There are many benefits to using competitive intelligence in your business. This can help you gain ground over your competitors. Parallel to this, it can help to drive your business strategy for the future. So, let´s look in detail at some advantages of competitive intelligence.

Competitive Intelligence and your competition

Nowadays, companies are fighting tooth and nail for new business. Customers are more switched on and savvy than ever before. Therefore, the clear advantage for your business is the edge you will have over your competition.
Competitive intelligence is really a type of market research. You are keeping eyes on your competitors, in order to be able to improve your business strategy. Using competitive intelligence allows you to redirect questions to be extremely specific. This helps you to tailor your product launches to fit customer specifications. This allows you to leap over your competitors, by delivering a product that your customers want.
It can also serve as a warning system. Imagine your main competitor is launching a new product in the future. Competitive intelligence, if deployed correctly, will inform you of this. It can also keep you up to date on market changes. This can include price fluctuations. It can even inform you if there is a new market opening. This can be for subcontracting, or even to discover you have a new competitor who has taken control of a niche in your market.
Staying one step ahead of the game these days is essential. You can be sure that your business rivals are keeping tabs on you, so why not join them?

How to use competitive intelligence

Firstly, you really need to understand what your goals are. Is it to keep an eye on your competition? Is it to spot new openings? Could it be to predict product launches? Can it be to drive your business strategy in the future? Asking yourself these primary questions will then help you to narrow down what it is you really want to know. Keep a time-frame in mind too. If you need to know more about your competition, it can be constant. Therefore, you never lose the opportunity to stay on top of your game.
Another important point is that competitive intelligence is a great staff motivator. By encouraging your employees to gather information outside of the workplace, you are placing the responsibility for success in their hands. Your staff are your greatest asset. Maybe they used to work for a competitor, or know someone who does. This can be invaluable in gathering data on the market.
Competitive intelligence should also provide you with answers to hard questions. Keeping your goal in mind and gathering data on it, will eventually point to your answer. This can be the success of a new product. It can even be analysing what your customers may want in the future. This is invaluable for business success and essential for your survival.
For more information on business practices, please visit DES Madrid for tips and advice on how to keep your business ahead of the game.