketing professional can help its � rm gain a competitive advantage by analyzing the business environment and the � rm’s optimal position in relation to your competition, client, and market.”

—Mindy M. Bacon, CPSMVice President, Bacon Group, Inc.

Figure 2. Job functions responsible for collecting and analyzing CI. Figure 3. Effectiveness of CI for fi rms.

Marketing

Market Research

Technical, Senior Leaders

Business Development

Competitive Intelligence

Knowing what issues can impact our fi rm in the next 2–3 years

Understanding our competitors

Identifying new opportunities & markets

Very limited impact

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