Published: June 5, 2019
Since competitive intelligence is all about broadening perspectives and learning to look at situations from a competitor’s viewpoint, there’s no hard and fast rule as to when competitive analysis should be conducted. Nevertheless, it’s always better to be ahead of your competition’s plans with sufficient time to react, maximize your strengths and exploit your competition’s weaknesses. Performing a current competitive analysis is highly recommended on a quarterly basis — and on a monthly basis for ideal results.
For any successful company, protecting its place in the market is accomplished with far more accuracy and efficiency when it has the latest insights into what its competitors’ marketing, sales and new product efforts look like. And since industry trends and market landscapes are prone to volatile changes, it’s thanks to regular and ongoing competitive analyses that businesses can remain agile in the face of competitors’ challenges.
The “Why” Behind CI
To remain competitive in today’s fast-changing business landscape, it’s simply not enough for organizations to exclusively focus on their internal operations. Instead, to help executives make more informed strategic decisions, leveraging business competitor analysis provides fresh insights and perspectives that can result in stronger, more resilient business strategies.
Consider, for instance, a consumer electronics manufacturer getting ready to release the newest version of its flagship tablet. If the company merely focuses on the strengths of its product to guide everything from its marketing to its distribution, at least two opportunities will most likely be lost.
First, the company needs a recent market analysis that looks at its competitors’ products and strategies. Without one, it’s likely to experience a certain amount of complacency resulting from a limited viewpoint that only takes the attractiveness of its new device into consideration. Second, the company needs a wider perspective that examines how its device differentiates itself from competitors’ products. Without it, the manufacturer can miss out on the opportunity to build brand and product awareness by highlighting how its new device solves problems that its competitors’ products don’t.
While this example is by no means comprehensive, it demonstrates how much better-prepared businesses are when they take advantage of professional competitive intelligence — or CI — services from our team of experts at Proactive Worldwide. From deciding how and when to release a new product to anticipating competitors’ actions, there isn’t a moment along the lifecycle of a product that competitive analysis can’t help make more successful and profitable.
Clearly, competitive analysis can help raise awareness and yield better business strategies that anticipate and outmaneuver the actions an organization’s competitors are preparing to make.
Contact Proactive Worldwide for a Timely and Thorough Competitor Analysis
At Proactive Worldwide, we particularly appreciate the old adage that time is money, so we waste no time in putting our research and analytical skills to work for you when you need them. Since 1995, we’ve been delivering intelligent competitor analyses that are tailored to our clients’ needs. When you’re ready to grow and defend your place in the market, we’re here for you.
Contact us today to learn more about our full line of competitive intelligence services.
