Examples on the Use of Competitive Intelligence
With a period of economic correction upon us, the use Competitive Intelligence is now more vital than ever in helping companies to prepare for changes in their industries, to be proactive instead of reactive, to and exploit opportunities before their competitors, and to put themselves in a position of strength in time for an economic upturn.
Mergers and Acquisitions
A financial services provider was concerned that two of three competitors were likely to merge. It was imperative that they know ahead of time which two were going to merge so that strategies could be put in place to counter the new threat. The CI manger spoke to a number of senior executives along with frontline personnel, to find out about the competitors’ customer base, growth trends, business styles and even the personalities of the senior executives.
The CI manager was able to determine that the two competitors whose CEO had the most in common (club memberships, interests, educational and career backgrounds) were the ones most likely to join. From there the CI manager provided recommendations to counter the imminent threat before the actual merger took place.
Strategic Partnerships
A global telecommunications company was seeking information on a US-based company perceived as a potential strategic partner. There were concerns among key decision-makers, however, that the company in question was not financially sound. Interviews with the company’s Sales, Legal, Finance and Customer Service as well as clients and industry experts indicated that this company was actually in worse trouble than first believed, because its technology had failed to meet expectations, resulting in a substantial number of dissatisfied clients and shareholders. As a result, the global telecommunications company decided not to go ahead with the partnership, thus saving itself much embarrassment.
Conclusion
Competitive Intelligence is essential in strategic decision-making, both in making the right decisions but also in avoiding making bad decisions. And in difficult economic times, the margin of error between success and disaster is a fine one. The networking, data gathering and analysis that are part of Competitive Intelligence are critically important and the use of Competitive Intelligence is often the difference between success, industry-leading companies and the also-rans.